Training & experience pay dividends

Amit Kumar Garg

A tax consultant/advisor is referred to as a tax accountant who helps people and organisations to complete their tax returns every financial year. This can involve extracting and analysing information from their financial documents, like, wage, employment and mortgage, investment statements, etc. A tax consultant is also required to travel to meet with clients.

Tax advisors can either work independently, for the government, or for a firm. Salaries also depend on the education qualifications.

Qualification 

Being a commerce graduate will give you an edge over others. It will be also great if you can improve your qualification and skills by getting professional degrees and courses. Tax consultants in India are mainly those having the qualification in law, commerce, ICWA, CA, CS, mathematics, science or other such accounting qualification.

Following are the main professional courses and degree that can be done to become a consultant:

n CA, ICWAI or MBA

n Tax consultancy course

n Personality development course.

Need for training

There are many types of taxes that are charged on income, vehicle, property or other such possessions. In all of these cases, an in-depth knowledge of applicable taxes and the ways to save on these taxes may be the most important criteria. To achieve all these, there is a lot of learning involved in this process as the tax consultant is the sole solution for that. If you have the required educational qualification, then some training and further certified accounting courses would make you a successful tax consultant. 

A tax consultant has to undergo extensive taxation training before becoming a professional tax consultant but there are a certain fundamentals that make them eligible to take the courses in taxation. These basics can be the knowledge of taxation, inclination towards the subject and the existing qualification. 

— The writer is Partner AKGVG &  Associates, New Delhi

Right course

The training course must offer:

• Practical training and well as classroom training that will teach you to prepare accounts and taxation statements for individuals as well as for the corporates.
• The training course must make you learn and operate both old and latest accounting software.
• Job-oriented courses that will make you ready to take up a new assignment and get placed easily in the field of taxation and accounting.
• The course must also offer an effective tax planning to reduce tax obligation of the client by encouraging efficient investments.
• Finally, right qualification, quality, enhanced knowledge and expertise in taxation will turn out any accounting professional into an able tax consultant.

Skill set

• Expertise and knowledge in accounting and finance.
• Communication and interactive skills to understand the clients’ accounting and taxation needs.
• Decision-making and analytical skills to shape the finances and investments of the clients in such a way that they have to pay the minimum tax.
• Capability to work on professional and ethical grounds so that no false practices are included in their tax advice.
•  Experience in a similar field may surely matter as it will be an additional benefit for the taxconsultant and his client.