Technical Officers: How do we spend our time?

Prior to starting my position as a technical officer of the ATT on 1 November 2022, I must confess that I had little appreciation or understanding of the breath and diversity of the role played by the technical officers on behalf of the members. On discussing this with Jane Ashton, our CEO, we thought that it would be helpful if I wrote an article outlining exactly how we technical officers spend our time.

Six months into the position, I now feel that I can write that article. However, I am sure that there will still be plenty of new challenges and opportunities on the horizon, which I look forward to, and which made this position so appealing in the first place.

So, who are the technical officers? There are currently four technical officers with the ATT: Emma Rawson and Helen Thornley, both of whom have been in the post since September 2017; David Wright, who started on 1 February this year; and me. We have all been recruited from practice but bring a diverse range of interests, specialisms and knowledge.

As an educational charity, we seek to promote and further the education of taxation in society, and work for a better, more efficient tax system for all affected by it – taxpayers, their advisers and the authorities. Technical officers assist with these goals in several ways, from going into schools and talking to students, to writing articles for national newspapers, trade publications, our website and social media. With a combined membership (members and students) of over 14,500, we seek to represent their views, opinions and concerns via HMRC and Treasury consultations, submissions and participation in stakeholder groups and forums.

Technical officers are responsible for ensuring that the technical content we provide to our members and the public via our website and through social media outlets such as Twitter and LinkedIn is kept completely up to date. The content needs to be informative, accessible and practical, and it is the technical officer’s role to ensure that this is the case.

As technical officers, we are often asked to make technical presentations either in-person or more likely via online platforms. In June, we will be presenting at our ATT Annual Conference on such diverse subjects as Basis Period Reform, Capital Taxes Update and the HMRC Enquiry Lifecycle.

If you are interested in attending the conference, you can find out more at: www.att.org.uk/attconf2023

Steven Pinhey, Technical Officer, ATT