RecordMove

Tax compliance officer to tax advisor

A tax compliance officer already meets 44% of what the tax advisor role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional

From tax compliance officer

Partial match

To tax advisor

14 You already bring

7 Still to learn

42 Skills in the target role2

Learning distance Substantial retraining

58.3/ 100

adjacentmoderatesubstantialcareer change

1 How much of what a tax advisor is expected to do is already part of a tax compliance officer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the tax advisor role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A tax advisor role treats 10 of its required skills as things a tax compliance officer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

advise on tax planning
advise on tax policy
calculate tax
disseminate information on tax legislation
inform on fiscal duties
inspect tax returns

What stands in the way is 7 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 14 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A tax advisor role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a tax compliance officer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area

already held collect tax management skills
already held inform on fiscal duties communication, collaboration and creativity
already held inspect tax returns assisting and caring
already held inspect taxation documents assisting and caring
already held research taxation procedures information skills
already held cadastral taxation business, administration and law

All 14 carried skills, including the 10 the tax advisor role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 28 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier

01 information skills 4 required, 4 supplementary

still to learn sign income tax returns required
still to learn interpret financial statements required
still to learn prepare financial statements required
still to learn prepare tax returns forms required

optional, not held compile legal documents optional
optional, not held conduct financial audits optional
optional, not held manage payroll reports optional
optional, not held prepare financial auditing reports optional

02 business, administration and law 1 required, 9 supplementary

still to learn value-added tax law required

optional, not held commercial law optional
optional, not held international taxation of transfer prices optional
optional, not held legal department processes optional
optional, not held accounting entries optional
optional, not held business management principles optional
optional, not held civil law optional
optional, not held international financial reporting standards optional
optional, not held legal terminology optional
optional, not held national generally accepted accounting principles optional

03 management skills 1 required, 2 supplementary

still to learn manage personal finances required

optional, not held develop taxation policies optional
optional, not held make strategic business decisions optional

04 assisting and caring 1 required

still to learn secure sensitive customer's information required

05 communication, collaboration and creativity 6 supplementary

optional, not held advise on efficiency improvements optional
optional, not held advise on financial matters optional
optional, not held advise on legal decisions optional
optional, not held negotiate in legal cases optional
optional, not held provide legal advice optional
optional, not held use consulting techniques optional

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a tax advisor role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 14 skills that carry over

Skill Type

already held advise on tax planning skill
already held advise on tax policy skill
already held calculate tax skill
already held disseminate information on tax legislation skill
already held inform on fiscal duties skill
already held inspect tax returns skill
already held inspect taxation documents skill
already held observe confidentiality skill
already held research taxation procedures skill
already held tax legislation knowledge
already held cadastral taxation knowledge
already held check official documents skill
already held collect tax skill
already held fraud detection knowledge

21 supplementary skills, helpful but not required

Skill to pick up Tier

optional, not held commercial law optional
optional, not held international taxation of transfer prices optional
optional, not held legal department processes optional
optional, not held accounting entries optional
optional, not held advise on efficiency improvements optional
optional, not held advise on financial matters optional
optional, not held advise on legal decisions optional
optional, not held business management principles optional
optional, not held civil law optional
optional, not held compile legal documents optional
optional, not held conduct financial audits optional
optional, not held develop taxation policies optional
optional, not held international financial reporting standards optional
optional, not held legal terminology optional
optional, not held make strategic business decisions optional
optional, not held manage payroll reports optional
optional, not held national generally accepted accounting principles optional
optional, not held negotiate in legal cases optional
optional, not held prepare financial auditing reports optional
optional, not held provide legal advice optional
optional, not held use consulting techniques optional

20 held skills the tax advisor role does not ask for

Skill Type

not needed by the target role accounting techniques knowledge
not needed by the target role assess debtor's financial situation skill
not needed by the target role assess seizable goods skill
not needed by the target role bookkeeping regulations knowledge
not needed by the target role debt classification knowledge
not needed by the target role debt collection techniques knowledge
not needed by the target role handle financial disputes skill
not needed by the target role handle financial transactions skill
not needed by the target role insolvency law knowledge
not needed by the target role keep task records skill
not needed by the target role law enforcement knowledge
not needed by the target role manage accounts skill
not needed by the target role monitor financial accounts skill
not needed by the target role office software knowledge
not needed by the target role perform debt investigation skill
not needed by the target role public finance knowledge
not needed by the target role public law knowledge
not needed by the target role respond to enquiries skill
not needed by the target role use different communication channels skill
not needed by the target role use microsoft office skill

10 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier

still to learn value-added tax law required
optional, not held commercial law optional
optional, not held international taxation of transfer prices optional
optional, not held legal department processes optional
optional, not held accounting entries optional
optional, not held business management principles optional
optional, not held civil law optional
optional, not held international financial reporting standards optional
optional, not held legal terminology optional
optional, not held national generally accepted accounting principles optional

Index

Other moves recorded from tax compliance officer

Full index of moves from tax compliance officer

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a tax compliance officer become a tax advisor?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A tax compliance officer already covers 44% of what a tax advisor is expected to do: 14 skills carry over, 10 of which the tax advisor role treats as required.

What skills does a tax compliance officer need to become a tax advisor?

7 required skills are missing, plus 21 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is sign income tax returns.

How hard is the move from tax compliance officer to tax advisor?

Its learning distance is 58.3 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.