Ideas | People | Trust

We’re BDO. An accountancy and business advisory firm, providing the advice and solutions entrepreneurial organisations need to navigate today’s changing world.

We work with the companies that are Britain’s economic engine – ambitious, entrepreneurially-spirited and high‑growth businesses that fuel the economy - and directly advise the owners and management teams that lead them.

We’ll broaden your horizons

Working, achieving, and thriving together, our Tax team move with every challenge. Friendly, driven and diverse, they service our clients across the country and around the world. By providing expertise in many different specialist areas of tax, they collaborate across BDO to deliver wider business solutions. From meeting clients’ evolving business needs to managing changes to legislation, there are always fresh challenges to face in the Tax team. If you’re after a career that will keep you on your toes, we’ll give you the autonomy to drive your career forward.

Tax is a dynamic, ever-changing industry. As our clients’ needs and the regulatory environment evolve, you’ll encounter new problems to solve and new opportunities for growth. Whether it’s advising clients on high-profile specialisms like Corporation Tax or leading the implementation of intelligent technology solutions, you’ll enjoy variety as well as stretch in your role.

BDO supports all kinds of different businesses in different sectors across the UK and around the world.

You’ll be providing Tax Advisory services to start-ups and scale-ups, to private businesses and FTSE listed multinationals. Each of our clients has different needs and in applying your expertise in different contexts, you’ll develop your skills and gain valuable experience that will serve you throughout your career.

We’ll help you succeed

Leading organisations trust us because of the quality of our advice. That quality grows from a thorough understanding of their business, and that understanding comes from working closely with them and building long-lasting relationships.

You’ll be someone who is both comfortable working proactively and managing your own tasks, as well as confident collaborating with others and communicating regularly with senior managers, directors, and BDO’s partners to help businesses effectively. You’ll be encouraged to identify and draw attention to opportunities for enhancing our delivery and providing additional services to organisations we work with.

We have an exciting opportunity for someone with an Information Technology or Computer Science background to work within BDO's Innovation & Technology Group based in London. The firm's specialist Innovation & Technology Group, based in London, at the Baker Street office, comprises engineers, software programmers, and scientists as well as specialist finance professionals such as auditors and tax accountants, all of whom are experienced in claiming R&D tax relief. The Innovation and Technology team provide the following services:

• UK R&D Tax Relief
• R&D Allowances (RDAs)
• Grants
• Patent Box
• International R&D Relief

The successful candidate will get the opportunity to work as part of the wider Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions (CMA) tax team, in a diverse team of highly successful tax and industry specialists. The CMA team provides bespoke taxation services to its clients and deals with all queries from basic compliance through to high-level advisory work. It prepares tax returns and computations, carries out tax planning/consultancy work, and deals with HMRC, clients, and third parties.

The role and key responsibilities

This is a client facing role where the consultant will be working with customers from a wide range of industry sectors undertaking development activities within their field. A key aspect for this role will be the ability to translate complex ideas into non-technical concepts and communicate these to a broad client base. You’ll also be:

• Undertaking the technical assessment of claims and reviewing technical summaries to ensure a compelling description(s) has been drafted before submission to the HMRC.
• Identifying qualifying R&D projects and expenditure through participation in technical discussions with clients.
• Ensuring R&D claims meet the requirements of the relevant tax legislation and guidelines (the new joiner will be trained in-house on tax matters through a thorough and comprehensive internal induction and training programme).
• Undertaking costing and tax technical reviews or liaising effectively with technical tax staff on the preparation of tax documents comprising these R&D claims for submission to HMRC.
• Supporting R&D Tax Relief claims in the event of HMRC R&D enquiries.
• Continuously developing your own knowledge and skills to keep technical knowledge up to date.

You will be required to work closely with the senior staff of our clients across the relevant sectors and will be responsible for analysing all aspects of their R&D projects. You will play an active role in developing technical reports of clients’ projects and taking part in extensive client communication. As well as working directly with existing clients, you will also be offered the chance to support business development opportunities and cross-sector claims.

We’re looking for someone with:

• A recognised university degree (MEng, MSc or PhD) in a field of Information Technology or Computer Software, with a minimum of 3-4 years working as an R&D tax practitioner.
• Experience working with software clients or software related R&D claims as an R&D tax practitioner, with strong sector knowledge.
• Experience in dealing with technological challenges faced by industry professionals, such as software architectural design, the enhancement or improvement of software development processes, development of new tools/APIs and improvement to existing tools/APIs.
• Strong understanding of all costing and tax technical aspects of R&D claims, as well as practical experience in applying them over both SME and RDEC claims. This includes being able to identify and effectively deal with all risk elements that may arise.
• Excellent communication (both spoken and written), curiosity, awareness and an interest in the fields of science, technology and innovation.
• Ability to swiftly adapt to and learn about different industry sectors such as automotive, aerospace, civil, defence, food & drink, life sciences, electronics etc.
• Interact readily with other technical and finance professionals, have outstanding interpersonal skills and excel in eloquence and concise summary of information.
• Strong attention to detail and first-time accuracy is essential, as well as an interest in project and company finances, strong numerical ability and the application of tax treatment.
• Proactive approach to new work opportunities, whilst being a team player and having the ability to work on your own initiative.
• Ability to project a professional, credible image, trustworthy and able to maintain strict confidentiality.
• Ability to travel to clients' premises for meetings and on-site reviews as well as other offices as needed.

You’ll be able to be yourself; we’ll recognise and value you for who you are and celebrate and reward your contributions to the business. We’re committed to agile working, and we offer every colleague the opportunity to work in ways that suit you, your teams, and the task at hand.

At BDO, we’ll help you achieve your personal goals and career ambitions, and we have programmes, resources, and frameworks that provide clarity and structure around career development.

We’re in it together

Mutual support and respect is one of BDO’s core values and we’re proud of our distinctive, people-centred culture. From informal success conversations to formal mentoring and coaching, we’ll support you at every stage in your career, whatever your personal and professional needs.

Our agile working framework helps us stay connected, bringing teams together where and when it counts so they can share ideas and help one another. At BDO, you’ll always have access to the people and resources you need to do your best work.

We know that collaboration is the key to creating value for the companies we work with and satisfying experiences for our colleagues, so we’ve invested in state-of-the-art collaboration spaces in our offices. BDO’s people represent a wealth of knowledge and expertise, and we’ll encourage you to build your network, work alongside others, and share your skills and experiences. With a range of multidisciplinary events and dedicated resources, you’ll never stop learning at BDO.

We’re looking forward to the future

At BDO, we help entrepreneurial businesses to succeed, fuelling the UK economy. Our success is powered by our people, which is why we’re always finding new ways to invest in you. Across the UK thousands of unique minds continue to come together to help companies we work with to achieve their ambitions.

We’ve got a clear purpose, and we’re confident in our future, because we’re adapting and evolving to build on our strengths, ensuring we continue to find the right combination of global reach, integrity and expertise. We shape the future together with openness and clarity, because we believe in empowering people to think creatively about how we can do things better.

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