Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Tax inspector to tax advisor

A tax inspector already meets 39% of what the tax advisor role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From tax inspector
39 % overlap
Distant match
To tax advisor
14 You already bring
9 Still to learn
42 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

62.4/ 100

1 How much of what a tax advisor is expected to do is already part of a tax inspector’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 8 of its required skills as things a tax inspector already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • advise on tax planning
  • calculate tax
  • disseminate information on tax legislation
  • inform on fiscal duties
  • inspect tax returns
  • inspect taxation documents

What stands in the way is 9 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 inspector 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 8 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, 2 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 manage payroll reports optional
02 assisting and caring 2 required
  • still to learn secure sensitive customer's information required
  • still to learn observe confidentiality required
03 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
04 communication, collaboration and creativity 1 required, 6 supplementary
  • still to learn advise on tax policy required
  • 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
05 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
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 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 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 conduct financial audits skill
  • already held fraud detection knowledge
  • already held prepare financial auditing reports skill
19 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 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 provide legal advice optional
  • optional, not held use consulting techniques optional
16 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 audit techniques knowledge
  • not needed by the target role bookkeeping regulations knowledge
  • not needed by the target role corporate law knowledge
  • not needed by the target role develop account strategy skill
  • 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 keep task records skill
  • not needed by the target role manage accounts skill
  • not needed by the target role manage cadastre skill
  • not needed by the target role monitor financial accounts skill
  • not needed by the target role numerical sequences knowledge
  • not needed by the target role office software knowledge
  • not needed by the target role public finance knowledge
  • not needed by the target role public law knowledge
  • 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
FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a tax inspector become a tax advisor?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A tax inspector already covers 39% of what a tax advisor is expected to do: 14 skills carry over, 8 of which the tax advisor role treats as required.

What skills does a tax inspector need to become a tax advisor?

9 required skills are missing, plus 19 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 inspector to tax advisor?

Its learning distance is 62.4 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.