In South Africa, a tax practioner is a professional who provides tax-related services to individuals, businesses, and organizations.  These services may include tax planning, compliance and consulting among other things.

A typical day for a Tax Practitioner, could involve a variety of tasks, depending on the time of the year and needs of the clients.

Here’s a possible breakdown of a typical day in the life of Tax Practitioner:

Start the day with a coffee (little giggle)! Sure it will help to get the engines going!

• Checking emails and responding to any urgent requests from clients and/or colleagues.
• Meeting with clients to discuss their various tax situations.  This could involve reviewing their financial records, discussing potential deductions or credits, and making recommendation for how they can minimize their tax liability.These discussions can vary significantly depending on whether it is a meeting with a new client or existing one, how large (or small their company or organization is), also assessing how well their financial records have been kept.
• Work on tax returns for clients. This could involve reviewing documents and financial statements, inputting data into tax software, and double checking calculations to ensure accuracy.This definitely means meetings with multiple clients in a day and could involve answering questions about tax law, helping clients plan for future tax obligations, or providing advice on how to structure business transactions for tax purposes.
• Preparing and filing tax returns: A tax practitioner helps clients to prepare and file their tax returns, ensuring that they are accurate and comply with all relevant tax laws and regulations.
• Tax Planning: A tax practitioner advises clients on ways to minimize their tax liability and take advantage of any available tax benefits or credits.
• Compliance: A tax practitioner helps clients to comply with all tax laws and regulations, ensuring that they meet their tax obligations and avoid penalties and fines.
• Dispute resolution: You  may assist clients in resolving tax disputes with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) or other tax authorities.
• Advisory services: A tax practitioner may provide advice on a range of tax-related matters, such as mergers and acquisitions, cross-border transactions, and international tax planning.
• Training and education: You may also provide training and education to clients and other professionals on tax-related topics, such as changes in tax laws and regulations.
• Internal staff meetings; definitely the case if you are the department manager or the business owner.These internal meetings will stretch to meeting with staff and colleagues to discuss ongoing projects or collaboration on complex tax issues.
• Preparing for deadlines: this is the crunch of finance positions in that deadlines cannot be missed.  These can be made up of quarterly tax filings or extensions for clients who need more time to complete their returns.
• Client files must be organized and up-to-date at all times.  Never leave for tomorrow what you can do today (is the best advice for anyone in the finance industry)

A typical day for a tax practitioner can vary greatly depending on the specific focus of their practice and the time of the year. During tax season, the workload can be much more intense, with longer hours and an increase in clients.  Regardless of the day-to-day details, a tax practitioner’s primary goal is always to provide reliable and accurate tax advice and services to their clients.

Networking within the industry, and attending workshops and seminars are an important part of a Tax Practitioner’s life.  You need to be constantly be aware of any legislative changes and industry norms to best serve your client and be compliant with SARS.

(Need to keep your points updated? You can do it here – https://www.icb.org.za/cpd/)

Joining Professional Bodies is a must in the industry. Read here to see why it is so important:

Need to make sure you are SARS compliant? Read here to see what needs to be done to remain compliant as a tax practitioner in SA.

To become a tax practioner in South Africa, one must register with a recognized professional body, such as the South African Institute of Tax Professionals (SAIT) or the South African Institute of Charted Accountants (SAICA).  Tax practioners are also required to adhere to a code of professional conduct and stay up-to-date with changes in tax laws and regulations.

 

Inspiration:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/day-life-tax-accountant-isaac-jung

https://www.weinsteinspira.com/day-life-tax-accountant/