Press release: New President announces new ATT qualification

Jeremy Coker took office at today‘s Annual General Meeting of the ATT. The ATT’s leadership team for the next 12 months will be:

President – Jeremy Coker

Deputy President – Richard Todd

Vice President – David Bradshaw

Immediate Past President – Tracy Easman

Speaking in his presidential inaugural address, Jeremy Coker said the ATT’s new Foundation level qualifications are a great example of how the nature and content of ATT exams are changing to reflect the changing landscape of tax legislation. There are already ATT Foundation qualifications in Personal Taxation, Business Taxation and VAT Compliance.

Jeremy said:  “In the midst of all this change, it is right that we do all we can to make access to education as seamless as possible.

“I am delighted to announce, that just this morning, ATT Council agreed to go ahead with a new Foundation Level Certificate in Transfer Pricing. [Foundation qualifications are] stepping stones, which enable people to progress, over time, to full membership of our Association.”

On the full ATT qualification, he said: “There is no doubt that achieving the ATT qualification today demonstrates that a major benchmark has been achieved. One which marks our members as qualified both by examination as well as practical experience.”

Jeremy also used his speech to express his concern about HMRC’s penalty regime:

 “Talking about what is deserved, it is understandable that while most taxpayers try to stay on the straight and narrow, sometimes things do not quite work out as planned.

“In a fair society, it is to be expected that the sanctions befit the transgression. However, the way the various penalty regimes have grown over the years is nothing short of an epidemic. Each regime, seemingly seeking to outperform the others, both with the size of the penalty and complexity of how it is calculated.

“In a tax system where we have been desperately seeking simplification for so long, do we really need so much legislation just to explain penalties?

The new president closed his speech, by saying:

“These are exciting times in tax. I have a fervent desire to ensure that at this time next year we will, with the help of my leadership colleagues, Richard Todd, David Bradshaw and Tracy Easman, my fellow members of council, our Chief Executive Jane Ashton and the wonderful members of staff at [ATT’s office in] Monck Street be even stronger, fully armed with a clear strategy to ensure that the vision of the founders does not flounder.”

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Notes for editors

1. ATT’s leadership team

President – Jeremy Coker

Jeremy Coker joined ATT Council in 2008 and was Deputy President before taking up the role of President on July 4th 2019. He serves on ATT’s Finance Steering Group. He is a former Chair of the ATT/CIOT London Branch. He became a member of the Association in 2008 and was appointed a Fellow in 2017. He qualified as a Chartered Tax Adviser in 2000 and also holds the ACA qualification.

Jeremy works in practice with Oury Clark, a multi-discipline practice consisting of an accountancy practice and law firm, which specialises in inward investment, assisting overseas companies set up and do business in the UK. Jeremy deals with all aspects of tax relating to private clients, high net worth individuals, owner managed businesses and small and medium sized enterprises.

Deputy President – Richard Todd

Richard Todd joined ATT Council in 2013. He was the Association's Vice President before taking up the role of Deputy President on July 4th 2019. He is Chair of the ATT/CIOT Professional Standards Committee and is a former Chair of the ATT/CIOT Northern Ireland Branch. Richard became a member of the Association in 1996 and qualified as a Chartered Tax Adviser in 1998. He began his tax career with the Inland Revenue in London and Central Scotland, before returning to Northern Ireland in 1998. He currently works in practice in Belfast.

Vice President – David Bradshaw

David Bradshaw joined ATT Council in 2015 and became the Association's Vice President on July 4th 2019. He is also ATT Honorary Treasurer and chairs the Association’s Finance Steering Group, as well as serving on the ATT/CIOT Joint Branches Sub-Committee. At various intervals over the past 10 years David has been Chair, Treasurer and Secretary of the North East England Branch of ATT/CIOT. He became a member of the Association in 2015 and qualified as a Chartered Tax Adviser in 1984. He has spent time with all four of the world’s largest accountancy practices and has specialised in taxation in both the SME marketplace and large corporate tax departments. He now acts as a corporate tax consultant to a number of North East businesses.

Immediate Past President – Tracy Easman

Tracy Easman joined ATT Council in 2011 and was the Association's President until July 4th 2019. She also serves on CIOT Council. She is a former Chair of the Joint ATT/CIOT Professional Standards Committee and still serves on this committee. Tracy is a former Secretary and Chair of Sussex Branch of the ATT/CIOT. She became a member of the Association in 1993 and was appointed a Fellow in 2012. She qualified as a Chartered Tax Adviser in 2000. Tracy started her career with the Inland Revenue and has worked for two tax consultancy firms. She now runs her own practice in West Sussex.

The ATT, in partnership with Tolley Exam Training, currently offer online Foundation Qualifications in Personal Taxation, Business Taxation and VAT Compliance – as well as the VAT Compliance Diploma for those wishing to study non-UK VAT in certain countries. Each Qualification is split into four modules of learning and testing. You can work through these at your own pace. Once you have passed the four modules you then have to complete the Final Certificate Examination. These qualifications are ideal for those that work in tax, accountancy or related professions.

To date, 1,970 people have signed up to study the existing Foundation Qualifications and VAT Compliance Diploma since the qualifications were launched in 2017. ATT expect the Foundation Qualification in Transfer Pricing to be open to candidates later this year.

For more information visit: https://www.att.org.uk/foundation-qualifications