It's like a war out there

Despite (or perhaps even because of) the much-publicised credit crunch which seems to be keeping the UK press so gleefully occupied at present the demand for VAT specialists across public practice shows no sign of letting up.

Firms still largely regard VAT professionals as potential business — and consequently fee income — generators rather than overheads and the result is a candidate driven marketplace at practically all levels.

How long this can continue if the economy does slow down as predicted is of course impossible to call but for now the competition to recruit and retain staff has created if not an actual bidding war then certainly an environment where VAT specialists are some of the better rewarded in the taxation field.

In the Big 4 for example managers now tend to attract base salaries upwards of £50 000 plus around...