Scaling Tax Capability in a Changing Global Business

Tax teams play a critical role in financial services organisations. Whether it’s ensuring compliance, enabling global growth or supporting strategic decision-making, they’re often right at the centre of the action.

But finding the right talent, particularly during periods of change is no easy task. Exactly what one of our recent financial services clients, a leading provider of post-trade solutions, found when they were going through a major ownership transition.

They needed to rapidly establish a scalable tax function to support their international operations, but the challenge was finding individuals with the right balance of technical expertise, commercial awareness and the ability to build from the ground up.

Thanks to a focused search from Sanderson, they were able to secure a high-calibre tax team ready and raring to go. Read on to find out how we did it…

What was the challenge?

Our client approached us during a pivotal moment in their journey. They were transitioning away from their existing ownership structure and preparing for acquisition by a private equity investor. They were looking to strengthen their operational infrastructure, all starting with tax.

At the same time, they needed to ensure this tax function could support their global operations as they were working across more than 30 locations globally spanning the UK, US, Sweden, India and Singapore, so this was no easy feat.

The first priority was appointing a Head of Tax, alongside building out the wider team with a Tax Manager and Tax Analyst.

But there were challenges.

A Head of Tax is a role requiring a rare combination of strong technical expertise with the ability to operate in a changing environment, manage multiple stakeholders and build a scalable tax function from the ground up.

Their perfect candidate was someone who could navigate corporate tax compliance with ease, manage reporting, transfer pricing and outsourced tax providers without breaking a sweat, and all while supporting the setup of new entities globally.

What was our solution?

It was clear from the start that this was no standard tax recruitment assignment. But it was still no match for the Sanderson team.

Speed and precision were critical thanks to the acquisition taking place, so we quickly mobilised and implemented a targeted search strategy focused on highly specialised tax professionals with the right mix of technical, commercial and leadership capability.

We cracked on with a targeted search covering:

• International corporate tax environments
• Financial services organisations
• Multi-jurisdiction tax structures
• Transfer pricing and compliance
• Building and developing tax teams
• Operating in fast-paced, changing environments

Most importantly, we focused on identifying candidates who could not only manage the current tax requirements, but who had the skills needed to support their long-term vision.

What was the result?

Thanks to our thorough understanding of the client, we successfully delivered a strong shortlist of high-quality tax professionals across all the required roles. We started with the appointment of a Head of Tax and then went on to support the build-out of the wider tax team, placing both a Tax Manager and Tax Analyst.

This was a fantastic outcome meaning our client was able to rapidly establish a tax capability with the strength and structure needed to support their global operations during a period of significant change, but that was set up to support their long-term strategic objectives.

Key outcomes included:

• Successful appointment of a Head of Tax to lead the function
• Subsequent delivery of a Tax Manager and Tax Analyst to build out the wider team
• Became a trusted recruitment partner to support the ongoing growth of the function
• End-to-end support across multiple specialist tax hires

Could we help you achieve similar outcomes?

Building a specialist tax function requires more than finding qualified candidates. It demands a deep understanding of the business, its challenges and where it’s heading.

Whether you’re building out a new function, scaling your team or navigating a period of change, we can help you secure the talent needed to deliver long-term success.

Reach out to [email protected] if you fancy a chat about how we can help support you to reach similar goals.