How the Corporate Tax Talent Landscape is Evolving

The Corporate Tax recruitment market across Surrey continues to evolve and the conversations in 2026 are noticeably different to even a few years ago.

Increasingly those at Senior Manager level are looking closely at:

• The quality and complexity of advisory work being handled by the firm and by whom
• Visibility of progression to Director or Partner
• The culture and leadership style of the firm, to include staff retention and a demonstrable ability to talk through internal Promotions to Partner level
• Hybrid working and flexibility – this is pretty much a given however it has to be truly embraced and firms must show a high level of “trust”. The days of micro-management are gone.
• Access to high-quality clients and some level of exposure to new work by way of client networking or cross-selling within the firm and such like.
• The opportunity to have a genuine influence internally and work with increased autonomy
• As broad a commercial exposure as is possible, beyond complex compliance work and to a role which will move towards being weighted towards interesting advisory work
• How firms are continuing to embrace technology and modern ways of working, particularly around digital tax transformation and efficiencies such as AI.

Senior candidates actually want to hear real-life stories about how firms build and continue to build trusted relationships – not only with clients, but also internally with colleagues. Culture is something which must be real.

The Surrey market remains highly competitive for experienced Corporate Tax professionals and it is an interesting time within the profession. Firms which can clearly articulate their long-term vision and demonstrate their true culture are often standing out most successfully in the current market.

Lisa Wintrip, Director