Name: age and occupation:
I’m Lorcan Kelly and I work as a Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) with Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard in Dublin. I am responsible for looking after the corporate tax and VAT obligations of the company, as well as its domestic and international tax strategy. This means I advise on all aspects of tax law and would regularly be liaising with tax and law firms and the Revenue Commissioners.
Education/Qualifications:
I studied Commerce & French in NUIG, specialising in accounting and tax. My third year was an Erasmus which I spent in Marseille. After my degree I completed a Masters in Accounting, also in NUIG. I also qualified as a Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) with the Irish Tax Institute and as a Chartered Accountant with CAI.
How and why did you choose this career?
I did a summer internship in KPMG, Galway during college and also spent a few weeks in the tax department. This is where I saw first-hand what a tax career was like and the kind of work tax professionals do on a day to day basis. I really liked that the job was so varied, for example working on a tax computation or researching tax case law. This variety keeps the job interesting. I was fully decided on a career in tax following that summer!
In the year I completed my Masters, I applied to KPMG for a training contract through the ‘milk round’ process. This was a 3 year contract during which I completed both my Chartered Tax Advisor (CTA) qualification with the Irish Tax Institute and ACA Chartered Accountant qualification. When I completed my training contract I was promoted to Tax Senior in KPMG, and after a few years in this role I moved to my current role with Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard.
Most important qualifications in developing your career
The Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) qualification from the Irish Tax Institute has been crucial to my career as it provides me with all the tax technical knowledge I require across all areas of tax and also professional skills. It’s is the most widely recognised and best regarded tax qualification in Ireland by employers. I really liked how the syllabus was so practical and relevant to my day to day job – what I was learning at lectures, I was putting in to practice!
From my studies in NUIG, I developed communication skills and teamwork skills – communicating effectively with the various stakeholders in business is critical for a tax professional and the ability to explain complex issues to a tax ‘layman’ is very important. I also need to have good teamwork skills as I frequently work as part of various teams both domestic and international.
What are the most rewarding aspects of your job?
The most rewarding aspect is the value that I can add to the business. The tax analysis is critical in so many business decisions and in a lot of cases drives the decision and so Chartered Tax Advisers (CTA) are in high demand from employers.
What is the single thing you love the most about your job?
It is a challenging and rewarding career which can place you at the heart of business decision making. It can also be an excellent springboard to other careers in finance.
Does this career provide the opportunity to balance time between work and family?
I think it’s very important to balance work and personal life. I play various sports and enjoy socialising and I’m lucky that I have control over my working hours which allows me to achieve a great balance. I try to be organised and not let deadlines creep up, so I don’t work much overtime (with a few exceptions throughout the year of course) and I’m never required to work weekends.
What would be the best route for someone wishing to enter your career?
Firstly, you don’t have to have studied business or accountancy in college to have a successful career in tax, as the Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) qualification will give you all the tax knowledge and professional skills that you require – you just need a Level 8 degree to register for the qualification.
One key piece of advice is to try and get experience as a summer intern – the firms start the recruitment process in January each year with interviews in late February. This is a great opportunity to get paid real-life experience over the summer months and in a lot of cases, you may well be offered a graduate training contract for when you finish college.
When I was starting out looking at my career options, I found it was really beneficial to research as much as possible, and I found the Irish Tax Institute’s career website www.careerintax.ie an invaluable resource.
