Longmark Tax Planning Conference - Leeds 11 November 2009 - 13/08/2009

Longman Tax Recruitment is proud sponsor the Longmark Tax Planning Conference being held at the Village Hotel Leeds South on Wednesday 11 November 2009. The theme of the conference is "Practical tax planning for high net worth individuals and SMEs" and Longmark are holding the conference in association with Temple Tax Chambers (www.taxcounsel.co.uk). The conference is being chaired by Richard Bramwell QC and other speakers include Jonathan Schwarz, John Dick, Michael Sherry, Philip Ridgway, Michael Collins and Alun James. For further information regarding the conference or to book a place visit www.longmark.co.uk or call 0845 260 1057

Prospects for new tax jobs - 24/07/2009

Our Managing Director, Mike Longman, was recently interviewed by Richard Curtis, of Taxation magazine regarding his views as to how quickly the market for tax jobs would pick up. Mike said that "From talking to clients and contacts some people managing teams that suffered staff losses over the last six months or so are saying that their teams are now very busy and working at or near capacity so logically once the green shoots turn into some tangible growth these teams will need to be recruiting fairly quickly." Mike also highlighted drivers in the market place that will lead to more tax jobs. "I think that it is inevitable that the recent increase in personal tax rates for high earners (with marginal rates in excess of 60%) will provide a shot in the arm for tax practices. Several of our clients who specialise in the OMB sector have already reported a lot of interest from clients who are keen to start planning to mitigate the effects of the higher rates. Once we start coming out of the recession and confidence returns generally I am sure the recent changes will mean that tax specialists will be greatly in demand." The article "Balancing ACT" appeared in the 5th June edition of Taxation 2 magazine, which is a magazine that tax professional can subscribe to for free. For further information visit www.taxation.co.uk

Manchester Branch of Chartered Institute of Taxation - BBQ - 15/07/2009

The Manchester branch of the Chartered Institute of Taxation held a BBQ evening on Thursday 9th July. The event which proved to be very popular was held at Atlas Bar near Deansgate Locks. Whether it was the promise of free food and beer / wine or the chance to network with fellow tax professional that helped attract over 100 branch members is hard to say. However the attendees (who came from a wide spectrum of the tax profession) were in good spirits and intent on enjoying a relaxing time on a very pleasently warm Manchester evening. Longman Tax Recruitment is delighted to have sponsored the evening and received a heartfelt round of applause from the attendees when Branch Chairman, Paul Hammond, thanked us as sponsors of the event and explained that our support had led to their free drinks!!! For more information regarding the CIOT Manchester branch events visit www.tax.org.uk/manchester

Positive advice for candidates - 26/05/2009

Our Managing Director, Mike Longman, was recently interviewed by Alison Plager of Taxation 2 magazine who was writing an article on the difficulties recruiters face in the current market where the number of job opportunites is very limited. Mike was asked to comment on how best to deal with candidates who have unfortunatley been made redundant.

"I think the key to handling redundant candidates is to get the balance right between sympathising with their predicament, painting a positive picture regarding their skills / experience and prospects once the market improves whilst being honest and open regarding current opportunities", said Mike.  "I find that if this is allied to practical advice re how they can maintain their marketability during their period out of work (e.g. doing tax related voluntary work, keeping up to date with CPD, networking etc) and ensuring they are really well prepared when they go in for interview that is generally appreciated by candidates."

 Alison said that some candidates were finding that they got very little feedback from thier recruitment consultant post interview. "When I was a Tax Partner in practice one of the complaints that I used to hear about recruitment consultants was that they were poor at getting / delivering detailed feedback to candidates when interviews did not lead to job offers," Mike observed. "Often I suspect this is because the consultants shy away from giving bad news. At any time this lack of feedback is bad practice, and often shows laziness on behalf of the recruitment consultant, but in the present economic climate it is unforgiveable as the candidate needs as much detailed feedback as possible from each interview to help them understand which roles their skill sets are best suited for and to optimise their performance at future interviews. Again the answer is to be honest and open with the candidate."

Alison's article "Don't blame the recruiter" featured in the 24 April edition of Taxation 2. More information regarding Taxation 2 magazine and details of how to subscribe can be found at www.taxation.co.uk

Chartered Institute of Taxation – Manchester Branch - 12/05/2009

Longman Tax Recruitment is proud to sponsor the evening lecture programme of the Manchester Branch of the Chartered Institute of Taxation.

Further details of the 2009 autumn evening lecture programme will be available in mid summer.

 For further information or to book a place visit http://www.tax.org.uk/manchester