A huge congratulations to Natasha Scott, Tax Advisory Partner in our Nottingham office, who is celebrating her 15th anniversary as part of PKF Smith Cooper on 10th November. Natasha joined us as a Personal Tax Assistant back in 2008 and has passed through the ranks, being promoted to Partner in April 2022. We sat down with Natasha to find out a little more about her career journey to date, lessons she’s learnt and what lies ahead.

How did you hear about the role you applied for 15 years ago?

Through a recruiter – one I still use today to find PKFSC candidates! I was working in a small local firm of accountants, involved in all aspects of accounts/tax/payroll etc and knew that I wanted to be part of a more established firm with exposure to bigger clients. I actually contacted Debbie to find me a role in Audit – she felt that PKF Smith Cooper would be a good fit for me, but they had already placed their audit graduates for that year so she suggested I meet the tax team instead who were still recruiting.

I’ll never forget the interview – I was so nervous, meeting a team of people who only did tax all day seemed daunting (I hadn’t done a lot of tax). I got there super early so sat in my car listening to the radio – I had been sat there so long that I flattened my battery, had to be jump started and on my first day my manager left me a little pack of batteries on my desk and took me for a pint – I knew then that I would be absolutely fine in that team!

When you started out, what did your job entail?

Before starting I knew I would be working on a portfolio of personal tax clients, the only self-assessment returns I had done before were taxi drivers/window cleaners. I remember the team giving me a small portfolio of around 100 clients and me asking what else I would be doing because that wouldn’t take long! It was quite a shock when I was soon working on lots of complex situations – one of the first that stands out was a large Capital Gains Tax calculation with share pools!

What is an achievement from the last 15 years that you are proud of?

It’s a recent one (and an easy one!) – being shortlisted for Best Regional Tax Team at the Tolley’s Tax Awards earlier this year.

The department is worlds away from what it was in 2008 – some of the significant changes have been in recent years and as a consequence of a “vision” myself, Gary and Adam had when going through the Partnership process. The process has been far from easy, and there has been lots of bumps in the road but the team being recognised as a collective, by a panel of the most well recognised professionals in the country, was a pinch me moment and one all of us are proud of. (Non-tax readers won’t appreciate that this event is like the Oscars in the tax world!)

Where would you like to be in another 10 years’ time?

Professionally – I find myself more and more interested in how the tax system is impacted by political and economic events and would love to invest more time working with the Chartered Institute of Taxation discussing proposed changes to legislation and how these impact owner managed businesses. The UK has an extremely complicated tax system and it is our job to challenge the behaviour of HMRC and make sure our clients are aware of their obligations. Right now, my priority will be working on our new 5 year business plan, but it would be great to think that in 10 years I could invest more time proactively in this space.

Personally – in 10 years my kids will be pretty self-sufficient so I’ll be looking forward to maybe taking up a hobby. Right now, my time is spent spectating at their many extracurricular activities!

And what about outside of work, what does your perfect day off look like?

Life at my house is pretty hectic right now, Monday to Friday is busy with work/school with the weekends usually spent at football/swimming/gymnastics or some type of family day out. The perfect days for me are the chilled ones with nowhere to be and no clock to watch – preferably at a spa with a good book!

Finally, if you could give one piece of advice to someone starting off in their career, what would it be?

Build relationships with a variety of individuals – people in our business pay for the person as much as the service, being able to adapt your style of communication both internally and externally will help build your profile and people will want to work with you. Tax is complicated and having the ability to cut through the jargon and explain easily to clients and colleagues through different styles of communication is half the battle in my eyes.

Careers at PKF Smith Cooper

We pride ourselves on supporting our people to have fulfilling and successful career journeys as part of our team. Whether you’re just starting out in the world of accountancy or an established professional ready for the next step, take a look at our current vacancies to find out how we can help you achieve your career goals.