CIOT President's page: Welcome to new members

My congratulations to all new incoming members and also to those who have recently passed the ADIT examinations and can become an ADIT Affiliate (Advanced Diploma in International Taxation). It’s such an important moment – the exams are behind you, you have demonstrated a very high standard of tax technical knowledge, professional ethics and professional skills, and as a CTA or ADIT qualified professional new opportunities can be on offer. Certainly, being a CTA has served me well and is an important part of my sense of worth.

The Admissions Ceremony itself is a marvellous event, as I remember when I attended 10 years ago to be awarded Fellowship. It’s a day of pride and warmth for our members and their families, and for the CIOT. Incoming members are the future of the Institute. Having said that, all members are important, and I shall also look forward to meeting some of those who have been a member for 50 years and more at the Admissions Ceremony.

Becoming a CTA means being a member of a professional body that is constituted as a charity – professionalism and public benefit sit at the heart of the CIOT. This is alongside a support network with CPD offerings, a branch network with approximately 40 branches (so there’s likely to be one near you!), opportunities to be involved in CIOT technical and professional work via the committees (which are open to all members) and opportunities to be in touch with other professionals.

Talking of committees, the Future of Tax Profession Committee (FTP Committee) is for new and more recently qualified members who are in the first 10 years of their career. It hosts events such as development skills, networking, social, technical and general interest that are particularly relevant to those in the early part of their career. It also works collaboratively with the Branch Network to geographically widen the scope of their committee and the members they support. Last autumn, I attended one of their meetings (they are usually online to facilitate participation) and it was an interesting and helpful session with a warm friendly welcome to me, especially as I can’t pretend to qualify for membership of this Committee!

There is an important need in our Institute to both canvass, and represent, the views of new tax professionals – please consider joining or attending the FTP Committee events. The future of the tax ecosystem is likely to be different as change comes about, with systems increasingly digital, using AI more extensively in the profession and also in the tax authorities, and so on – and this needs to be informed by those working in tax going forward.

For future members, there will be a rollout of the new syllabus in 2027, which will include a stronger emphasis on skills. How you use your technical knowledge is every bit as important as having technical knowledge. Much more difficult than in my day is how to access and evaluate the tax information on offer. My textbooks in the 1980s did not offer me either legislation or case law which felt as though it was right but wasn’t! Nor did I have such a huge volume of tax law and secondary sources to consider.

The ability to work with vast amounts of information in a client useful way is a crucial part of any professional’s training today. Vital non-technical skills such as problem solving, client communications, ethics and professional scepticism will define the distinction between an excellent professional service and simply using AI or reading a website.

The CIOT will be issuing a formal consultation on the proposed changes to the syllabus, and the way in which it is examined, later this year. Meanwhile, for those who have recently qualified, if you have feedback on the syllabus or the examination process – please do let me know. It will be taken into account. We want a qualification that provides what students and employers need.

All the very best to our new members.