# **ASSOCIATION OF TAXATION TECHNICIANS ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2023**
**Registered Charity Number: 803480**
**Company Number: 2418331**
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 CONTENTS**
||**Page**|
|---|---|
|**Our Vision**|**2**|
|**President’s Statement**|**3**|
|**Annual Report of Council**|**8**|
|**Council and Advisers**|**14**|
|**Public Benefit**|**15**|
|**Lay Public Interest Observer**|**18**|
|**Enforcement of Standards**|**20**|
|**Branches Report**|**23**|
|**Steering Group and Committee Reports**|**25**|
|**Treasurer’s Report**|**40**|
|**Association Governance**|**43**|
|**Committees of Council**|**47**|
|**Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities**|**49**|
|**Independent Auditor’s Report**|**50**|
|**Financial Statements**|**54**|
|**Notes to Financial Statements**|**58**|
|**Biographies of Council Members**|**72**|
|**New Members admitted during 2023**|**75**|
|**Notice of Annual General Meeting**|**80**|
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 OUR VISION**
**The vision of the Association of Taxation Technicians ("The Association" or "ATT") is to remain the leading educational body in the field of compliance tax law and practice.**
## **The Association's objectives are:**
## **The Coat of Arms**
(a) to advance public education in and promote the study of the administration and practice of taxation and the principles of economic and political science in relation to taxation and public finance.
- (b) (i) to prevent crime, and
- (ii) to promote the sound administration of the law for the public benefit by promoting and enforcing standards of professional conduct amongst those engaged in the provision of advice and services in relation to taxation and monitoring and supervising their compliance with money laundering legislation.
## **To do this we:**
The Arms granted to the Association in 1990 with Supporters granted in 1997.
The shield shows a gold cross, the Roman X, indicating the tithe or tenth paid in former times. The wheatsheaves represent produce or income and the sword of the Crown's officer is matched by the sword of the taxpayer's adviser. The chequered surround signifies the Court of the Exchequer which used counters on a chequered table-cloth to check calculations. Above the helm is a closed book representing abstruse written law, surmounted by an owl of wisdom. The Arms are supported by a pair of mute Swans, representing constancy, while the plant thrift grows from the banks on which they stand.
1. Set and administer tax examinations to become a Taxation Technician.
2. Liaise with and make submissions to the Revenue authorities and Government on the improvement and simplification of taxation compliance issues and relevant tax legislation.
3. Protect the public by monitoring Taxation Technicians’ compliance with regulations.
4. Provide grants to other bodies which have similar or parallel charitable objects.
5. Run conferences and training courses for members, students and the public.
6. Operate an anti-money laundering scheme under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 for members in practice.
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## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 PRESIDENT’S STATEMENT**
this year’s Tolley’s Taxation Awards. This was awarded as the result of a public vote and demonstrates the recognition of the work the Association does by the whole tax community.
Will Silsby, our recently retired Technical Officer was shortlisted for the Tax Mentor of the Year, and my fellow Council member, Ele Theochari, was shortlisted in the Taxation’s Rising Star category.
**Simon Groom reports**
My involvement with the Association spans over three decades, originating shortly after the successful completion of my tax examinations. My journey commenced with an invitation to lecture at one of the student conferences. This subsequently led to involvement with the Education subcommittee, eventually leading to a seat at the Council table. Now, as President of this esteemed organisation, I take immense pride in this, the pinnacle of my long career in tax.
Our primary charitable objective is to promote education and the study of tax administration and practice. A key aim is to provide an appropriate qualification for individuals who undertake tax compliance work, and I am pleased to say that we delivered two very successful examination sittings in 2023 with a total of 3,650 papers being sat across the two sittings – a 12.7% increase on 2022. I firmly believe that our qualifications offer excellent value for both candidates and employers alike, providing a solid foundation on which to build their tax careers.
The last twelve months have been another year of growth and achievement for ATT.
Top of the list has to be our wonderful technical team for picking up the prestigious award for Outstanding Contribution to Taxation by a Not-For-Profit Organisation at
Huge congratulations to Will and Ele, but particular credit must go to our current team of Technical Officers: Steven Pinhey, Emma Rawson, Helen Thornley, and David Wright who continue to deliver the goods, picking up more prestigious awards for the Association along the way.
One of our main charitable objectives is to ‘promote the sound administration of the law for public benefit.’
We do this by drawing on the experience of our thousands of members to help ensure that, for the public, the UK tax system is as workable and as fair as possible.
However, at the moment, calling the system ‘workable’ is a stretch. We have been outspoken about the unacceptable service levels taxpayers have had to put up with from HMRC. The problems currently faced by taxpayers, and their advisers, when trying to get in touch with HMRC are having a big impact on both businesses and individuals.
In the summer, we were surprised by the announcement from HMRC that it would pilot a new ‘seasonal model’ for the SelfAssessment helpline. By ‘seasonal model’ they meant the closure of the helpline for three months over the summer. This did little to encourage taxpayers to file their returns early!
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 PRESIDENT’S STATEMENT**
Instead, HMRC are encouraging us to make use of their digital services, including their online guidance, digital assistant, and webchat. However, we are concerned that many of those unable to find answers will turn to unofficial sources such as online forums. This increases the risk that they will receive inaccurate advice, or no advice at all, which could lead to errors, non-compliance, and more problems for both taxpayers and HMRC further down the line.
It is important that HMRC have the resources to provide the services needed by taxpayers to assist them with their filing obligations. This is something we have repeatedly called for and without which it is unlikely that services will improve.
ATT has long extolled the virtues of simplicity in the tax system. We want to ensure that all taxpayers are clear on their responsibilities, and those of HMRC. However, simplification, sadly, seems to be slipping further away.
We spoke out against the decision to abolish the Office of Tax Simplification. We asked the current government to reverse it, but they still went ahead.
Instead, we are promised that simplification will be ‘embedded’ in tax policy making. But what does this mean? We wait to see.
As all of this plays out, we are not sitting idly by. Alongside a group of other professional bodies, we wrote to the Financial Secretary in April offering our support to help Treasury and HMRC officials achieve simplification. We set out a number of processes which the government should try to introduce to demonstrate its commitment to simplification. We met with the minister in May, to try to persuade her of these.
One positive note is the announcement during the debate on the Finance Bill that the government will provide Parliament with an annual report on progress towards simplification.
Making Tax Digital (MTD) continues to be at the forefront of our Technical Team’s work.
For years we have warned that HMRC’s estimates for the scheme have vastly underestimated costs to taxpayers, and overestimated benefits to the exchequer. Now the National Audit Office has agreed.
Despite the delays that have beset MTD the project is still moving forward too quickly, with a lack of proper testing or piloting. Transferring VAT records onto HMRC’s new systems created, in one year, errors totalling more than the scheme is expected to generate by 2034! Perhaps now is the time to pause and take stock before things get further out of control.
Given my background in education, it will come as no great surprise that our primary charitable objective at the Association of ‘promoting education and the study of tax administration and practice’ is extremely important to me.
Education allows individuals to make informed decisions about what they do in life, whether it is something as significant as choosing a career, or understanding how your PAYE deductions are calculated.
For me, this is not just about our examinations, but involves a commitment to educate at all levels to ensure that we never stop learning.
Over the summer, we launched a series of 13 videos, aimed not only at our members and students, but at educating the wider public.
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## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 PRESIDENT’S STATEMENT**
Four of these are aimed particularly at children and young people – explaining what tax is, what your payslip means, about different types of working, and about the wonderful world of VAT. All of these are available in the media section of our website. If you haven’t seen them, I encourage you to check them out, share them with the young people in your family and let us know what you, and they, think about them.
In addition, our technical team and volunteers are delivering sessions in schools to help raise awareness of tax among young people, and I believe it is vital that they understand the link between taxation and the public services that we take for granted. To help, we have developed lesson plans and videos which volunteers can use in schools to both promote tax as a career and educate children as to why tax is important. Delivering sessions such as these can be hugely rewarding, so if this is something you are interested in please do get in touch.
During the year we continued with our trends of holding a mixture of face-to-face and virtual events. Council met in person twice during the year and the majority of our Steering Groups and Committees have met in person on at least one occasion.
However, we fully recognise that, for some, the virtual world is more accessible, and we continue to ensure that it is possible for our volunteers to attend meetings virtually if they prefer.
**Honorary Fellowship, Council Award and Certificates of Appreciation**
In April, the then President, David Bradshaw, hosted his reception at the London Edition. It was lovely to welcome and thank our many volunteers. During the event, a number of presentations were made to those who have
made a direct contribution to the Association, be they members or non-members.
Diane Burleigh was appointed an Honorary Fellow. Diane served as the Association’s first Lay Public Interest Observer, being appointed in 2016. She kindly agreed to extend her term of office throughout the pandemic and finally stepped down from the role in April 2023. Diane’s guidance has been invaluable, and I personally would like to extend my thanks to her.
Tanya Wadeson was presented with the Council Award for 2023. Tanya served on Council for 12 years from 2009 and is a former Chair of Member Steering Group, as well as a long serving Committee member of Sussex Branch.
Arnold Homer, a long-standing member of Technical Steering Group, was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation for his many years of service on the group.
We returned to Edinburgh in May for the Joint Presidents’ Luncheon which David Bradshaw co-hosted with Susan Ball, President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation. We were delighted to welcome our guest speaker, The Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Shona Robison MSP, and over 100 guests.
I hosted one of our two Admission Ceremonies in June, in the wonderful surroundings of the Law Society’s offices in London. Here we welcomed our newest members as well as the prizewinners from the November 2022 examinations into the ATT family.
I was struck by the fact that everyone had a different story to tell. We tend to think of new ATT members as being recent graduates or school leavers, but I was amazed to hear from
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## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 PRESIDENT’S STATEMENT**
those who had taken what might be called ‘non-traditional’ routes into the tax profession. I wish them all the very best of luck in their careers and their ATT journeys – and who knows, one or more of them may well be writing this section of the Annual Report in the future.
In September, Gary Ashford, President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, and I hosted a very successful event at the Design Museum in London, where we were able to say thank you to all the many volunteers who give freely of their time in support of the Association and the Institute. It was wonderful to welcome almost 200 people that evening, in particular, to hear their views on the work that we are doing.
## **Branch Network**
I have also been very fortunate to be able to visit a number of our branches during my Presidency, and meet as many members as possible to hear their views on the ATT. It has been a privilege to support the network that does so much for our profession, particularly as they seek to reinvigorate their in-person branch events after the pandemic. It has been my pleasure to help celebrate the 90[th] Anniversary of the Manchester branch, and the 40[th] anniversaries of the Northern Ireland, Severn Valley, and South London & Surrey branches, and I’m looking forward to visiting Sheffield, Merseyside, and Leeds in the coming months, as well as the branches conference at Warwick.
The branch network is an important part of the way that the ATT can keep up to date with the views of its members, and an effective way of providing the technical updates that our members need, so I would urge you to pay your local branch a visit to see what they have to offer and get involved.
## **Hello and Goodbye**
We welcomed three new members of Council during the year.
Paul Benton and Ele Theochari joined in April 2023, with Jamie Hooper joining in September.
Both Paul and Jamie are current branch Chairs – of Sheffield and Essex Branches respectively. Ele has a background in corporate tax. I look forward to working with them.
George Ritchie joined as our Lay Public Interest Observer in April 2023, replacing Diane Burleigh. George most recently worked for BT where his last role, before retirement in 2022, was Commitments Assurance Director, a unique independent oversight role, the purpose of which was to hold BT, and especially its senior Leadership Team, to account to live up to its commitments.
We said goodbye to three members of Council during the year: Henry Smith Langridge stepped down due to work commitments. Two long-serving Council members and past Presidents, Jeremy Coker and Tracy Easman, stepped down at the 2023 AGM. We will all miss their wise counsel and lively input to our Council discussions. Fortunately, we have not said a complete goodbye to them as Tracy is currently chair of the Joint Professional Standards Committee and Jeremy continues to serve on Finance and Technical Steering Groups.
Sue Fraser, our Executive Officer, retired at the end of the year, after almost 26 years of service. I had the pleasure of working with Sue for many years and would like to say a personal thank you to her for all the help she has given me over the years, particularly in my Presidential year where she would always ensure that I was in the right place at the right
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 PRESIDENT’S STATEMENT**
time! I look forward to working with Vicky Nicholas, Sue’s replacement, who has done an excellent job so far in managing the Presidential diary. On behalf of Council, I would like to thank Sue for all her hard work and dedication over the years and send her our best wishes for a long, happy, and welldeserved retirement.
## **Thank you**
These remain exciting times in tax. I am confident that with the help of my fellow Officers: Senga Prior (Deputy President), Graham Batty (Vice President), David Bradshaw, Katharine Lindley, and Richard Todd, and members of Council, our Chief Executive, Jane Ashton, and our versatile staff
members, we are well placed to face the challenges ahead. And I’d just like to say another personal thank you to Jane Ashton for the support and assistance that she has given me during my Presidential year.
I would also like to thank Gary Ashford, President of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, for his support. This year has seen many issues affecting both organisations and the tax profession and we have presented a united front.
Finally, I want to thank you once again for the honour and privilege of serving as your President.
**Joint Presidents’ Reception, September 2023 Sue Fraser, Joint Presidents’ Luncheon, Edinburgh, May 2023**
**Senga Prior, Deputy President / Simon Groom, President / Graham Batty, Vice President**
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## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 REPORT OF COUNCIL**
The Council members (who are the Trustees of the Charity and Directors of the Company) present their annual report to the members on the affairs of the Association together with the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2023.
## **Reference and Administrative Details**
The Association of Taxation Technicians is a registered charity in England and Wales, number 803480, and a company limited by guarantee, number 2418331. Its registered office is 30 Monck Street, London SW1P 2AP.
The names of all the Trustees, Chief Executive and professional advisers are listed on page 14.
many volunteer hours were provided in meetings during the year, but it is in excess of 6,000.
Association staff are responsible for providing efficient and effective support to all Steering Groups and Committees. With the exception of the Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, all staff are jointly employed by the Association and the Institute and the average number of employees in the year was 88 (2022: 84).
Our employee engagement survey showed that staff continue to enjoy working with us, with 88% of staff being fully engaged in their work.
## **Health and Safety**
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
The Association's governing document is its Articles of Association.
A governance statement which includes details of compliance, organisation, Trustee elections and training, audit committee, internal controls and risk assessment is set out on pages 43-46.
## **Volunteers and Staff**
It is the Association's policy to train, develop and motivate volunteers and staff, ensuring equal opportunities for all.
Members are encouraged to become involved in our activities and there are over 80 unpaid volunteers on Council, Steering Groups, Committees, Sub-Committees, Branch Committees, and Working Parties. The Association is grateful not only for the generous input from all its volunteers at meetings and other activities but also to their firms who may ultimately bear the financial cost. It is not possible to quantify exactly how
The nature of the Association's activities means that employees and volunteers do not encounter many hazards in the workplace.
As a responsible employer, the health, safety, and wellbeing of our staff receives constant management attention to ensure a safe working environment for our staff and volunteers. A general policy statement on health and safety at work is included in the staff handbook.
The ongoing responsibilities include assessment and management of areas of exposure to organisational and remote workers’ risk assessments, first aid provision, issuing statutory information, and increasing employee awareness of their role in maintaining a safe environment.
During 2023 we continued to support staff through continued access to counselling and GP services, as well as access to a wide range of wellbeing online resources and seminars. We held 4 in-person all employee meetings at
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 REPORT OF COUNCIL**
our London office to enable our homeworkers to network with office based staff.
We have reviewed our health and safety policies and information packs to ensure we remain up-to-date, and our wellbeing and learning events are well attended and liked.
## **Equality and Diversity**
The Association is committed to providing equal opportunities to job applicants, staff, students, and volunteers regardless of sex, sexual orientation, marital status, age, race, ethnic origin, religion or belief, or disability. In 2023, 62% of our staff were female and 25% from diverse backgrounds. 31% of staff worked part time. The Association seeks to conduct all its activities in compliance with this principle and in full adherence to all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination in employment or service provision and developing and maintaining a diverse workforce of staff and volunteers at all levels within the Association. All new employees undergo diversity and unconscious bias training as part of their induction.
## **Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)**
As a charitable body, the ATT is looking to make informed decisions based on the ESG credentials and how this can have a positive impact on the Association, our members, and the wider public. The ATT regularly reviews its carbon footprint, both in terms of the travel being undertaken by staff and volunteers, as well as the suppliers we use. All the hard copy publications provided to members are available as online editions and members are free to opt out of receiving the hard copies if they prefer.
## **Officers and Council Members**
Under Regulation 37.1, made under the provision of Article 27(a), up to 24 members of Council shall be elected by the members.
In accordance with Article 27(b), the Chartered Institute of Taxation is entitled to nominate one member of Council.
During 2023 the following changes took place:
- Paul Benton ATT CTA joined on 27 April.
- Eleanor Theochari ATT CTA joined on 27 April.
- Jamie Hooper ATT CTA joined on 21 September.
- Henry Smith-Langridge ATT CTA left on 30 May.
- Jeremy Coker BSc(Hons) ATT (Fellow) CTA FCCA FCA left on 13 July.
- Tracy Easman ATT (Fellow) CTA (Fellow) left on 13 July.
The other members listed on page 14 served throughout the year.
The Officers appointed at the Council meeting held on 13 July 2023 to serve from 13 July 2023 to the Annual General Meeting to be held on 11 July 2024 were Simon Groom as President, Senga Prior as Deputy President and Graham Batty as Vice President.
## **Objectives, Activities and Achievements**
The Association's objectives are: (a) to advance public education in and promote the study of the administration and practice of taxation and the principles of economic and political science in relation to taxation and public finance; (b) (i) to prevent crime and
(ii) to promote the sound administration of the law for the public benefit by promoting and enforcing standards of professional conduct amongst those engaged in the
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## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 REPORT OF COUNCIL**
provision of advice and services in relation to taxation and monitoring and supervising their compliance with money laundering legislation.
Details of the Association’s achievements and performance against objectives are given in the following reports:
- President’s Statement page 3.
The Association had five key areas of interest for the year:
- Steering Group and Committee Activities page 25.
- Public Benefit page 15.
1. _**Raising standards in the tax advice market**_
We continued our engagement with HMRC on Raising Standards in the Tax Advice Market, including responding to consultations, attending roundtables and meetings both informally and formally.
2. _**Examinations**_
- We are continuing to offer online examinations for 2024, using Exam4 and the open book format. We continuously review the format and content of our examinations, especially with the growing use of generative Artificial Intelligence such as ChatGPT.
3. _**Website**_
We have upgraded our website to the latest version of software and have redesigned some areas to make full use of the added functionality.
- Treasurer’s Report page 40.
## **Financial Review**
The net income before revaluations of investments for the year ended 31 December 2023 of £978,000 is shown in the Statement of Financial Activities on page 54. The gain on the revaluations of investment assets amounted to £153,000. A review of the Association’s financial position is given on pages 54-71
At the end of 2023, the valuation of the investment portfolio for the Association’s longer-term investments was 10% higher than at the end of 2022. The Association has asked its investment advisers to consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks as part of their investment decisionmaking process.
4. _**Tax Education**_
We have produced a series of educational videos aimed at young people to give them an understanding of taxation. We continue to promote tax as a career both to school and university leavers, as well as to those working in the financial and other sectors.
5. _**Engagement with HMRC**_ We have continued to engage with HMRC at all levels to make the system as easy and fair as possible for the general public. Particular areas of engagement for 2023 included Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self-Assessment, reform of the Basis Period rules, Natural Capital, and Tax Administration Framework.
**Donations, Legacies and other Incoming Resources**
The Association is solely supported by subscriptions and fees from members and students.
## **Grant-making Policy**
The Association does not make donations to funds of political parties. Grants can be made only to organisations with common, parallel or related charitable objectives and activities. During the year grants totaling £26,000 were paid to Tax Aid, Tax Help for Older People, and the Tax Advisers’ Benevolent Fund. Interested parties are referred to the Association’s website.
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 REPORT OF COUNCIL**
## `o` _**Disciplinary Processes**_
## **Reserves**
In 2023 the target for reserves was composed as follows:
|as follows:||
|---|---|
||**2023**|
||**£’000**|
|12 month’s budgeted costs to|3,303|
|provide financial stability and||
|enable the Association to meet its||
|commitments for a reasonable||
|period in the event of adverse||
|operatingconditions||
|To cover (i) the unpredictable|1,300|
|future costs of investigations and||
|disciplinary hearings by the||
|Taxation Disciplinary Board; and (ii)||
|the cost of improvements to our IT||
|systems and website; (iii) the||
|property costs and (iv) education||
|technology||
||4,603|
|Actual reserves at 31 December|5,602|
|2023(includingdesignated funds)||
|Surplus in target level of reserves|999|
## **Reserves Policy**
The Council has assessed the risks involved in the activities of the Association. The following reserves policy, agreed at the September 2023 Council meeting, remains in place:
- To retain a sufficient level of reserves in order to provide financial stability and the means for the development of the Association’s principal activity. The sum required is equivalent to one year of budgeted costs, which has been achieved;
- To set aside designated sums to be used for future expenditure but retain the power to reallocate these funds within unrestricted funds unless and until expended. Unrestricted funds have been designated for the following purposes:
In view of the nature of professional advice given by members, we are aware that if, for whatever reason, action is brought against members, then the costs of dealing with such action can be considerable. Although we have no indication of any significant pending actions, we maintain reserves to cover such eventualities.
## `o` _**Information technology**_
The IT infrastructure and software constantly need to be kept up to date to meet members’ and students’ requirements and expectations.
## `o` _**Property**_
We are building up a property fund for use on the expiry of the current lease.
## `o` _**Examination Development Fund**_
With the decision to keep all our exams online, we will need to invest further in remote invigilation and other resources to enable us to continue to offer students the best examination experience we are able to.
We made a surplus in 2023, which was due in part to the continuing cost-saving measures that were taken by the Association as a result of the pandemic. The move to online examinations, hybrid working, and the continuing high proportion of meetings taking place by virtual means has kept expenditure down below pre-pandemic levels. This surplus will contribute to our level of reserves and will ensure that the Association can continue over the next few years when there is expected to be a reduction in students and subsequent income due to the decline in recruitment by employers of Tax Professionals.
## **Investment Policy**
The Association's powers of investment are set out in the Articles of Association which
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## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 REPORT OF COUNCIL**
states that monies of the Association not immediately required for any of its objects may be invested. The Council has assessed the risks involved in the activities of the
Association and agreed the following:
- To regularly review the value of funds the Association requires to be held in longerterm investment and short-term liquid funds, to ensure that they are adequate to meet its obligations;
- To hold short-term liquid funds in deposits and cash or suitable short-term low-risk investments;
- To maintain an investment strategy with a medium to high risk profile (based on industry standards) for longer-term investments;
- To take independent advice on all longerterm investments; and
- To regularly review with its investment advisers the performance of longer-term investments.
Taking account of the challenging economic and market environment, the Council were satisfied with the performance of the longerterm investments in 2023.
## **Payment of Suppliers**
The Association is committed to paying suppliers promptly and aims to pay within 30 days of receiving a valid invoice, unless other specific arrangements apply.
## **Strategy: Plans for 2024**
In keeping with the Council's strategic plan, the main objectives for 2024 include:
- _**Raising Standards in the Tax Advice Market**_
We will continue our engagement with HMRC on raising standards in the Tax Advice market, including responding to
consultations and attending roundtables, formal and informal meetings.
## • _**Examinations**_
We will be reviewing our online examinations and implementing the latest technology for remote invigilation.
- _**Tax Education**_
We will work with our volunteers to deliver tax education in schools and promote tax as a career through this programme. We will produce another 12 videos to be used in schools and to educate the public about tax.
- _**Engagement with HMRC**_
We will continue to engage with HMRC at all levels to make the system as easy and fair as possible for the general public. Particular areas of engagement for 2024 include Regulation of the Tax Profession, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax SelfAssessment, reform of the Basis Period rules, Natural Capital, and Tax Administration Framework.
## **Pay Policy of Key Management Personnel**
The pay of key management personnel is reviewed annually and normally increased in accordance with average earnings. In 2023 all staff had their pay benchmarked by PayData and were awarded increases if appropriate.
## **Public Benefit**
The charity has referred to the recommendations contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing its aims and objectives and in planning future activities. In particular the Trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set. How the Association achieved its public benefit objectives can be found on page 15.
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 REPORT OF COUNCIL**
## **Money Laundering Regulations 2017**
The Money Laundering Regulations 2017 list the Association as a supervisory authority for its members in practice. The Scheme was introduced in December 2007 and practising members have been registering since that date. During 2023 the Association continued to ensure that members in practice were fulfilling their obligations under the Regulations, which included visiting members and checking their anti-money laundering policies and procedures.
## **Statement as to Disclosure of Information to the Auditor**
The trustees who were in office on the date of approval of the financial statements have confirmed, as far as they are aware, that there is no relevant audit information of which the auditor is unaware. Each of the trustees has confirmed that they have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as directors in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that it has been communicated to the auditor.
## **Annual General Meeting**
A separate notice on page 80 of this report explains the business to be considered at the Annual General Meeting on 11 July 2024.
This report was approved by the Council on 18 April 2024.
By order of the Council
**Jane E C Ashton**
Chief Executive
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 COUNCIL AND ADVISERS**
## _**President**_
Simon Groom BSc ATT (Fellow) CTA FCA (2018) (E)
_**Deputy President**_
Senga Prior ATT (Fellow) (2017) (E)
## _**Vice President**_
*Graham Batty BSc (Hons) ATT (Fellow) CTA ACA (2012) (E)
_**Honorary Treasurer**_ Katharine Lindley BEng (Hons) MPhil ATT (Fellow) CTA CFP[TM] APFS (2012) (E)
## _**Council**_
Paul Benton ATT CTA (2023) (E) *David Bradshaw BSc ATT (Fellow) CTA FCA (2015) (E) Richard Freeman LLB (Hons) ATT CTA Solicitor (2015) (E) Jacqueline Hall BA (Hons) ATT CTA FCA (2016) (E) Georgiana Head BA (Hons) MA ATT (Fellow) (2020) (E) Jamie Hooper ATT CTA (2023) (E) Barry Jefferd BSc ATT (Fellow) CTA FCA (2021) (E) Banin Oozeerally BSc (Hons) ATT CTA FCCA (2021) (E) Toyin Oyeneyin BA (Hons) MSc ATT CTA (2021) (E) Hayley Perkin BSc (Hons) ATT (Fellow) (2014) (E) Jonathan Stride ATT (Fellow) FMAAT CAT (2016) (E) Eleanor Theochari ATT CTA (2023) (E) *Richard Todd ATT (Fellow) CTA (2013) (E)
(E) - Elected Member
* Indicates Past President The year of appointment to Council is shown in brackets
## **Chief Executive**
Jane Ashton ATT (Fellow) MAPM AMBCS
## **Registered Office**
30 Monck Street, London SW1P 2AP Tel: 020 7340 0551
## **Statutory Auditor**
UHY Hacker Young Thames House Roman Square Sittingbourne ME10 4BJ
## **Investment Advisers**
## **Connected Charity**
Chartered Institute of Taxation 30 Monck Street, London SW1P 2AP
Investec Wealth & Investment Ltd 30 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7QN
## **Solicitors**
## **Bankers**
HSBC plc The Peak, 333 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 1EJ
Stone King LLP Boundary House 91 Charterhouse Street, London EC1M 6HR
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## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 PUBLIC BENEFIT**
As a registered charity we have an obligation to operate for the public benefit. Our charitable aims are to advance public education in and promote the study of the administration and practice of taxation, preventing crime and advancing the sound administration of the law by promoting and enforcing standards of professional conduct amongst those engaged in the provision of advice and services in relation to taxation.
Our Technical Steering Group (TSG) continues to work towards developing a simple and accessible tax system for all taxpayers, whether represented or not.
One area of focus for TSG in 2023 was basis period reform for unincorporated businesses. From April 2024, the existing basis period rules (the ‘current year basis’) for all unincorporated businesses will be abolished and replaced with a tax year basis of assessment. The tax year 2023/24 will act as a transitional year, as businesses switch over from the current year basis to the new tax year basis. There are complex rules for this transitional period including how to use any available carried forward overlap relief. The ATT has provided educational webinars, talks and articles to help members and the wider profession understand the changes, and provided constructive comments to HMRC regarding their communications and public facing guidance.
Accurate and comprehensible guidance is key to both agents’ and unrepresented taxpayers’ understanding of the tax system. The ATT works closely with HMRC, via the Guidance Strategy Forum. Areas of particular focus in 2023 to help shape and improve public guidance have included a 24-month project to transform guidance for small businesses, improving the format of complex technical publications and refreshing HMRC’s statement regarding reliance on their guidance. During
the year we maintained and updated our own ‘how to’ guides for members and the public on areas where we felt GOV.UK guidance was not sufficiently detailed or practical.
Along with appropriate guidance, simplification is essential if the tax system is to be readily understood and accessible to agents and taxpayers alike. With the demise of the Office of Tax Simplification, the ATT together with other professional bodies sent a letter to the Financial Secretary to the Treasury expressing concern over the growing complexity of the UK tax system and sought reassurances that simplification will continue to be embedded into both policy and operational decision making. This group of professional bodies continues to meet with members of HMRC and HMT to advance the simplification agenda and create tangible benefits for taxpayers and agents.
The ATT plays an active part in improving HMRC’s service standards as part of HMRC’s Charter Stakeholder Group. It is of fundamental importance that the Charter standards are translated into action across every section of HMRC. During the year HMRC’s Customer Compliance Group (CCG) publicised its Compliance Professional Standards setting out how CCG should apply the HMRC Charter and Civil Service values in their compliance activity. The ATT continues to monitor HMRC’s performance against the Charter and their own standards and to feed back its members’ experiences and observations.
Towards the end of 2023, the ATT engaged further with HMRC on raising standards in the tax advice market. The long-awaited consultation was issued on 6 March 2024 and the ATT will make representations built on previous consultation responses and member contributions.
P a g e | **15**
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 PUBLIC BENEFIT**
During the year, TSG submitted 15 responses to public consultations on matters ranging from reforms to the Research & Development regime and the taxation of decentralised finance involving the lending and staking of crypto assets, to tougher sanctions for promoters of tax avoidance schemes. Written and oral evidence was submitted to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee’s Finance Bill Sub-Committee as part of their inquiry into measures in Draft Finance Bill 2023-24 relating to Research and Development (R&D) tax reliefs, stop notices for promoters of tax avoidance schemes, and information required to be contained within returns. The _Technical_ section of our website carries copies of all submissions.
TSG continued to be involved in a variety of HMRC-led groups relating to the full range of UK taxes, as well as meeting on an ad-hoc basis with HMRC to discuss specific policy issues. We also continue to raise concerns about operational issues escalated from the Agent Forum. HMRC’s performance in terms of handling post and phone queries in a timely manner continues to be a major concern and is something we have raised at senior levels.
The group produced over 50 press releases during the year. These were reported extensively in tax, accountancy, and in-house publications, as well as in the mainstream media. Technical officers and TSG members have contributed tax technical articles to various publications and made a number of appearances on the BBC including local and national radio. Many of these activities were intended to draw attention to the implications for taxpayers of impending changes, or proposals that were under consideration. Such media activity can help taxpayers understand their compliance obligations and avoid errors.
TSG promotes education in tax, with members and technical officers presenting webinars on
a variety of subjects for ATT/CIOT branches, as well as contributing to the ATT annual conferences and joint events with other bodies including AAT, CIPP, and on AccountingWEB. All these events are open to members and non-members and allow attendees to ask questions and feed in comments to those presenting.
In our _Employer Focus_ publication, we highlight matters which are of particular significance for employers and employees. During the year, twelve editions were published covering topics as diverse as ‘company car verses company van’ to ‘tax incentives for occupational health’.
During 2023 technical officers represented the ATT at five in-person careers events for schools and colleges, with the aim of encouraging a wide selection of young people to pursue a career in tax. Technical officer Emma Rawson is now a Yorkshire Community Champion, aimed at raising awareness of careers in tax in Yorkshire schools.
Our open access policy means that all of those who wish to register as students may do so, regardless of their previous academic record. We offer three routes into full ATT membership: the ‘traditional’ route, the Tax Pathway, and the Level 4 Professional Tax Technician Apprenticeship. In addition, for those requiring a tax qualification at a lower level, we offer Foundation Level qualifications in Personal Tax, Business Tax, Value Added Tax, and Transfer Pricing.
To help students prepare for the examinations, we run Exam Focus and Skills Days prior to both the May and November examination sittings. These webinars are designed to help students with their revision. They cover both core and more challenging areas of the syllabus for each of the papers. Tutors guide students through past
P a g e | **16**
**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 PUBLIC BENEFIT**
examination papers, assisting with identification of issues and scenarios to produce an examination standard answer. Students who are unable to attend the live events can purchase recordings of the webinars to view at their own convenience.
Our website attracts large numbers of visitors with 821,710 page views in 2023. Our most popular article this year was about the tax treatment of software and website costs, with over 15,000 views.
The Branch Network produces a range of technical events across the United Kingdom and beyond. During 2023 many events were held online and were accessible to members, students, and members of the public across the UK. In addition to the live events, recordings are also available to purchase. Our CPD events are open to all, and details of forthcoming events can be found on our website.
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 LAY PUBLIC INTEREST COUNCIL OBSERVER**
> remit and its professional reach, assessed the threats and opportunities of Artificial Intelligence and what it means for exams, and
backdrop of a challenging economic environment. On each occasion, Council has considered carefully how to deal with these
## **George Ritchie reports**
I assumed the role of ATT Lay Public Interest Council Observer in April 2023, succeeding Diane Burleigh, who had diligently served in this capacity since 2016. I have now atended
and with the aim of ensuring the ATT’s longterm sustainability. Council has also received,
emerging issues such as cryptocurrency.
AGM. I have also atended a Council “Strategic
## **Architecture & Governance**
an online ATT Trustee Annual Training session.
(Principles 2, Leadership and 5, Board
The ATT’s governance structure undoubtedly
safeguarding of the public interest,
strategic leadership. During the year the Terms of Reference of the Steering Groups were reviewed, updated, and approved by
Charity Governance Code’s seven Principles, grouped under the following four headings.
work ongoing to develop Council members
diverse leadership of Council in years to come.
## **Organisational Purpose**
(Principle 1)
brief):
supported by the Leadership Team and the Steering Groups and Standing Commitees with the engagement between these groups
-
amiable. Council members have again this
- To prevent crime, and
- the law for the public benefit.
Charity Trustees: the exemplary level of engagement with this evidenced that Council members take their governance
described more fully elsewhere in this report,
P a g e | **18**
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 LAY PUBLIC INTEREST COUNCIL OBSERVER**
## **Ways of Working**
(Principles 4, Decision Making, Risk and Control and 7, Openness and Accountability).
Council mee�ngs usually alternate between in-person and virtual. Detailed papers, with clarity of purpose, are provided on a �mely basis, allowing adequate �me for prepara�on. There is a strong emphasis on engagement by all members at all mee�ngs and, as the year progressed, I observed some members of Council gaining confidence in contribu�ng to the debates. It has also been stressed that if – which is rare - members are unavoidably unable to atend mee�ngs, they should feed in their views in advance.
The Strategic Risk Register is updated for each quarterly mee�ng. Given the importance of Council’s role in ensuring key risks are appropriately mi�gated and managed, I welcome the slight process change to highlight for Council more explicitly any significant changes to the register and to allow more �me at mee�ngs to discuss these.
## **Culture**
Each quarterly mee�ng has received updates from the ATT/CIOT Joint EDI Commitee on delivery of the EDI Ac�on Plan. Council has also been suppor�ve and apprecia�ve of other areas of execu�ve EDI ac�vity (including for example, website accessibility and the engagement with HMRC to understand its approach to EDI and how it supports taxpayers who have protected characteris�cs). Taken together, these ac�vi�es suggest that a culture of commitment to EDI is wellembedded throughout the ATT.
In the coming year, with the support of the Leadership Team, I plan to observe mee�ngs of some of the Steering Groups to gain a more in-depth perspec�ve of how they consider the ATT’s charitable objec�ves and the public interest in their delibera�ons and in the proposals they bring to Council.
In conclusion, I extend my gra�tude to all Council members and CEO Jane Ashton for their warm welcome, openness, and willingness to engage with the perspec�ves I have brought since assuming office in April 2023.
(Principles 3, Integrity and 6, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion).
Council discussions have been conducted with integrity, with a clear focus on “doing the right thing” for all stakeholders and of respec�ng – and on delivering on – the ATT’s charitable objec�ves. This healthy culture has been evidenced, for example, in the discussions on extending the reach of the ATT’s professional qualifica�ons, where members sought assurance the proposals would be in line with the charitable objec�ves, and in discussions on engagement with HMRC including on issues such as performance levels, which have considered the public interest more broadly, (and not just the interests of ATT members).
P a g e | **19**
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 ENFORCEMENT OF STANDARDS**
February 2024 and Tom Hayhoe has been appointed as the new Chair. The Chair is currently supported by two Directors, Brian Palmer (ATT nominated) and Daniel Lyons (CIOT nominated). In addition, the Board is recruiting an independent (lay) Non-Executive Director who will be in place to attend their first TDB Board meeting in March 2024.
**Susan Humble, TDB Chair, reports**
The Taxation Disciplinary Board (TDB) is an independent body which handles complaints about alleged breaches of professional rules and conduct by members and students of CIOT and ATT.
The TDB is responsible for administering the Taxation Disciplinary Scheme (TDS), which sets out the principles and powers underlying the participant bodies’ complaints and disciplinary procedures. These procedures exist to protect the public. By maintaining and enhancing professional standards they also strengthen the standing and reputation of the tax profession and are beneficial to all members. The TDB aims to ensure it is at the forefront of best regulatory practice and is committed to an open and effective system of complaints handling and disciplinary tribunals.
Established in 2001 by the Chartered Institute of Taxation and the Association of Taxation Technicians, The Taxation Disciplinary Board Limited (TDB) is an independent body which handles complaints made regarding the professional conduct of members and students of the two sponsoring bodies.
## **Governance of the TDB**
Overall responsibility for the TDB’s administration lies with the TDB’s Board of Directors. My final term as chair ends in
The committees and tribunals appointed by the TDB are drawn from a panel of legally qualified professionals, tax professionals, and lay persons. Panel members do not have involvement with the standards setting of the two participant bodies.
During 2023 the Board employed two members of staff responsible for the management of complaints: Sarah Gardiner as Interim Head of Operations (until November 2023) and Avni Varsani as Case Manager. Nigel Bremner acts as Clerk to the Disciplinary Tribunal, responsible for the organisation and conduct of disciplinary hearings.
## **Developments in 2023**
In September 2023, TDB staff were transferred to the CIOT/ATT Professional Standards team to work under the supervision of the Head of Professional Standards. TDB staff operate in a firewalled area of the team, maintaining the integrity and independence of the TDB Process, which was paramount in the discussions surrounding and planning the move.
The Board believes that moving case management to be part of a larger infrastructure will increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the management of complaints. In November 2023 Sarah Gardner was appointed the Board’s Executive and Strategy Officer.
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## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 ENFORCEMENT OF STANDARDS**
In 2023 TDB welcomed 24 new panel members, bringing the total panel to 36 members. Several panel members completed their two terms in 2022, which gave the TDB an opportunity to refresh the panels to ensure that they remain diverse, inclusive, and fit for purpose in what is a rapidly developing regulatory market.
TDB have continued to operate a hybrid of remote working with some in-person meetings at the office in Monck Street. A successful training day was held in November 2023 with most attendees attending in person and several joining virtually. It was a wonderful opportunity to get together again, to learn and share good practice. Presentations were received from Sarah Ellson, Partner at Fieldfisher solicitors on subjects including dishonesty and recent case law.
Sarah Ellson also facilitated a discussion on the TDB’s Indicative Sanctions Guidance (ISG) which will feed into the annual review. An annual review of the ISG is included in the TDB’s operational programme to ensure that learning, both from the TDB and other regulators, is embedded in day-to-day operations.
2024 will see the introduction of the new regulations. The revisions have been thoroughly reviewed and reflect the move of case management to within CIOT/ATT Professional Standards. The regulations seek to improve the administration of complaints with, for example, the introduction of consent orders and service by email. Fines for administrative breaches will now be administered by Professional Standards, with referrals to TDB for non-payment.
## **Complaint cases dealt with in 2023**
TDB still maintains a backlog of cases, including some predating the pandemic. Progress is good, however the year-on-year increase in referrals has been a struggle for a small team. Complaints brought by members of the public make up the majority of complaints. These are particularly timeconsuming as they generally involve voluminous paperwork, can be difficult to follow and are demanding in terms of communication levels.
The TDB received 89 referrals between January and November 2023. 27 of these were made by CIOT and twelve by ATT. The remainder were made by other professional bodies, government, clients, and members of the public, and the organisations Tax Watch and Tax Policy Associates. 65 cases are at the Pre-Investigation Committee stage, of which seventeen are awaiting outcomes either from other regulatory bodies or criminal proceedings. Those seventeen cases cannot be progressed pending conclusion of the other investigations/ proceedings. Nine cases have been concluded, of which four were by payment of a fixed penalty. One complaint was withdrawn and in four cases no further action was taken, either because it was determined that the TDB had no jurisdiction on the matter complained about, or because the complaints were not sufficiently serious to merit investigation. Twelve cases have been dealt with by a fixed penalty which has not been paid and these will be referred to a Disciplinary Tribunal (DT). One case has been referred to DT and two are awaiting a decision of the Investigatory Committee. There have been seven investigations into complaints related to Anti-Money Laundering.
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 ENFORCEMENT OF STANDARDS**
During 2023 the Interim Order Panel met to consider one ATT member, no Order was made. The Investigation Committee met ten times and considered four complaints about members of ATT. Two complaints are to lie on file with no further action being taken, and the remainder have been referred to the Disciplinary Tribunal.
The Disciplinary Tribunal has met six times and considered complaints made against three ATT members. This has resulted in one member being suspended for twelve months and two members being censured.
P a g e | **22**
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 BRANCHES REPORT**
encourage greater attendance at our inperson events.
Reshma Johar agreed to Chair the Online Branch, which has a remit to work closely with our existing branches delivering a series of online events with a diverse range of speakers that complements the existing CPD programme.
## **Lynne Poyser reports**
The aim of the Branch Network is to support the ATT to deliver its aims and objectives by undertaking activities in furtherance of the public benefit, namely, education in taxation.
This is achieved by:
- the delivery of public events to further the public education of taxation matters.
- the delivery of accessible, inclusive, high quality, and affordable CPD, and bringing the profession together as a community via peer-to-peer learning and networking.
## **Community**
The Branch Network is supported by over 115 volunteers who are ATT members or students, 35 of whom are in the role of Chair or hold an Officer position. This includes 10 new branch committee members who joined in 2023.
We would like to extend our thanks to the branch volunteers who have supported the network for a number of years and have decided to step down. In some cases, to take up other roles within the Association or to make way for new volunteers in the interests of good governance and succession.
Branch volunteers met twice online and once in-person to discuss resetting and refreshing the network, which included ways to
Overall, the Branch Network delivered a total of 89 events in 2023 on a broad range of topics, including:
- Crypto Assets for Beginners.
- Alternative Dispute Resolution.
- Basis Period Reform.
- IHT and Planning for the Main Residence.
- Pillar 2 Global Minimum Tax.
- Register of Overseas Entities and HMRC.
This past year we have brought the Branch Network community together with more inperson events across the network. We were particularly pleased to see registrations from just under 250 ATT Members and 50 ATT Students at the 38 in person events delivered by the network in 2023.
Although attendance at our in-person events remains below pre-pandemic levels, feedback has been positive and we will continue to support and promote these events.
Attendance at our virtual events has remained steady, attracting just over 5,700 ATT Members and just under 800 ATT Students at the 51 webinars delivered by the network.
## **Anniversaries**
The Manchester Branch, chaired by Paul Davies, is the oldest branch and celebrated an
P a g e | **23**
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 BRANCHES REPORT**
astounding 90 years with a networking event on 4 July 2023.
Five branches were founded in 1983, and each celebrated their 40[th] anniversary.
- East Midlands Branch, chaired by Dipti Thakrar, celebrated with a day conference and dinner in Leicester.
- Members of the Northern Ireland Branch, chaired by Peter Blakeman, enjoyed a 40[th] anniversary dinner in Belfast.
- The North East England Branch, chaired by Alice Clewes, commemorated the occasion
with a networking event at Grade I listed Newcastle Keep.
- Members of the Severn Valley Branch, chaired by Gina Gardner, celebrated with a networking event in Cheltenham.
- The South London & Surrey Branch, chaired by Raja Sengupta, marked the occasion by an evening lecture followed by networking in Croydon.
I thank all the volunteers for their hard work throughout the year to provide our members with relevant CPD and networking opportunities.
**ATT President, Simon Groom, with Northern Ireland Branch members celebrating the branch’s 40th anniversary**
P a g e | **24**
**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 STEERING GROUP REPORTS**
## **Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee**
regional events programme, as well as through our leadership.
In 2023 the committee met in March, June, September, and November. They reported progress to both Councils and made good progress on the Action Plan, which included the following key aims:
- To develop an inclusive environment through initiatives such as:
## **Olayinka Iwu reports**
The Association of Taxation Technicians, along with the Chartered Institute of Taxation, has continued working on a joint three-year Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Strategy and the accompanying Action Plan, now with metrics. The EDI Strategy is available on our website and communicated widely to members and stakeholders. The Strategy has helped to ensure our shared EDI values are embedded and demonstrated across both organisations.
Working jointly with the CIOT we have developed a programme to promote and embed an EDI culture. This work was closely overseen by the joint ATT and CIOT EDI committee.
The EDI committee’s key purposes are to:
- Grow and celebrate our diverse membership and volunteer community, reflecting the UK’s cosmopolitan society.
- Increase our influence with key stakeholders and the Government.
- Improve brand awareness of the ATT and CTA community.
- ensuring the recruitment process for new trustees is as inclusive as possible - by advertising positions across a range of outlets and media, redacting information from applications that could lead to unconscious bias at the pre-interview stage and selecting a diverse interview panel.
- promoting members and students from diverse backgrounds wherever possible, such as in Tax Adviser magazine in the ‘Spotlight’ articles.
- Supporting EDI education/training for Council members.
- To embed EDI values in our work by:
- producing an inclusive language guide to support communications.
- improving the way our events are run to increase accessibility, for example, by providing a mix of in-person, online, and hybrid events, reviewing venues used for key events for accessibility, and ensuring panel members for discussions are drawn from a diverse pool. This included encouraging new speakers to come forward from our diverse membership for our New Speaker Programme.
- using a corporate inclusion calendar across both organisations which highlights dates for key holidays and festivals. Meetings of events, key
- Deliver diversity of thought and experience for our members through our national and
P a g e | **25**
**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 STEERING GROUP REPORTS**
committees, and steering groups were timed to avoid these dates, where possible.
- To build an inclusive membership base by: `o` setting up a new working group to support members returning to work after a career break.
- promoting our Member Support Services.
- production of new material and links supporting members returning to work and producing a dedicated webpage.
- contacting students who passed their exams successfully but had not applied to join as members to understand reasons why and to offer support.
- ensuring there was cross-committee support for EDI issues - the EDI committee received updates on EDI issues identified by the ATT technical committees, LITRG, External Relations Teams’ work, and Membership and Events teams.
- To inspire the next generation by: `o` ensuring our marketing and communications reflect our EDI values - for example, ensuring our publications appeal to a wide range of individuals to encourage them to consider entering the tax profession.
- To act as ‘thought leaders’ for the tax profession by:
- communicating the importance of an inclusive tax profession through articles in Tax Adviser magazine.
- developing and publishing new material and hosting events on topical EDI areas such as understanding and working with neurodiversity, the menopause, and mental health.
In addition, in February 2023 the Tax Adviser magazine website was redesigned, and we took the opportunity to update font sizes and ensure colours used are appropriate for partially sighted. Further adaptions will be considered in 2024, such as taking up some of the suggestions made in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines to increase the usability of our websites and make them accessible to people with disabilities. In the first instance we are reviewing an option to implement a specialist software to carry out regular reviews of Tax Adviser, ATT and CIOT websites against available updates in accessibility guidelines, with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
The EDI committee also discussed broader EDI issues across the industry, with reference to cases and decisions made by the UK tax tribunal system where taxpayers had protected characteristics. To learn more about this the committee invited HMRC’s EDI lead to present to the September 2023 meeting. HMRC provided helpful insight and an overview of their work and approach to EDI issues. They are focused on improving customers’ experiences, commissioning research, and collating insights on improving tax system design, and had plans for further improvements next year. The committee will follow up with HMRC next year.
At the end of 2023, the committee reviewed the areas of EDI they had covered and identified areas that had not been prioritised. They suggested actions that could be taken to address these in next year’s EDI Action Plan and will do this annually.
We welcome feedback from members and will be commissioning another student and member EDI survey in 2025.
- supporting and promoting selected ‘flag’ days such as International Women’s Day.
P a g e | **26**
**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 STEERING GROUP REPORTS**
## **Examination Steering Group**
**Graham Batty reports**
The ATT tax examinations continue to be held remotely with students and employers now very familiar with this online approach. Incremental improvements have been made to the software during the year giving students more functionality. The examinations also continue to be open book reflecting the real-world environment which candidates work in.
During the year candidates sat 3,650 papers achieving 2,760 passes. Congratulations to all of you who passed your tax exams during 2023, an overall pass rate of over 75%.
Our exam software provider is continually working on improving the system and, at present, we are working with them on an enhanced invigilation module. During 2023, our anti-plagiarism software checked for any possibility of collusion, and this will continue throughout 2024. The incidence of collusion (misconduct) is thankfully low, but we take this very seriously and will continue to make efforts to protect both the integrity of the exams and your qualifications.
During the year we saw a rise in the availability of artificial intelligence (AI) software such as ChatGPT. In common with other examining bodies we viewed this
software, which could write answers for candidates, as something which could provide an unfair advantage to some candidates. Accordingly, we changed the exam regulations and specifically prohibited the use of generative AI software in the May and November 2023 exams.
AI software is constantly developing but, at present, it is very poor at dealing with tax matters and the threat, at least for 2024, appears to be low. However, from May 2025 we are making changes to the format of the exams so that each paper will comprise between four and six long form questions, each of 15 to 25 marks, and the only non-tax element of the Certificate exams will be Professional Responsibilities & Ethics. This means that there will be no short form questions, and Accounting and Law will be removed from the Certificate exams meaning that they will be examined only via the Computer Based Exams (CBEs). The new Professional Responsibilities & Ethics manual will soon be available for students to purchase on the ATT website, and it will be examinable from 1 March 2024.
Information regarding the change of exam format from 2025 is now available on the ATT website and the Tutorial Bodies, along with the major firms, have been advised of the forthcoming changes. A Paper 1 Personal Taxation Sample Examination will be available in January 2024 to show the change in style of exam.
It is expected that, in years to come, the use of Generative AI products will become a normal part of the working lives of our exam students as their firms develop bespoke tax AI products. We will continue to keep the position under review and may incorporate Generative AI into the exams. At the moment though, it is too early to say when any such change will happen or what form it will take.
P a g e | **27**
**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 STEERING GROUP REPORTS**
On 15 June 2023 we were delighted to welcome new members and their families to the Admission Ceremony at the Law Society in London. We were also delighted to be able to present prize winners with their medals and prizes.
At the close of 2023 our contractual relationship with NCFE ended, but we will continue to promote the Level 4 Apprenticeship in Taxation with them where possible. Government funding is available for candidates studying for the ATT exams as part of the apprenticeship preparation process.
During the year there were a total of 945 students registered for our non-UK VAT Compliance Diploma (VCD) and 225 for our non-UK Diploma in Transfer Pricing (DTP). 100 VCD and 15 DTP certificates were awarded.
There was also a total of 859 students studying for our four Foundation Level qualifications in Personal Taxation, Business Taxation, VAT Compliance, and Transfer
- Pricing with a total of 60 certificates awarded. Towards the end of 2022 a new Diploma in Corporate Tax (non-UK) was introduced. 421 students have registered so far, and 121 certificates have been issued to successful candidates. A new Diploma in International Tax will be available from early 2024 and we hope this will be as successful as the other Diplomas. The Diploma will be an online qualification designed to provide tax professionals in the UAE with an overall understanding of International Tax. The course covers the basic principles of international tax, double taxation conventions, and looks at some of the antiavoidance measures currently in place. The knowledge gained from this course will provide students with an understanding of some of the issues faced by individuals and businesses operating globally.
Finally, once again, a huge thank you to our Chief Examiner, her team of examiners, and the Education Team. As I have said before, we really could not do it without you.
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| **----- End of picture text -----**
**David Bradshaw with prizewinners from the May 2023 examinations**
P a g e | **28**
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 EXAMINATION RESULTS**
|**2023 Examinations – May**||||
|---|---|---|---|
||**_No. of candidates_**|**_No.passing_**|**_Pass rate_**|
|Personal Taxation|777|554|71%|
|Business Taxation|624|472|76%|
|Business Compliance|156|135|87%|
|Corporate Taxation|193|159|82%|
|Inheritance Tax,Trusts & Estates|87|60|69%|
|VAT|70|52|74%|
|**May 2023prizes and medals were awarded as follows:**||
|---|---|
|**Association Medal**|Katherine Sasha Louise Katovsky|
|_(best overallperformance)_||
|**Tolley Prize**|Evie May Patel|
|_(highest total mark when taking all threepapers at one sitting)_||
|**President’s Medal**|Lewis Dudley-Smith|
|_(at the discretion of the President)_||
|**Ivison Medal**|Helen Knight|
|_(Personal Taxationpaper)_||
|**Jennings Medal**|Helen Knight|
|_(Business Taxationpaper)_||
|**Collingwood Medal**|Simeon Lee|
|_(Business Compliancepaper)_||
|**Stary Medal**|Emily Hurdley|
|_(Corporate Taxationpaper)_||
|**Kimmer Medal**|Isobel Ruth Kimber|
|_(Inheritance Tax, Trusts & Estatespaper)_||
|**Gravestock Medal**|Aaron Norman|
|_(VATpaper)_||
|**Johnson Medal**|Noeline Jeevitha Nelson|
|_(Computer Based Examinations in Professional Responsibilities &_||
|_Ethics, Law and Principles of Accounting)_||
**P a g e | 29**
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 EXAMINATION RESULTS**
|**2023 Examinations – November**||||
|---|---|---|---|
||**_No. of candidates_**|**_No.passing_**|**_Pass rate_**|
|Personal Taxation|529|378|
71%|
|Business Taxation|643|497|
77%|
|Business Compliance|135|115|
85%|
|Corporate Taxation|261|223|
85%|
|Inheritance Tax,Trusts & Estates|119|71|
60%|
|VAT|56|44|
79%|
|**2023 Examinations – Computer Based (1 January –**|**31 December 2023)**|||
|---|---|---|---|
||**_No. of candidates_**|**_No.passing_**|**_Pass rate_**|
|Professional Responsibilities & Ethics|605|522|
86%|
|Law|655|452|
69%|
|Principles of Accounting|578|397|
69%|
|**November 2023prizes and medals were awarded as follows:**||||
|**Association Medal**|||not awarded|
|(_best overallperformance_)||||
|**Tolley Prize**||Mariia Podosenova||
|_(highest total mark when taking all three papers at one_||||
|_sitting_)||||
|**President’s Medal**||Sophie|Louisa Wright|
|(_at the discretion of the President_)||||
|**Ivison Medal**||Megan Amy Yorke||
|(_Personal Taxationpaper_)||||
|**Jennings Medal**||James Shepherd||
|(_Business Taxationpaper_)||||
|**Collingwood Medal**||Mariia Podosenova||
|(_Business Compliancepaper_)||||
|**Stary Medal**||James Shepherd||
|(_Corporate Taxationpaper_)||||
|**Kimmer Medal**||Charlotte Buckley||
|(_IHT, Trusts & Estatespaper_)||||
|**Gravestock Medal**||Isaac Keith Dilley||
|(_VATpaper_)||||
|**Johnson Medal**|||Agata Proc|
|(_Computer Based Examinations in Professional_||||
|_Responsibilities & Ethics, Law and Principles of Accounting_)||||
|**Jean Jesty Prize**|||Owen Andre|
|(_awarded by the Worshipful Company of Tax Advisers to the_||||
|_student under 21 years of age as at 31 December 2023_||||
|_achieving the highest overall marks in the three papers and_||||
|_three Computer Based Examinations_)||||
**P a g e | 30**
**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 STEERING GROUP REPORTS**
## **Member and Business Development Steering Group**
## **Georgiana Head reports**
Member and Business Development Steering Group met three times during the year. Our March and October meetings were virtual, held by Microsoft Teams, with our June meeting being held in person at our Monck Street Office. It was great to see an almost 100% turn out for this meeting, with everyone so enjoying the chance to catch up in person and network with like-minded individuals.
Association membership continues to grow, during 2023 we admitted 582 new members and 67 new Fellows. Total membership, as at 31 December 2023, stands at 9,830 which includes 1,688 Fellows.
Ever mindful of the continuing economic climate, we introduced two new subscription categories for 2023: working, low income (income for the year ended 31 March 2022 less than £17,375) and a life membership rate for retired members who have reached state pension age by 31 December of the previous year. Take up of these two new categories has been encouraging. If you are eligible for either of these two rates, please visit the members’ section of our website and complete the form requesting to move to a new category of membership.
We were pleased to be able to continue to provide all members with the following publications: Tax Adviser; Tolley’s Tax Guide; annotated copy of the Finance Act; and Whillans’s Tax Tables. In addition, all members received the ever-popular mouse mat. As always, if you would prefer to receive electronic copies of some or all our publications, please contact our Member Services Team who will be happy to assist you.
Our website was updated to the latest version of Drupal earlier this year. We took the opportunity to refresh the appearance and rewrite large sections of the website. Visitor numbers continue to be encouraging and it is good to see new visitors arriving via links in the Technical Officers’ posts on social media. With the introduction of the latest version of Google Analytics, we can track and understand website visitors’ journeys much more closely so this will enable us to make any necessary improvements to cater for members, students, and members of the public and allow them to access the information they require quickly and efficiently, no matter which device they are using to access the website.
Our mix of in-person and virtual events seems to be working well. Our two virtual Fellows’ webinars, held in April and October, attracted about 10% of our Fellow population. Topics included cryptoassets, HMRC one-to-many letters, divorcing couples, tax issues for influencers, and R&D. As in previous years, our wonderful team of Technical Officers: Steven Pinhey, Emma Rawson, Helen Thornley, and David Wright spoke at these events and facilitated the ensuing group discussions. Our annual tax conference attracted over 300 delegates to the two virtual and one face-toface events held in the summer. Sadly, Rebecca Benneyworth has now stepped down from the lecture circuit. I would like to thank her for her support over the past year.
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 STEERING GROUP REPORTS**
Our annual events held jointly with the Association of Accounting Technicians and the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals continued to attract good numbers, and this year we also partnered with the Association of International Accountants to deliver an online webinar.
Our Admission Ceremony, held in the lovely surroundings of the Law Society, attracted new members from far and wide. It was good to welcome them and their families, including some very young family members, to this event. We also welcomed our examination prizewinners to the same event. Three of our
past Presidents, after whom some of our prizes are named, were also present and awarded their prizes in person.
We welcomed Nicola Midgley to the Steering Group, and I am delighted that my fellow Council member, Banin Oozeerally, has taken on the position of Vice Chair - I look forward to working with both over the next year. Finally, I would like to thank all members of the Steering Group for their lively discussions during the year, and the Member Services and events Teams for their continued support and putting our ideas into action.
**New members from the 2023 Admission Ceremonies**
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 STEERING GROUP REPORTS**
## **Professional Standards Committee**
ICAEW and ATT to understand how they would fulfil the requirements of both bodies. The CPD working party continued to keep the regulations under review and is looking into how Professional Standards training can be provided in an effective way for use by all members.
## **Member support**
## **Tracy Easman reports**
Members are expected to adhere to high professional standards to maintain trust in the profession by members of the public, HMRC, and other third parties. The Joint Professional Standards Committee looked at several important issues during the year as part of the continuing work to set appropriate standards and review and monitor adherence to these.
## **Rules, guidance, and member support**
## **Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII)**
Work had been completed on an update to the PII regulations and guidance during 2022 and these came into force from 1 January 2023. The updated regulations bring clarity to the requirements for firms based overseas, the retired, and those undertaking pro bono work.
## **Continuing Professional Development (CPD)**
Updated CPD regulations and guidance came into force from 1 January 2023. The guidance has been slimmed down and the update clarifies the exemptions from the CPD requirements.
During the year ICAEW updated their CPD rules so we worked on a set of frequently asked questions to assist joint members of
We were pleased to provide support to members through our helpline: standards@att.org.uk. Queries covered a wide range of issues including PII, handover of clients to new advisers, and dealing with voluntary requests for information by HMRC.
## **Raising standards**
## **Work with HMRC**
We continued to liaise with HMRC about raising agent standards, mainly through attendance at meetings with several HMRC departments.
Regulation of the tax profession continued to be under discussion, and a consultation document was issued on 6 March 2024. We look forward to further discussions with HMRC in relation to the problems which need to be addressed and the possible solutions over the coming year.
The Standard for Agents was updated by HMRC in early 2023 and we worked with other author bodies of Professional Conduct in Relation to Taxation to agree subsequent changes to the Standard.
## **Work with the Tax Tribunal Judges**
We attended the conference held for Tax Tribunal Judges and provided a brief presentation on how to raise issues with the Taxation Disciplinary Board where the Judges are aware of poor standards of behaviour from members when sitting in the Tribunals. A
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 STEERING GROUP REPORTS**
helpsheet was provided to the Judges attending.
## **Professional Conduct in Relation to Taxation (PCRT)**
PCRT continued to be kept under review especially given the work undertaken by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants and their work to introduce an ethical framework on tax planning.
ATT considered that strengthening the current system of oversight by the Office for Professional Body AML supervision (OPBAS) was the most feasible and cost-effective solution.
## **Supervision and inspection visits**
Supervision and inspection visits increased during 2023 compared with 2022, but with staff changes it has taken time to train new members of the team. We therefore expect further increases in visit numbers in 2024.
## **Compliance**
## **Enforcement**
The ATT does not simply set standards but must also monitor compliance and follow up where non-compliance is identified, including referral to the Taxation Disciplinary Board (TDB) where appropriate.
## **Annual Return**
The Annual return is a key element in checking member compliance. Members completing the form must self-certify compliance with CPD, PII, and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) obligations and respond to conduct questions including criminal convictions and disciplinary action by another professional body.
Members failing to complete a return risk referral to the TDB, and we have stepped up enforcement activity in this area.
## **CPD Audit**
The annual check of a selection of CPD records indicated a high level of compliance with this membership requirement.
## **Anti-Money Laundering (AML)**
## **The future of AML Supervision**
The ATT responded to the HM Treasury consultation on the reform of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing supervisory system which proposed four potential models for future supervision. The
Historically we have only referred members to the TDB for failure to complete renewal forms but, in line with requirements placed on us by the Money Laundering Regulations and OPBAS, we have taken a firmer line in 2023 and referred several members for late AML supervision registration and failure to deal with AML requirements.
## **Communication**
In addition to regular AML newsletters, articles in the Weekly News email and Tax Adviser magazine, we covered AML in our Professional Standards webinar in April 2023 and a further AML update in November 2023. The November webinar included guidance on the new Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) portal by the National Crime Agency. We also provided AML training as part of the TDB training day.
Our annual report on our activities as an AML supervisor was titled ‘Making AML Supervision work in a world of change’. This report is a requirement under the Money Laundering Regulations in addition to the annual report which we submit to HM Treasury.
**Office for Professional Body Anti-Money Laundering Supervision: Sourcebook update** We continue to engage with the other AML supervisors, HM Treasury, and OPBAS to meet
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 STEERING GROUP REPORTS**
the statutory requirements placed on us as supervisors. We actively take part in information sharing on financial crime threats and risks.
The OPBAS Sourcebook was updated in 2023 and we have been working through our internal policies and procedures to review them in the light of the updated requirements.
We are accountable to OPBAS for the standard of our supervision. Our inspection took pace in February 2024, slightly later than OPBAS had indicated. We await the results of their inspection.
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 STEERING GROUP REPORTS**
## **Technical Steering Group**
## **Senga Prior reports**
The Technical Steering Group (TSG) has had another varied and successful year in 2023.
There have been some changes in the composition of TSG. During the year, we welcomed Colin Lothian as a new member and said goodbye and thank you to Adela Cebotari. I remain in place as Chair and Jon Stride as Vice-Chair.
TSG is supported by its team of technical officers who, during the year, increased from three to four with the arrival of David Wright on 1 February. Their profile continues to increase, receiving the award for Outstanding Contribution to Taxation in 2022-23 by a Notfor-profit Organisation at the Tolley’s Taxation Awards in May and the silver award for Best Association Team at the Association Excellence Awards in November. Technical officers Emma Rawson and Helen Thornley have appeared on national and local radio and television several times during 2023 to discuss areas such as Budget announcements, the Autumn Statement, savings interest, and HMRC’s use of winding up petitions.
TSG had three virtual meetings during the year together with an in-person meeting during the summer. These meetings were used to discuss topical issues and oversee the work of the ATT
in ensuring that the tax system works for all. The discussions at TSG meetings feed into the drafting of responses to consultations and draft legislation and identify issues to be raised with HMRC or which require further consideration or publicity.
TSG’s VAT Sub-Group has continued to provide an excellent forum for the identification of VAT-related issues. The group draws strongly on the wide practical experience of its members. Julia Garbutt remains the group’s Chair and she is supported by technical officer, Emma Rawson. During the year Harris Bone and Mike Frost were welcomed as new members, and the group met four times. Areas of focus in 2023 have continued to centre around HMRC service standards, land and property, and VAT registration issues.
The technical team continues to engage with the wider ATT membership on technical issues. Over 40 members act as contributors, providing vital views on consultations, draft legislation, and tax administration. The technical team continues to receive a significant volume of technical queries from members. Over 150 queries were received by the technical team in the year, both via the technical inbox and directly.
Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax SelfAssessment (ITSA) continues to be of ongoing significance. Following the ministerial statement in December 2022 announcing that MTD for ITSA will not now be introduced until 6 April 2026, and then in phases, the rules have been further clarified during 2023. The position for taxpayers with income under £30,000 has been reviewed and they will not be in MTD for ITSA for now, but this will be kept under review. Other welcome changes include new exemptions for foster carers and those without national insurance numbers, making quarterly reports cumulative, and
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## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 STEERING GROUP REPORTS**
removing the requirement for a separate End of Period Statement (EOPS). The technical team engage frequently with HMRC regarding MTD for ITSA, both as part of standing meetings and informally. They have also been involved in raising member awareness, maintaining a dedicated MTD hub on the ATT website, and drafting articles for various publications. MTD will remain a focus in 2024 and beyond, with the technical team continuing to build on their strong relationships with HMRC.
The impact of reforming the income tax basis period rules continues to be an area of concern for members. Technical officer Emma Rawson has been involved in several panel events, webinars and talks on the topic, including presenting a recent webinar for the Somerset and Dorset Branch which proved immensely popular. She has also written about basis period reform for several publications and been quoted in the mainstream press. Understanding the transitional period and obtaining overlap figures remains a priority for members and their clients. The ATT also continues to engage with HMRC as they publish guidance to assist unrepresented taxpayers with the complexities of basis period reform, including GOV.UK content as well as YouTube videos.
The ATT has worked closely with HMRC helping to shape and improve public guidance, including supporting the start of a 24-month project to transform guidance for small businesses, improving the format of complex technical publications and refreshing HMRC’s statement regarding reliance on their guidance. The ATT continues to raise concerns with, and potential improvements to HMRC systems and processes via the Issues Overview Group and encourages agents to raise issues direct with HMRC via the Agent Forum.
HMRC performance standards continued to cause members problems during 2023. ATT will continue to raise concerns through appropriate channels in 2024. The technical team continues to raise practical, day to day compliance issues with HMRC as members bring them to our attention.
The ATT also played an active part in HMRC’s Charter Stakeholder Group during 2023, highlighting the fundamental importance of the Charter obligations being translated into action across every section of HMRC. During the year HMRC’s Customer Compliance Group (CCG) publicised its Compliance Professional Standards setting out how CCG should apply the HMRC Charter and Civil Service values in their compliance activity. The ATT continues to monitor HMRC’s performance against the Charter and their own standards and feedback its members experiences and observations.
ATT Technical officer Helen Thornley continues to co-chair with HMRC the Agent Digital Design and Advisory Group. This group is working on establishing a set of standards for future IT services – effectively a ‘charter’ for online services.
The ATT is highly active in a small working group looking at bereavement issues. We can raise queries directly with HMRC front-line staff and have made several improvements to guidance during the year, with further helpful changes to the process of agent authorisation in progress.
During 2023, TSG responded to 15 formal consultations, made four Budget and five Autumn Statement representations, and engaged with HMRC both in standing group meetings and informally on several issues. The ATT is represented and continues to play an active part on over 35 different HMRC groups informing decision-making and representing our members’ views.
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## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 STEERING GROUP REPORTS**
Five written commentaries were made on the draft Finance Bill legislation and a submission was made to the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee’s Finance Bill SubCommittee as part of their inquiry into measures in the draft Finance Bill 2023-24 relating to Research and Development (R&D) tax reliefs, with technical officer Emma Rawson also giving oral evidence on the changes to R&D tax reliefs, criminal sanctions for promoters of tax avoidance schemes and additional data required for returns.
The submissions and engagements are a key part in the ATT’s work towards developing a simple and accessible tax system for all taxpayers, whether represented or not. During the year, the ATT together with other professional bodies met with the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, expressing concern over the growing complexity of the UK tax system, and sought reassurances that simplification will continue to be embedded into both policy and operational decision making. This group of professional bodies continues to meet with members of HMRC and HMT to advance the simplification agenda and create tangible benefits for taxpayers and agents. A new Simplification Announcement Status Update group has been formed to provide informal feedback on simplification proposals contained in significant governmental events such as Budgets and Autumn Statements.
Promoting education in tax remains a key focus. Members of the technical team contributed to the Association’s Annual Tax Conferences, which were held in a hybrid format this year with two days being held online and one in-person event in Monck Street. These events, which combined pre-recorded and live interactive sessions, were attended by over 130 delegates, and received positive feedback.
Members of the technical team were also actively involved in two live events as part of the joint AAT-ATT Sharpen Your Tax Skills series led by new presenter, Makayla Combes, a leading tax expert. The online training sessions gave a comprehensive overview of recent regulation changes, delivered using practical scenarios and case studies, and attracted over 500 registrations.
During the year all four technical officers were involved in recording 13 short YouTube videos. These educational videos are aimed at both members and the general public and cover topics as wide ranging as what is tax, employee expenses, how to read a payslip, ATT foundation qualifications and what TSG does.
Technical officer David Wright launched the first Special Interest Group looking at the work of the One-to-Many Compliance Advisory Board (OCAB) and particularly the use of HMRC’s One-to-Many letters. Two meetings were held this year where feedback was provided to inform our work in this area. Next year a second Special Interest Group is being launched by technical officer Steven Pinhey looking at all aspects of Tax Disputes and Resolution (TDR).
In 2023, the technical officers presented several online talks and webinars. These included technical updates for the ATT/CIOT branch network covering areas such as basis period reform, MTD and the new VAT penalty regime for late submission and late payment. Technical officer Emma Rawson presented on a joint ATT and Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP) webinar looking at the latest developments in employment law and taxes.
Two webinars specifically for ATT Fellows were held in 2023. At each of these events, one of the technical officers gave a short
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 STEERING GROUP REPORTS**
presentation, and the three other technical officers then hosted discussion rooms for those attending. In total over 150 ATT Fellows attended these events.
In addition to their regular items in Tax Adviser, the technical team continues to contribute regularly to publications such as Accountancy Age, AccountingWEB and Taxation Magazine. Topical news items are frequently added to the ATT website, with over 70 items published in 2023. The team produced over 50 press releases on technical topics during 2023, many of which were relevant to the wider public as well as tax professionals. These were reported extensively in tax, accountancy, and in-house publications. Through both press releases and direct engagement with journalists, the ATT was quoted frequently in mainstream media including the Financial Times, Sunday Times, The Times, Hello! magazine and the Daily Express. The ATT was also quoted in several trade publications including Landlord Today, The Freelance Informer, Contract Floor Journal, Veterinary Time, and Opticians Magazine with articles looking at MTD delays, homeworking tax rules, trivial benefits, and basis period reform.
employees' pension contributions, and getting help with PAYE and NIC payments.
The TSG has had another productive and successful year, and this is expected to continue into 2024, when the group’s focus will continue to be on shaping MTD for ITSA, and the changes to the ITSA penalty regime as well as informing discussions around raising the standards in the tax advice market.
The technical team issues a monthly ATT Technical Round-up email to ATT Council members, TSG members and contributors. The aim of these monthly emails is to provide a short insight into the work of TSG and the technical team in the past month and highlight any areas where additional input would be particularly welcome. A version of this email is also circulated to ATT Fellows each month.
Twelve editions of Employer Focus were published in the year. Articles highlight tax and employment issues relevant to employers. During the year, these have included NIC when working abroad, paternity leave becoming more flexible, understanding
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## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 TREASURER’S REPORT**
and its resilience in the face of future uncertainty.
## **Income**
The income for the year was £3,857,000 (2022: £3,393,000), an increase of £464,000.
**Katharine Lindley reports**
## **Overview**
I am pleased to present my report as the Association’s Honorary Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Steering Group. Throughout the year, the Association has continued to focus on delivering its core activities of advancing public education in, and promoting the study of, the administration and practice of taxation and providing support to our members. This has meant continuing to deliver our examinations online and our other activities on a hybrid basis. Our prudent approach to your Association’s finances and providing good value for money remains central to our financial strategy.
## **Results for the Year**
The operating gain for the year before investment valuation movements was £978,000 (2022: £858,000). The funds of the charity at the end of 2023 amounted to £5,602,000 (2022: £4,471,000).
The result for 2023 was a good performance and builds on similar results in the last four years, but noting that the Association had incurred two years of operating deficits in 2018 and 2019. The Trustees take a long-term view and welcome the surpluses as an opportunity to build the Association’s reserves
Income from examinations and student registrations increased strongly in 2023, up £287,000 compared to 2022, an increase of 24.0%. Overall membership subscription income increased by £122,000 to £1,788,000.
With regard to membership subscriptions and fees, it remains our policy to keep any increases to the minimum necessary to achieve the Association’s budgetary objectives. Membership subscription fees were held at 2021 rates in 2022, however, as a result of the inflationary pressures in the economy, it was decided by the Trustees that there would be an increase in membership subscription rates for 2023. The increase in membership subscription fees was well below the peak in the Consumer Prices Index of 10.4% in February 2023 and fees for some classes of membership were frozen.
## **Expenditure**
Expenditure for the year amounted to £2,879,000 (2022: £2,535,000). This is an increase of £344,000.
Staff costs increased in the year as anticipated in the Association’s budget, in response to the inflationary background and in order to retain and attract staff. Staff costs increased by £286,000 to £1,326,000.
The Association shares staff and other administrative services with the CIOT which enables both organisations to benefit from economies of scale and efficiencies.
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## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 TREASURER’S REPORT**
The expenditure of the Association is in furtherance of its charitable objectives and in addition to delivering examination and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programmes, grants of £26,000 (2022: £26,000) were made in the year to charities that are aligned to our objectives.
We continue to provide our members with supportive educational resources including Tolley’s Tax Guide, Whillans’s Tax Tables, mouse mats, Tax Adviser, and an Annotated Copy of the Finance Act. Apart from the mouse mat these are all available online and members can choose not to receive the paper copies if they wish.
## **Taxation Disciplinary Board**
The professional delivery of taxation-related services requires an effective and independent disciplinary scheme to maintain the confidence of HM Government, HMRC, the business sector, and the public in our Association. The Taxation Disciplinary Board (TDB) administers the Taxation Disciplinary Scheme for both the ATT and the CIOT. Expenditure of £54,000 was incurred in 2023 (2022: £54,000) as the Association’s contribution to the TDB’s costs, and this comprises part of Member Services’ expenditure in the financial statements.
The Association maintains a designated fund to be called upon should the TDB be facing unusually complex and costly cases.
## **Reserves**
Reserves are held to provide the Association with the financial security it needs to meet its obligations and liabilities and to enable investment in new initiatives in furthering its charitable objectives.
During the year, Council reviewed the designated funds and increased the property fund by £200,000 to £500,000; maintained the disciplinary procedures fund at £150,000; increased the technology fund by £100,000 to £350,000, and increased the education fund by £100,000 to £300,000. Total designated funds at the balance sheet date are £1,300,000.
The Reserves Policy adopted by Council sets the target level of general reserves to be equivalent to a minimum of twelve months’ budgeted costs. General reserves at the end of 2023 amounted to £4,302,000 (2022: £3,571,000) which was equivalent to 15.6 months. Total Unrestricted Reserves at the end of 2023 were £5,602,000 (2022: £4,471,000). The surplus in actual reserves compared to the targeted level is £999,000 and is a result of the net income reported for the year and brought-forward reserves from 2022.
The Association keeps its activities and expenditure under regular review, and any necessary action will be taken to ensure operational efficiency and value for money. The Trustees are confident that this approach will continue to provide sustainable finances in support of its charitable aims over the medium to long term.
## **Going concern**
The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis as the Trustees are satisfied there is reasonable expectation that there are adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.
Details of the Association’s reserves are shown in the Report of Council.
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 TREASURER’S REPORT**
## **Investments**
The Association’s longer-term investment portfolio was valued at £2,252,000 as at 31 December 2023 (2022: £2,048,000). Investment income arising from the portfolio is reinvested. The Finance Steering Group meets regularly with our investment managers, Investec, and we keep our investment strategy under review annually.
## **Thank you**
I would like to record my thanks to the members of the Finance Steering Group who served during the year, as well as our Finance Team at Head Office for all their support.
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## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 ASSOCIATION GOVERNANCE**
The Association operates an independent process for recruiting Trustees. A nominations Committee reviews all applications and an interview panel comprising the Lay Public Interest Council Observer and two further members of the committee interview selected candidates.
**Jane Ashton reports**
## **Compliance statement**
The Association operates within the terms of its Articles of Association and its management is under the control of the Council of the Association. The Association is committed to business integrity and high ethical values in all its activities and the Council has overall responsibility for the Association’s internal controls. The Council has considered the guidance published by the Charity Commission and concluded that the Charity’s core activity satisfactorily addresses the principles of identifiable public benefit and demonstrates that the charity has fulfilled the public benefit requirement under Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011.
## **Council**
As at 31 December 2023 the Council comprised 17 Trustees. They provide a wide range of skills and experience. The majority are tax practitioners working in the accountancy and legal professions. They fulfil both executive and non-executive roles such that no individual or small group of individuals can dominate Council decisions. The roles of the President, Deputy President and Vice President are separate and clearly defined. The Council considers that its non-Council committee members are independent.
The Council met five times during the year to deal with Trustee business, review financial performance, strategy and risk at which there were formal agendas of matters specifically reserved to it for decision. Council papers, including an agenda, Council and committee minutes and briefing papers, are sent to Council members in advance of each meeting. Council members achieved an overall attendance rate of 93% (2022: 93%) at Council meetings. Council and committee members are required to make declarations of interest in any matter arising at meetings whenever appropriate. A Register of Council and Committee Members’ Interests is kept. Members of Council have access to the advice and services of Association staff and may take independent professional advice at the expense of the Association. There are a number of standing committees of Council to which implementation of the Association’s strategy has been delegated. Standing committees adopt the same approach to the preparation and distribution of papers for meetings. Membership of the committees as of 31 December 2023 is set out on pages 4748.
## **Election to Council**
Election of up to 24 members of Council is by the Members of the Association at the Annual General Meeting. The Chartered Institute of Taxation is entitled to nominate one member of Council. Currently this is the CIOT’s Vice President. Council is responsible for the election of the Honorary Officers.
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## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 ASSOCIATION GOVERNANCE**
New Council members, who must also be Members of the Association, are selected for what they can contribute to the Association and they must sign a declaration that they are not disqualified from acting as a Trustee as detailed in Section 178 of the Charities Act 2011. They are also required to confirm that there is no matter which they should bring to the attention of the Association which might bring the Association into disrepute. In addition, a background check is conducted by an independent company. There is a Trustee (Council member) Code of Conduct which they agree to adhere to. Trustee training is provided each year for new and existing Trustees and a Trustees’ Handbook has been issued to all Trustees.
## **Leadership Team**
In addition to the usual six meetings per year Leadership Team met every two weeks throughout the year to consider budgets and other matters.
controls, reporting requirements and risk management and is authorised to seek any information it requires from members of the Council, the external auditor and the staff. In this role it reviews:
- financial control policies and their practical implementation;
- the changes in the external environment and the procedures used to respond to them; and
- the management of any prospective risk.
It has a specific responsibility for making a recommendation to Council on the appointment and removal of the external auditor. The committee met three times during the year and requests and receives reports from management and from the external auditor on the audit. It considers annually a wide range of audit-related subjects and reports directly to the Council and comments on perceived weaknesses. No major weaknesses in internal control systems have been identified.
## **Audit & Risk Committee**
## **Council member remuneration**
The Audit & Risk Committee, a joint Committee of the Association and the Chartered Institute of Taxation, has a formal constitution and a separate budget. Its members are appointed by the Councils of the Association and the Institute and comprise a serving member of each Council, a nominee from each of the Association and the Institute and two other independent members. The Chief Executive attends all meetings. Members of the Committee, who receive no remuneration for their services although travel expenses are reimbursed, operate independently from the Council, have both accountancy and taxation qualifications and recent and relevant experience. The Committee acts as a catalyst in relation to matters that affect the Association’s financial
Council members receive no remuneration for their services as Trustees although their expenses incurred on Association business are reimbursed. There is provision in Article 6 of the Articles of Association for up to six members of the Council or former members who have served on Council in the last three years to receive remuneration for their services as a lecturer or examiner. During 2023 no members of Council were paid for their services as an examiner, or lecturer at the annual tax conferences or the joint conferences with the Association of Accounting Technicians (2022: none).
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## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 ASSOCIATION GOVERNANCE**
## **Internal controls**
The respective responsibilities of the Council and auditor in connection with the financial statements are explained on pages 50-53. The Council’s statement on going concern is set out below. There were no non-audit services provided by the auditor during the year.
The Council is responsible for the Association’s system of internal control and for taking such steps as are reasonably open to it to safeguard the assets of the Association and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities. The guidance refers to internal controls in the widest sense, including financial, operational and compliance controls and risk management.
Responsibility for managing the business of the Association rests, ultimately, with Council. However, management of the day-to-day activity is delegated to the Chief Executive and the Officers. Certain powers of the Council are delegated to committees and to the Chief Executive who are also entrusted with carrying out appropriate aspects of the Association’s strategy. An annual letter of assurance is signed by Association Executives with responsibility for the preparation of financial statements and the adequacy of internal financial compliance and non-financial controls.
Key financial and operational measures are reported on a quarterly basis and are measured against both budget and interim forecasts that have been approved and reviewed by the Council. The Council has established a clear organisational structure with defined authority levels.
internal control is designed to manage, rather than eliminate, the risk of failure to achieve strategic objectives and can only provide reasonable and not absolute assurance against material misstatement or loss.
The Council reviews the effectiveness of the Association’s system of internal controls on a regular basis by monitoring the reports from the Audit & Risk Committee and other committees.
The Council keeps under review the need for an internal audit function at the Association. The Council’s current view, supported by the Audit & Risk Committee, is that a separate function is not required, given the size and nature of the Association, the close management supervision exercised, and the attention paid to the adequacy of financial and operational controls.
## **Fundraising**
The Association does not raise funds for itself through asking for public donations in any form.
## **Risk management**
Council has delegated responsibility for the maintenance of the Association’s Risk Register to the Leadership Team. The Register has the objective of increasing stakeholders’ confidence in the integrity of the Association, strengthening the ongoing process of risk assessment, and providing a valuable management tool or framework for mitigating risks which might otherwise prevent the Association from achieving its charitable objectives.
The Council acknowledges that it is responsible for the Association’s system of internal control and for reviewing its effectiveness. As with all such systems,
P a g e | **45**
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 ASSOCIATION GOVERNANCE**
We have identified the following as our principal risks:
- Qualification fails to meet the requirements of employers and students – the examination syllabus is reviewed annually and our Employer Engagement programme ensures that the qualification remains attractive and relevant.
- Our public voice is ignored – we have strengthened our Technical Team and regularly meet with HMRC and HMT. We contribute to consultations on the development of the UK tax system to ensure that, for the general public, it is workable and as fair as possible.
- Significant loss of income, particularly from members – we survey members and the employers of our members on a regular basis to ensure that we are providing the services they want.
- IT system development – the costs associated with moving into a digital world are constantly monitored and controlled.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) – this is constantly monitored. We have reviewed our examination papers and have implemented IT systems to detect if any students are using AI in their examinations.
The development and maintenance of the Association’s Risk Register is a continuing process of refinement and integration into the management process.
## **Going concern**
The Council has reviewed the Association’s budget for 2024 and beyond and the timing of expenditure relating to its strategy and is satisfied that it is appropriate to prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis.
**Jane Ashton** Chief Executive
P a g e | **46**
**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 COMMITTEES OF COUNCIL**
**Leadership Team** Simon Groom ( _Chair_ ) David Bradshaw Senga Prior Graham Batty Katharine Lindley Richard Todd **Joint Officers and Senior Staff Forum (joint with the Institute)** _Chair alternates between Presidents_ Graham Batty Simon Groom Senga Prior David Bradshaw Katharine Lindley Richard Todd
**Audit and Risk Committee (joint with the Institute)** Laura Kaye Tomlinson* ( _Chair_ ) Graham Batty Ralph Pettengell*
**Climate Change Working Group (joint with the Institute)** Jason Collins ( _Joint Chair_ ) Mark Feldman ( _Joint Chair_ ) Toyin Oyeneyin Senga Prior
**Crypto Assets Working Group (joint with the Institute)** Gary Ashford ( _Chair_ ) Ross Bond* Jeremy Coker* Gabby Donald* Alexander Jones* Ranjit Jill Kaur* Lucy Orrow* Paul Webster*
**Digitalisation and Agent Services Committee (joint with the Institute)** Alison Hobbs* ( _Chair_ ) Sarah Ferries* James Tweedy* Tara Bell* Patrick Kelly* Morag Watson* Trevor Blackmur* Stuart Miller* Frances Edwards* Yvette Nunn*
**Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee (joint with the Institute)** Olayinka Iwu* ( _Chair_ ) Reshma Johar* ( _Vice Chair_ ) Jeremy Coker* Sylvia Hulse* Yvette Nunn* **Examination Steering Group** Graham Batty ( _Chair_ ) Angela Cairns* Vicky Hulse* Barry Jefferd ( _Vice Chair_ ) Tracy Easman* Natalie Miller* Paul Benton Jackie Hall **Finance Steering Group** Katharine Lindley ( _Chair_ ) Richard Freeman Stuart McKinnon* David Bradshaw Simon Groom Jeremy Coker* Jamie Hooper
P a g e | **47**
**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 COMMITTEES OF COUNCIL**
**Member and Business Development Steering Group** Georgiana Head ( _Chair_ ) Murat Kurt* Puregrace Rydzewski* Banin Oozeerally ( _Vice Chair_ ) Nicola Midgley* Juan Carlos Venegas* Nic Byrne* Hayley Perkin Abbie West-Kelsey* Richard Freeman Petya Petrova* Rana Zubair* Sarah Hewson* Amanpreet Purewall*
**Policy Review Group (joint with the Institute)** CIOT CEO ( _Chair_ ) Jane Ashton Graham Batty
**Professional Standards Committee (joint with the Institute)** Tracy Easman* ( _Chair_ ) Brian Palmer* Anthony Thomas* Colin Lothian* Gianluca Pin* Richard Todd Banin Oozeerally David Stedman* Juan Carlos Venegas* David Rose* Eleanor Theochari
**Tax Adviser Committee (joint with the Institute)** Yvette Nunn* ( _Chair_ ) Georgiana Head Toyin Oyeneyin **Technical Steering Group** Senga Prior ( _Chair_ ) Ann Elmer* Hayley Perkin Jon Stride ( _Vice Chair_ ) Matthew Herring* Michael Steed* Delyth Barnett* Abigail Holland* Sofia Thomas* Trevor Blackmur* Colin Lothian* Jeremy Coker* Yvette Nunn*
**VAT Sub-Group** Julia Garbutt* ( _Chair_ ) Glyn Edwards* Christopher Lewis* Ross Bond* Becky Hayes* Hugh Mitchell* Harris Bone* Matthew Herring* Michael Steed* Nancy Cruickshanks* Jamie Jarrett* Stephen Taylor*
## **Representation on committees of the Institute**
|**Education Committee**|**Examination Committee**|**Finance Committee**|
|---|---|---|
|Graham Batty|Graham Batty|Katharine Lindley|
|**Officers’ Group**|**Technical Policy and Oversight Committee**||
|Simon Groom|Senga Prior||
*indicates co-opted member
For all Joint Committees, only ATT members are listed
P a g e | **48**
**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 STATEMENT OF DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES**
The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the Financial Statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
Company law requires the Directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law the Directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the income and expenditure of the charity for that period.
In preparing these Financial Statements, the Directors are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable to the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS102);
- make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charity’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. Financial statements are published on the charity’s website in accordance with legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements, which may vary from legislation in other jurisdictions. The maintenance and integrity of the charity’s website is the responsibility of the Directors. The Directors’ responsibility also extends to the on-going integrity of the financial statements contained therein.
## **Statement of disclosure of information to the Auditor:**
The Directors who are in office on the date of approval of these financial statements have confirmed, as far as they are aware, that there is no relevant audit information of which the auditor is unaware. Each of the Directors has confirmed that they have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as Directors in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that it has been communicated to the auditor. This report was approved by Council on 18 April 2024.
By order of the Council.
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.
Jane Ashton
## **Secretary**
P a g e | **49**
**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT**
## **To the Members of the Association of Taxation Technicians:**
## **Opinion**
We have audited the financial statements of The Association of Taxation Technicians (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 December 2023 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable by law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion, the financial statements:
- give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 December 2023 and of its income and expenditure for the year then ended;
- have been properly prepared in according with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
- have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
## **Basis for opinion**
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable
company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
## **Conclusions relating to going concern**
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the accounts is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
## **Other information**
The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially
P a g e | **50**
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT**
inconsistent with the financial statements or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
## **Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006**
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
- the information given in the trustees’ report, which is also the directors’ report for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared are consistent with the financial statements; and
- the trustees’ report, which is also the directors’ report for the purposes of company law, has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
## **Matters on which we are required to report by exception**
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the
Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
- adequate accounting records have not been kept; or
- the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
- certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
- we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
- the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies’ exemptions in preparing the trustees’ report and from the requirements to prepare a strategic report.
## **Responsibilities of trustees**
As explained more fully in the directors’ responsibilities statement in the directors’ annual report, the trustees (who are also the directors for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the
P a g e | **51**
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT**
charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
**Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements**
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities including fraud, is detailed below.
_How the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities including fraud_
Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and noncompliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:
- we identified the laws and regulations applicable to the company through discussions with management, and
from our commercial knowledge and experience of this sector;
- we focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the company, including the Companies Act 2006;
- we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management and inspecting correspondence; and
- identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team and the team remained alert to instances of non-compliance throughout the audit.
We assessed the susceptibility of the company’s accounts to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:
- making enquiries of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected, and alleged fraud; and
- considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations.
To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:
- performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;
- tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions;
- assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates set out in the
P a g e | **52**
**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT**
accounting policies were indicative of potential bias; and
- investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions.
In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:
- agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation;
Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
- reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance; and
- enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims.
There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify noncompliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the trustees and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.
Tracey Moore BFP ACA (Senior Statutory Auditor)
For and on behalf of
UHY Hacker Young, Statutory Auditor Thames House Roman Square Sittingbourne Kent ME10 4BJ
## 25 April 2024
Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities . This description forms part of our auditor’s report.
## **Use of our report**
This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies
P a g e | **53**
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
**Statement of Financial Activities (including income and expenditure account) for year ended 31 December 2023**
|**December 2023**||
|---|---|
||**Note**
**Unrestricted**
**Funds 2023**
**£’000**
**Unrestricted**
**Funds 2022**
**£’000**|
|**Income:**||
|Charitable activities|3a
3,735
3,323|
|Investment income|3b
122
70|
|**Total income**|3,857
3,393|
|**Expenditure:**||
|Cost of raisingfunds|3c
14
13|
|Expenditure on charitable activities|3c
2,865
2,522|
|**Total expenditure**|2,879
2,535|
|**Operating gain**|978
858|
|Netgains/(losses)on investments|6
153
(245)|
|**Net income**|4
1,131
613|
|**Net movement in funds**|1,131
613|
|**Reconciliation of funds:**||
|**Total funds brought forward at 1 January**|12
4,471
3,858|
|**Total funds carried forward at 31 December**|12
5,602
4,471|
The above results are derived from continuing activities and all gains and losses recognised in the year are included above. The notes on pages 58-71 form part of these financial statements.
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## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
## **Registered Company Number 02418331**
## **Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2023**
|**Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2023**||||
|---|---|---|---|
||**Note**|**2023**|**2022**|
|||**£’000**|**£’000**|
|**Fixed Assets:**||||
|Tangible Fixed Assets|5|0|0|
|Intangible Fixed Assets|5|88|83|
|Investments|6|2,252|2,048|
|**Total Fixed Assets**||2,340|2,131|
|**Current Assets:**||||
|Debtors|7|902|906|
|Cash at bank and in hand|8|3,858|2,580|
|**Total Current Assets**||4,760|3,486|
|**Liabilities:**||||
|Creditors fallingdue within oneyear|9|(1,274)|(918)|
|**Net Current Assets**||3,486|2,568|
|**Total assets less current liabilities**||5,826|4,699|
|Creditors fallingdue after more than oneyear|10|(224)|(228)|
|**Net Assets**||5,602|4,471|
|**Funds of the charity: **||||
|Restricted||0|0|
|Unrestricted|12|5,602|4,471|
|**Total funds**||5,602|4,471|
Approved and authorised for issue by the Council on 18 April 2024 and signed on its behalf by:
S Groom, _President_
*The notes on pages 58-71 form part of these financial statements
P a g e | **55**
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
## **Cash flow statement for the year ended 31 December 2023**
|**Cash flow statement for the year ended 31 December 2023**||
|---|---|
||**Note**
**2023**
**£’000**
**2022**
**£’000**|
|**Net cashprovided by/(used in) operating activities**|Table A
1,222
(3)|
|Cash flows from investingactivities:||
|Dividends and interest from investments|122
70|
|Purchase of fixed assets|(15)
(83)|
|Purchase of investments|(420)
(1,808)|
|Proceeds from sale of investments|369
1,085|
|Net cashprovided by/(used in)investment activities|56
(736)|
|Increase/(decrease)in cash and cash equivalents inyear|1,278
(739)|
|Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January|2,580
3,319|
|**Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December**|Table B
3,858
2,580|
## **Table A**
|**Table A**||
|---|---|
||**2023**
**£’000**
**2022**
**£’000**|
|**Reconciliation of net income/expenditure to cash flow**
**from operating activities**||
|Net income asper the SOFA|1,131
613|
|Adjustments for:||
|Depreciation and amortisation|10
2|
|Dividend interest and investment|(122)
(70)|
|(Gains)/losses on investments|(153)
245|
|Decrease/(increase)in debtors|4
(529)|
|Increase/(decrease)/in creditors|352
(264)|
|**Net cashprovided by/(used in) operating activities**|1,222
(3)|
## **Table B**
|**Table B**||
|---|---|
||**2023**
**£’000**
**2022**
**£’000**|
|**Analysis of cash and cash equivalents:**||
|Cash at bank|(6)
6|
|Notice deposits(less than 3 months)|3,864
2,574|
|**Total cash and cash equivalents**|3,858
2,580|
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## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
## **Table C**
## **Analysis of changes in net debt**
|**Table C**
**Analysis of changes in net debt**||
|---|---|
||**At 1 January**
**2023**
**£’000**
**Cash flows**
**£’000**
**At 31**
**December**
**2023**
**£’000**|
|Cash|2,580
1,278
**3,858**|
|**Total**|2,580
1,278
**3,858**|
*The notes on pages 58-71 form part of these financial statements
P a g e | **57**
**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
## **1. General Information**
The Association of Taxation Technicians (“ATT” / “the Association”) is a company limited by guarantee (registered company number: 2418331) and registered as a charity with the Charity Commission (registered charity, England and Wales, 803480). The ATT’s registered office is 30 Monck Street, London, SW1P 2AP.
The principal activities of the Association are as a professional membership and awarding body for Taxation Technicians and promoting and enforcing standards of professional conduct.
## **2. Accounting Policies**
The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:
## _**Basis of preparation of accounts**_
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) (second edition – October 2019), “Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)”, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (January 2022) and the Companies Act 2006.
The financial statements for the year to 31 December 2023 are presented in Sterling and rounded to the nearest thousand pounds. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historic cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).
The Association of Taxation Technicians meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS102. The Chartered Institute of Taxation (registered charity number: 1037771) of 30 Monck Street, London SW1P 2AP is a connected charity but it is not subordinate to the Association and therefore consolidated financial statements have not been prepared. Further information on the relationship can be found in note 15.
## _**Accounting estimates and judgements**_
Preparation of the financial statements requires the trustees and management to make significant judgements and estimates. The items in the financial statements where these judgements and estimates have been made include:
- Estimating the useful economic life of tangible fixed assets for the purpose of determining the annual depreciation charge;
- Estimating the useful economic life of intangible fixed assets for the purpose of determining the annual amortisation charge;
- Allocation of support costs across charitable activities; and
- Estimating the recoverability of debtors for the purposes of determining the bad debt provision.
## _**Going concern**_
As detailed in the Council Members’ responsibilities statement, the accounts are prepared on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Association will continue in operation. The
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
Association’s Council Members have approved the Association’s budgets and forecasts for 2024-25 and conclude that the Association has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for at least twelve months from the date of approval of these accounts, and accordingly continue to prepare the accounts on a going concern basis.
## _**Income recognition**_
Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the item(s) of income have been met and it is probable that the income will be received, and the income can be reliably measured.
Student registration fees are not refundable and are credited to income over the period of registration with 40% recognised in the first year and 15% each subsequent year. For Tax Pathway students, the registration fees are credited to income over the period of registration with 50% recognised in the first year and 12.5% in each subsequent year.
Subscriptions, sponsorship, examination fees, and registration income are credited to income over the period to which they relate with that portion relating to subsequent years included in creditors. The date to which examination fees relate is deemed to be the date of the examination. Investment income from the Association’s portfolio of investments is credited on an earnings basis each year.
Income from donations and legacies includes grants of a general nature provided by government and charitable foundations which are not conditional on delivering certain levels or volumes of a service.
## _**Expenditure recognition**_
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:
Expenditure on raising funds comprises investment management costs.
Expenditure on charitable activities includes, but is not limited to, the cost of member services, student services, education, governance, and grants.
Other expenditure represents those items not falling into any other heading.
Irrecoverable VAT is charged at a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.
## _**Donated services and facilities**_
In accordance with Charities SORP (FRS102) the contribution of unpaid volunteers is not recognised as income in the financial statements given the absence of a reliable measurement basis. Association members and students are encouraged to become involved in the Association’s activities and there are volunteers on Council, Committees, Sub-Committees, Branches, and Working Parties. The Association is grateful, not only for their generous input, but also to their firms who may ultimately bear the financial cost.
Donated services are recognised on receipt or supply on the basis of the value, donation, or contribution which is the amount that the Association would be willing to pay or charge to obtain or supply facilities and services on the open market. Corresponding amounts are recognised as income and expenditure in the period.
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
## _**Allocation of support costs**_
Support costs are central administration costs that assist the work of the charity but are not directly allocated to charitable activities. These costs are allocated across the categories of charitable expenditure and governance costs.
The basis of allocation is given in note 3c to the financial statements. Governance costs, now included as a part of support costs rather than as a separate category, include those incurred in the governance of the charity and are primarily associated with organisational administration, and constitutional and statutory requirements.
## _**Fixed asset investments**_
Investments have been valued at fair value at 31 December 2023. The fair value of investments quoted on a recognised stock exchange is the quoted bid price. Account is therefore taken of both realised and unrealised gains in the Statement of Financial Activities.
## _**Intangible and tangible fixed assets and depreciation and amortisation**_
All single purchases of less than £1,000 (incl. VAT) are written off in full to the Statement of Financial Activities in the year of purchase unless forming part of a bulk purchase where the total is £1,000 (incl. VAT) or more, which is capitalised.
Depreciation and amortisation are calculated to write off the cost of fixed assets over their estimated useful lives on a straight-line basis as follows:
Office equipment 25%
Intangible assets relating to digitalisation of the ATT (Association of Taxation Technicians) coat of arms 20%
## _**Debtors**_
Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any discounts due.
## _**Cash at bank and in hand**_
Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.
## _**Creditors and provisions**_
Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any discounts due.
## _**Financial instruments**_
The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments and are not considered to be of a financing nature. Such financial instruments, except for investments classified at fair value through profit or loss, are initially recognised at the transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
## _**Pension costs**_
Members of staff are eligible to join the Association’s defined contribution retirement benefits scheme. The scheme provides individual pension plans which are managed by independent pension providers. The amounts charged to the statement of financial activities in respect of pension costs is the actual contribution payable in the year as part of the shared cost agreement.
## _**Foreign currencies**_
Monetary assets and liabilities in foreign currencies are translated into Sterling at the rates ruling at the balance sheet date. Transactions in foreign currencies are recorded at the rate set at the date of the transaction. All differences are taken to the Statement of Financial Activities.
## _**Taxation**_
The Association meets the definition of a charity in Schedule 6 Finance Act 2010 and accordingly is entitled to exemptions set out in Part 11 Corporation Tax Act 2010 and section 256 Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that its income and gains are applied for charitable purposes.
## _**Fund accounting**_
Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of the charity. Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the trustees for particular purposes.
P a g e | **61**
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
## **3. Analysis of income and expenditure**
## _**3a. Income from charitable activities**_
|**3. Analysis of income and expenditure**
**_3a. Income from charitable activities_**||
|---|---|
||**2023**
**£’000**
**2022**
**£’000**|
|Membershipsubscriptions|1,788
1,666|
|Entrance fees|55
45|
|Student registrations|503
402|
|Examination fees|979
793|
|Conference and event fees|48
73|
|Anti-MoneyLaunderingfees|216
197|
|Sale of books andjournal|146
147|
||3,735
3,323|
## _**3b. Income from investments**_
|**_3b. Income from investments_**||
|---|---|
||**2023**
**£’000**
**2022**
**£’000**|
|Dividend income|44
35|
|Deposit account interest|78
35|
||122
70|
P a g e | **62**
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
## _**3c. Breakdown of expenditure**_
|**_3c. Breakdown of expenditure_**||
|---|---|
||**Activities**
**undertaken**
**directly**
**£’000**
**Support**
**Costs**
**£’000**
**Grant**
**Making**
**activities**
**£’000**
**Total**
**2023**
**£’000**|
|**Charitable activities**||
|Member Services|385
934
26
1,345|
|Student Services|400
973
0
1,373|
|Promotion|43
104
0
147|
||828
2,011
26
2,865|
|**Raising funds**||
|Investment management costs|14
0
0
14|
|2023|842
2,011
26
2,879|
||**Activities**
**undertaken**
**directly**
**£’000**
**Support**
**Costs**
**£’000**
**Grant**
**Making**
**activities**
**£’000**
**Total**
**2022**
**£’000**|
|**Charitable activities**||
|Member Services|460
888
26
1,374|
|Student Services|369
711
0
1,080|
|Promotion|23
45
0
68|
||852
1,644
26
2,522|
|**Raising funds**||
|Investment management costs|13
0
0
13|
|2022|865
1,644
26
2,535|
Support costs (including governance costs) are central administration costs allocated to each activity on the same proportional basis as expenditure incurred directly and are analysed as follows:
||**2023**
**£’000**
**2022**
**£’000**|
|---|---|
|Support costs comprising:||
|Staff costs|1,326
1,040|
|Operatingcosts|276
169|
|Property|257
264|
|Governance costs comprising:||
|Audit fee|11
12|
|Legal andprofessional fees|4
30|
|Council meetings(inc. Council members’ expenses)|6
25|
|Property|23
22|
|Staff costs|108
82|
||2,011
1,644|
P a g e | **63**
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
## _**Grants payable in respect of charitable activities**_
|**_Grants payable in respect of charitable activities_**||
|---|---|
||**2023**
**£’000**
**2022**
**£’000**|
|Grants payable to tax and other charities to help meet the
core operating cost of providing free tax advice to persons
who cannot afford to pay for professional help or training
and topromotepublic understandingof tax matters||
|Tax Advisers’ Benevolent Fund (registered Charity no:
1049658)|3
3|
|Tax Aid(registered Charityno: 10622852)|10
10|
|Tax Volunteers(registered Charityno: 1102276)|13
13|
||26
26|
## **4. Net income/(expenditure) for the year**
|**4. Net income/(expenditure) for the year**||
|---|---|
||**2023**
**£’000**
**2022**
**£’000**|
|This is stated after charging/(crediting):||
|Fair value(gains)/losses on investments|(153)
245|
|Auditor’s remuneration – statutoryaudit|11
12|
|Amortisation and depreciation|10
2|
## **5. Fixed assets**
|**5. Fixed assets**||
|---|---|
||**Office**
**Equipment**
**Total Tangible**
**Fixed Assets**
**£’000**
**Intangible**
**Fixed Assets**
**£’000**
**Total**
**Fixed Assets**
**£’000**|
|Cost at 1 January2023|1
1
90
91|
|Additions|0
0
15
15|
|Cost at 31 December 2023|1
1
105
106|
|Depreciation at 1 January2023|1
1
7
8|
|Charges for theyear|0
0
10
10|
|Depreciation at 31 December 2023|1
1
17
18|
|Net book value at 31 December 2023|0
0
88
88|
|Net book value at 31 December 2022|0
0
83
83|
P a g e | **64**
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023**
## **NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
## **6. Fixed asset investments**
|**6. Fixed asset investments**||
|---|---|
||**2023**
**£’000**
**2022**
**£’000**|
|Fair value at 1 January2023|2,048
1,570|
|Disposal Proceeds|(369)
(1,085)|
|Acquisitions|420
1,808|
|Unrealisedgain/(loss)on investment assets|157
(217)|
|Realised(loss)on sale of investments|(4)
(28)|
|**Fair Value at 31 December 2023**|**2,252**
**2,048**|
|**Historical cost**|**2,086**
**1,968**|
|Listed Investments held at 31 December comprised the
following:||
|Fixed interest|302
206|
|Listed UK equities|372
496|
|Listed International equities|1,280
1,123|
|Other Assets|298
223|
||**2,252**
**2,048**|
## **7. Debtors**
|**7. Debtors**||
|---|---|
||**2023**
**£’000**
**2022**
**£’000**|
|Trade debtors|390
295|
|Other debtors|10
12|
|Prepayments|309
179|
|Accrued income|176
144|
|The Chartered Institute of Taxation|4
262|
|Other Taxes|13
14|
||**902**
**906**|
## **8. Cash at bank and in hand**
|**8. Cash at bank and in hand**||
|---|---|
||**2023**
**£’000**
**2022**
**£’000**|
|Cash at bank|(6)
6|
|Cash on short term deposit|3,864
2,574|
||**3,858**
**2,580**|
P a g e | **65**
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
## **9a. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**
|**9a. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**||
|---|---|
||**2023**
**£’000**
**2022**
**£’000**|
|Trade creditors|352
283|
|Accruals|73
131|
|The Chartered Institute of Taxation|188
0|
|Deferred Income(note 9b)|661
504|
||**1,274**
**918**|
Deferred income includes subscriptions, examination fees, and conference fees paid in 2023 but relating to future events.
## **9b. Deferred income**
||**2023**
**£’000**
**2022**
**£’000**|
|---|---|
|**Student Registration Fees**||
|Amount brought forward|377
376|
|Fees received inyear|171
148|
|Fees released to income inyear|(151)
(147)|
|Amount carried forward|397
377|
|Subscription and other fees|486
353|
|Total Deferred Income|**883**
**730**|
|Representing:||
|Within oneyear(note 9a)|661
504|
|After oneyear(note 10)|222
226|
||**883**
**730**|
|**10. Creditors: amounts falling due after one year**
|**2023**
**£’000**
**2022**
**£’000**|
|---|---|
|Student Registration Fees(note 9b)|222
226|
|Taxation DisciplinaryBoard|2
2|
|Total|**224**
**228**|
## **11. Financial instruments**
|**11. Financial instruments**||
|---|---|
||**2023**
**£’000**
**2022**
**£’000**|
|Financial Assets:||
|Instruments measured at fair value throughprofit and loss|2,252
2,048|
||**2,252**
**2,048**|
Financial assets measured at fair value though profit or loss comprise listed investments.
P a g e | **66**
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
All investments are carried at their fair value. Investments in bonds, equities, property and alternative investments are all traded in quoted public markets, primarily the London Stock Exchange. The basis of fair value for quoted investments is equivalent to the market value, using bid price. Asset sales and purchases are recognised at the date of trade at cost (i.e. their transaction value).
The significance of financial instruments to the ongoing financial sustainability of the Association is considered in the financial review and investment policy and performance sections of Council’s report.
The main risk to the Association from financial instruments lies in the combination of uncertain investment markets and volatility in yield. The Association manages these investment risks by retaining expert advisers and operating an investment policy that provides for a high degree of diversification of holdings within investment asset classes that are quoted on recognised stock exchanges. The Association does not make use of derivatives and similar complex financial instruments as it takes the view that investments are held for their longer-term total return.
## **12. Income funds: unrestricted**
||**At 01.01.23**
**£’000**
**Income**
**£’000**
**Expenditure**
**£’000**
**Gains(losses)**
**£’000**
**Transfer**
**£’000**
**At 31.12.23**
**£’000**|
|---|---|
|**Unrestricted**||
|General funds|3,571
3,857
(2,879)
153
(400)
4,302|
|Designated||
|Property|300
0
0
0
200
500|
|Disciplinary procedures|150
0
0
0
0
150|
|Technology|250
0
0
0
100
350|
|Education|200
0
0
0
100
300|
||**4,471**
**3,857**
**(2,879)**
**153**
**0**
**5,602**|
||**At 01.01.22**
**£’000**
**Income**
**£’000**
**Expenditure**
**£’000**
**Gains(losses)**
**£’000**
**Transfer**
**£’000**
**At 31.12.22**
**£’000**|
|---|---|
|**Unrestricted**||
|General funds|2,958
3,393
(2,535)
(245)
0
3,571|
|Designated||
|Property|300
0
0
0
0
300|
|Disciplinary procedures|150
0
0
0
0
150|
|Technology|250
0
0
0
0
250|
|Education|200
0
0
0
0
200|
||**3,858**
**3,393**
**(2,535)**
**(245)**
**0**
**4,471**|
Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of the charity. Designated funds comprise funds that have been set aside by the trustees for a particular purpose. The property fund will be held until December 2028, the end of the lease on the Monck Street premises. The
P a g e | **67**
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
disciplinary fund will be used and added to over time for the purpose of the Taxation Disciplinary Board. The technology fund will be used for significant investment in technology as determined by the trustees, as will the education fund.
## **13. Analysis of net assets between funds**
|**13. Analysis of net assets between funds**||
|---|---|
||**2023**
**Unrestricted**
**Fund**
**£’000**
**2023**
**Designated**
**Fund**
**£’000**
**2023**
**Total**
**£’000**|
|Tangible Fixed Assets|0
0
0|
|Intangible Fixed Assets|88
0
88|
|Investments|2,252
0
2,252|
|Cash on short-term deposit and at bank|2,558
1,300
3,858|
|Other net current(liabilities)|(372)
0
(372)|
|Creditors fallingdue after more than oneyear|(224)
0
(224)|
||4,302
1,300
5,602|
||**2022**
**Unrestricted**
**Fund**
**£’000**
**2022**
**Designated**
**Fund**
**£’000**
**2022 Total**
**£’000**|
|---|---|
|Tangible Fixed Assets|0
0
0|
|Intangible Fixed Assets|83
0
83|
|Investments|2,048
0
2,048|
|Cash on short-term deposit and at bank|1,680
900
2,580|
|Other net current(liabilities)|(12)
0
(12)|
|Creditors fallingdue after more than oneyear|(228)
0
(228)|
||3,571
900
4,471|
The total unrealised gains at 31 December 2023 constitute movements on revaluation and are as follows:
|follows:||
|---|---|
||**2023**
**£’000**
**2022**
**£’000**|
|Unrealisedgains included above:||
|On investments|572
1,563|
|Total unrealisedgains at 31 December|572
1,563|
|Financial Liabilities||
|Reconciliation of movements in unrealisedgains:||
|Unrealisedgains at 1 January|1,563
318|
|(Less)/add in respect of disposals inyear|(1,148)
1,462|
||416
1,780|
|Add/(less) gains/(losses)arisingon revaluations inyear|157
(217)|
|Total unrealisedgains at 31 December|572
1,563|
P a g e | **68**
**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
## **14. Personnel**
The Association has maintained liability insurance throughout the year to pay, on behalf of the Association or its Council, committee members, and staff, any claims for wrongful acts arising out of the conduct of the Association’s business or committed in their capacity as officers. The insurance premium paid by the Association covering both claims against the Association and the Trustees personally amounts to £17,911 (2022: £15,914).
There was an outstanding pension contribution at the year-end of £80,694 (2022: £60,472).
All members of staff, with the exception of the Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, who is employed solely by the Institute, are jointly employed by the Chartered Institute of Taxation and the Association of Taxation Technicians. All costs are initially disbursed by the Institute and an agreed proportion is attributed to the Association.
The average number of joint employees is 88 (2022: 84) and the number whose salary and benefits in kind, including termination payments, fell within the following scales as follows:
||**2023**
**2022**|
|---|---|
|£60,001-£70,000|14
12|
|£70,001-£80,000|6
3|
|£80,001-£90,000|4
8|
|£90,001-£100,000|6
1|
|£100,001-£110,000|3
5|
|£110,001-£120,000|2
0|
|£120,001-£130,000|1
0|
|£140,001-£150,000|1
1|
Total staff costs:
|Total staff costs:||
|---|---|
||**2023**
**£’000**
**2022**
**£’000**|
|Salaries|4,560
4,028|
|National Insurance|492
450|
|Pension costs|444
403|
||5,496
4,881|
Key management personnel is defined as those persons having authority and responsibility for planning, directing, and controlling the activities of the entity directly or indirectly. The key management personnel of the Association of Taxation Technicians comprised Chief Executive, Director of Education, and Chief Finance Officer. The total employee benefits and remuneration (including pension contributions) of the key management personnel during the year was £439,710 (2022: £399,392).
P a g e | **69**
**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
The values for total staff costs and key management personnel represent the full value, and not the amounts attributable to the Association.
## **15. Related party transactions**
Council members receive no remuneration for their services as trustees. The Articles of the Association state that reasonable and proper remuneration can be made to any member or former member in his capacity as an examiner or lecturer, providing no more than six persons, being members of the Council or former members who served in the Council in the previous three years, shall benefit from this provision in any calendar year. No Council member was remunerated in the year (2022: £nil). The Lay Public Interest Council Observer receives remuneration, and their remuneration for the year was £2,783 (2022: £1,500). Council members’ travelling expenses are reimbursed in respect of expenses incurred on Association business.
In the year ended 31 December 2023, 8 Council members claimed reimbursement of expenses totaling £10,464 (2022: 8 claimed a total of £5,540). Payments made directly to third parties in relation to trustee accommodation and subsistence were £3,189 (2022: £nil). Expenses waived by trustees in 2023 were immaterial (2022: immaterial).
Council members pay subscriptions on the same basis as other members.
## _**The Chartered Institute of Taxation**_
The Institute is a connected charity in that it has common, parallel, or related objects and activities and unity of administration with the Association. All employees, with the exception of the Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, who is employed solely by the Institute, are jointly employed by the Institute and the Association. Labour, operating, and overhead costs borne by the Institute on behalf of the Association are charged to the Association on a quarterly basis using a simple and equitable formula agreed by both parties.
At a meeting of the Officers of both parties it was agreed that the current formula would continue with a review annually. The total allocation for the year is £1,777,603 (2022: £1,484,404) and the balance outstanding due from the Institute to the Association at the balance sheet date was £3,712 (2022: £261,936 due to the Institute by the Association). The balance outstanding due from the Association to the Institute at the balance sheet date was £188,246 (2022: £nil).
## _**The Taxation Disciplinary Board**_
The Association and the Institute have an agreement with the Taxation Disciplinary Board, a company limited by guarantee and managed by an independent board of directors. Neither the Association nor the Institute exercise any significant influence over the operating and financial policy of the Board whose object is to administer the Taxation Disciplinary Scheme. The Association’s contribution to costs
P a g e | **70**
**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
in the year was £54,000 (2022: £54,000). The amount due to the Taxation Disciplinary Board from the Association of Taxation Technicians at the balance sheet date was £1,933 (2022: £1,933).
P a g e | **71**
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 BIOGRAPHIES OF COUNCIL MEMBERS**
## **Graham Batty**
Age 67. Graham joined Council in 2012. He is the Association’s Vice President. He
previously served as the Association’s President in 2017-18. He chairs Examination Steering Group and serves on Audit & Risk Committee and the Policy Review Group. He is a former Chair of both the Leeds and Birmingham and West Midlands Branches. He became a member of the Association in 2005 and was appointed a Fellow in 2015. Graham qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1983 and became a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation in 1986. He is a former Associate Director at RSM, where he specialised in the taxation of charities and other not for profit bodies.
## **Richard Freeman**
Age 48. Richard joined Council in 2015. He chairs Nominations Committee and serves on Finance and Member and Business Development Steering Groups. Richard currently chairs the HMRC Branch and is a former Chair of Birmingham and West Midlands Branch. He became a member of the Association in 2015. Richard qualified as a solicitor in 2000, and as a Chartered Tax Adviser in 2003. Richard works for HMRC as a Deputy Director Compliance, for the Large Business Directorate in Customer Compliance Group. Prior to joining HMRC he has worked in leading legal and accounting firms.
## **Simon Groom**
## **Paul Benton**
Age 44. Paul joined Council in 2023. He became a member of the Association in 2015 before qualifying as a Chartered Tax Adviser in 2016. He serves on Examination Steering Group and also chairs the CIOT/ATT Sheffield Branch Committee. Paul works in practice at Haigh & Co Accountants based in Doncaster as Head of Tax and acts as treasurer to a local youth charity.
## **David Bradshaw**
Age 68. David joined Council in 2015. He is the Association’s immediate past President. David is a former Honorary Treasurer and Chair of Finance Steering Group. He still serves on Finance Steering Group. At various intervals over the past 20 years David has been Chair, Treasurer and Secretary of the North East England Branch. 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 provides corporation tax administration services for a number of North East businesses.
Age 60. Simon joined Council in 2018 and is the Association’s President. He serves on Finance Steering Group and Nominations Committee. Simon is a former member of Business Development and Member Steering Groups and Audit & Risk Committee. He became a member of the Association in 2003. Simon qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1987 and as a Chartered Tax Adviser in 1991. Simon has worked for LexisNexis since 2006, where he headed up their newly formed Tolley Exam Training. Having had various roles along the way, he now enjoys a part time role as a Senior Tutor.
## **Jacqueline Hall**
Age 62. Jacqueline joined Council in 2016. She serves on Examination Steering Group and is a former Chair of Hull Branch. She became a member of the Association in 2016 and is a Chartered Tax Adviser and Chartered Accountant. Jacqueline is a Partner with RSM, providing business and tax advisory and compliance services to owner managed businesses, large employers, and individuals.
P a g e | **72**
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 BIOGRAPHIES OF COUNCIL MEMBERS**
## **Georgiana Head**
Age 50. Georgiana joined Council in 2020. She chairs Member and Business Development Steering Group and serves on Tax Adviser and Nominations Committees. Georgiana qualified as an ATT member in 1997 and trained with Price Waterhouse before moving into tax recruitment. In 2007 she set up Georgiana Head Recruitment Ltd. Georgiana specialises in recruiting tax professionals across the North of England. She is a committee member of ‘Women in Tax’ for Leeds and Manchester Branches. She is also a frequent contributor to the tax press.
## **Katharine Lindley**
Age 50. Katharine joined Council in 2012. Katharine is the Association’s Honorary Treasurer and chair of Finance Steering Group. She is a former chair of Member Steering Group. She became a member of the Association in 1999 and was appointed a Fellow in 2012. Katharine is a Chartered Tax Adviser, a Chartered Financial Planner, and a Chartered Fellow (Financial Planning) of the Chartered Institute for Securities and
Investments. She is Head of Advice at EQ Investors and provides financial planning advice.
## **Banin Oozeerally**
## **Jamie Hooper**
Age 45. Jamie joined Council in 2023. He became a member of the Association in 2000 before qualifying as a Chartered Tax Adviser in 2008. He serves on Finance Steering Group and chairs the CIOT/ATT Essex Branch Committee. Jamie has experience of personal, corporate, and international taxes and in 2009 took over management of his family firm proving taxation and accounting services to SMEs and HNW families.
## **Barry Jefferd**
Age 63. Barry joined Council in 2021. He is Vice Chair of Examination Steering Group and is a former chair of Mid-Anglia Branch. Barry trained with a City of London practice where he qualified as a chartered accountant and a Chartered Tax Adviser. Barry became a member in 2009 and he is also a member of the Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners. Barry is a Senior Partner with George Hay. He advises on the complete range of taxes although he particularly enjoys Capital Gains Tax, Inheritance Tax and property and land transactions.
Age 40. Banin joined Council in 2021. She is Vice Chair of Member and Business Development Steering Group and serves on the Joint Professional Standards Committee. She became a member of the Association in 2015. Banin is also ACCA and CTA qualified. She works in practice and has all-round experience in accounting and tax matters for individuals, owner-managed businesses, and start-up companies.
## **Toyin Oyeneyin**
Age 37. Toyin joined Council in 2021. She chairs the CIOT/ATT New Tax Professionals Committee and serves on the Tax Adviser Magazine Committee. She became a member of the Association in 2012 and is also a Chartered Tax Adviser. Toyin has experience across practice and industry, accounting, tax, and finance. She is a Tax Specialist and Product Manager for Octopus Investments, having joined Octopus from her previous role as a Senior Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
P a g e | **73**
## **ANNUAL REPORT 2023 BIOGRAPHIES OF COUNCIL MEMBERS**
## **Hayley Perkin**
Age 38. Hayley joined Council in 2014. She serves on Member and Business
Development and Technical Steering Groups. Hayley is Vice Chair of the joint CIOT and ATT Crypto Asset Working Group. She also represents ATT on HMRC's Employment and Payroll Group. Hayley became a member of the Association in 2009 and a Fellow in 2020. She works in practice as a senior tax manager at KPMG, specialising in employment taxes.
## **Senga Prior**
Age 59. Senga joined Council in 2017. Senga is the Association’s Deputy President. She chairs Technical Steering Group. Senga is ATT’s spokesperson for Scottish taxes. She also represents ATT at the Scottish Devolved Taxes Collaborative and attends quarterly meetings between ATT, CIOT, ICAS and the Scottish Government. Senga is the ATT Representative on the Issues Overview Group and the Representative Bodies Steering Group. Senga became a member of the Association in 2002 and a Fellow in 2017. She works in practice as a senior tax manager for Johnston Carmichael specialising in personal tax. She has a particular interest in technology and accounting software.
## **Jonathan Stride**
Age 62. Jon joined Council in 2016. He is Vice Chair of Technical Steering Group and is also a member of the Somerset and Dorset Branch Committee. Jon became a member of the Association in 2005 and was appointed a Fellow in 2016. He is also a Fellow member of the AAT and holds the ACCA CAT qualification. Jon is an Accounting and Tax Senior with a firm in Dorset.
## **Eleanor Theochari**
Age 29. Ele joined Council in 2023. She became a member of CIOT in 2020 and a member of ATT in 2023. Ele serves on the Joint Professional Standards Committee. She is a Corporate Tax Adviser, specialising in R&D Tax Credits. She leads the R&D tax function as a partner at Blick Rothenberg, where she is responsible for overseeing the delivery of all clients’ R&D claims. Ele was a finalist in Tolley’s Taxation Awards 2022 and 2023 in the Taxation’s Rising Star category and was awarded a coveted place in the 2022 Accountant’s Age’s 35 under 35.
## **Richard Todd**
Age 57. Richard joined Council in 2013. He is a past President of the Association. He is a former chair of the Joint Professional Standards Committee and of the 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.
## **Chief Executive: Jane Ashton**
Age 56. Jane became a member of the Association in 1993 and was appointed a Fellow in 2011. She is a member of the Association of Project Managers, a Member of the Institute of IT and she is a former member of the Association's Council. Jane was previously with HMRC where, over a 30year period, she held various posts gaining considerable experience in tax, tax technical and soft skills training, internal audit, marketing and communications, online services, tax policy, business architecture and project management.
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 NEW MEMBERS ADMITTED DURING 2023**
## **Abdul Hamid** Amr
**Abhat** Sohini **Adams** Bradley **Adamson** Daniel **Addicoat** Adele **Addo** Kofi **Ahmad** Rizwan **Aitchison** Thomas **Aitchison** Debbie **Akinrinade** Ann **Ali** Adam **Ali** Fay **Ali** Bilal **Ali** Samina **Ali** Nadia **Allag** Nabil **Andrews** Rebecca **Archer** Scarlett **Arthurs** Lucy **Ashby** Steve **Ashford** Phoebe **Atoyan** Ella **Attwal** Ramnik **Austin** Daniel **Ayers** Chloe **Backler** Adam **Bagol** Kamran **Bain** Maximilian **Baker** Kane **Baker** Joshua **Baker** Antonia **Baker** Samuel James **Ballamy** Beatrice **Barker** Laura **Barraclough** Bradley **Barrowclough** Mark **Bartkowski** Mateusz **Bartleet** Jonathan **Bates** Kathryn **Batting** Michelle **Bean** Michel **Bean** Saul **Begum** Ritha
**Bell** Michelle **Benham** Holly **Benton** Megan **Beresford** Sophie **Berman** Alexander **Berry** Christopher **Berxulla** Nevila **Best** David **Bhatti** Shareen **Bibi** Mariam **Biddle** Jessica **Biseem** Seth **Biswas** Pramit **Blaney** Megan **Bletcher** Emily **Bolton** Madison **Booker** Sarah **Borkowska** Ewelina **Borrie** Emma **Bowker** Robyn **Bowyer** Liam **Brazier** Scott **Breen** Michael **Briscoe** Julie **Brooker** Nicola **Brough** Sarah **Brown** Steven **Bulygin** Vasily **Burke** Ann-Marie **Burles** Naomi **Burrell** Freddie **Burrows** Lucy **Burton** Tamsin **Butcher** Antonia **Butterworth** Luke **Butterworth** Thomas **Cairns** Laura **Campbell** Christopher **Canham** Alex **Canty** Dylan **Carmichael** Lucy **Carter** Lewis **Cass** Lauren
**Cassidy** Stephen **Catlin** Richard **Chaja** Agata **Chan** Crystal **Chan** Matthew **Chapagain** Ansil **Chauhan** Shubha **Chawla** Eva **Cheeseman** Laura **Chong** Kah Wai **Choudhary** Rajwant **Choudry** Ahad **Chudasama** Anjanaben **Chun** Hye Sung **Clark** Lyudmila **Clements** Rachel **Cleminson-Jones** Kim **Clohessy** Jack **Collington** Dylan **Collishaw-Darby** Elliot **Coney** Ryan **Conway** Daniella **Cook** Caroline **Cotton** Edward **Coutts** Anna **Crawford** Matthew **Crawford** Rebecca **Crocker** Nicola **Cropper** Scott **Cross** Daniel **Crouch** Genevieve **Cullen** Amanda **Cummings** Jodie **Curran** Michael **Danks** Kieran **Davey** Charlie **Decmar** JacobFrancis **Denholm** Alexander **Denny** Matthew **Derienzo** Robert **Devlin** Jordan **Dhuria** Tajinder **Din** Iqra
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 NEW MEMBERS ADMITTED DURING 2023**
**Ding** Xuejie **Dixon** Gareth **Dodgson** Craig **Donkin** Laura **Doran** Philippa **Dorotic** Darko **Doughty** Emmie **Dragu** Melanie **Drummond** Mairi **Dubiel** Agnieszka **Dunn** Jaxom **Dunne** Shannon **Dunne** Emma **Duns** Suzanne **Durrant** Ramona **Dyer** Lewis **Ebenezer** Oliver **Eck** Katherine **Eddie** Sarah **Ellard** Sophie **Ellis** Lewis **Eltringham** Kate **Elwan** Youssef **Emberson** Wendy **Emery** Vikki-Louise **Emery** Oliver **Fairhall** Emma **Farmer** Edward **Farrell** Rory **Feeley** Livia **Ferguson** Christopher **Ferrigno** Alexander **Fish** Benjamyn **Fisher** Cameron **Forest** Olivia **Forsyth** James **Fountain** Danny **Fowler** Alec **Franzen** Karl **Freed** Suzanne **Funchion** Shannon **G** Saraswathi **Gafoor** Naheyan
**Gage** Rhys **Gajdosova** Diana **Garner** Alicia **Gear** Alex **Germain** Connor **Ghiassi** Yasmine **Gidley** Rees **Gill** Thomas **Gjilani** Melisa **Goddard** Hugh **Golland** Charlotte **Goncalves** Armando **Goodhand** Connor **Goodwin** Cory **Grant** Scott **Grant** Alistair **Grant** Katy **Greaves** Corin **Green** Oliver **Green** Harry **Greenall** Brandon **Gregg** Liam **Grewal** Ashwin **Gribbin** Julia **Grieveson** Connie **Griffiths** Tracey **Grimwood** Guy **Griner** Chloe **Grota** Katarzyna **Groutage** Lucy **Gupta** Garima **Gwyther** Ben **Hadjiphilippou** Fotini **Hall** James **Hall** Reka **Hall** Emma **Hallowell** Samuel **Hands** Henry **Hanly** Peter **Hanna** Dylan **Harding** William **Harding** Roger **Hardman** Benjamin
## **Harle** Ben
**Harrison** Louise **Hayden** Daniel **Hedley** Adam **Hegarty** Robert **Henderson** Oliver **Herbert** Katie **Hersi** Mohamed **Heslop** Holly **Hewavitarne** Jasmine **Hicks** Laura **Higgins** Laurel **Hill** Callum **Hill** Rhiannon **Hindlet** Phoebe **Hnatova** Dasa **Hollingworth** Shane **Holmes** Matthew **Hopes** Benjamin **Hopkins** Lillie **Hopkinson** Zoe **Hoskins** Ashleigh **Houlihan** Anna **How** Sara **Hudson** Grant **Hughes** Ellie **Hughes** Sean **Hulbert** Luke **Humphrey** Suzanne **Hunt** Emily **Hunter** Chiara **Hurdley** Emily **Hussain** Toheed **Hutchison** Jennifer **Hyne** Jamie **Ikudehinbu** Omobolanle **Inamdar** Mudassarnajar **Ion** Oana-Mihaela **Irimpen** Nishanth **Irwin** Jack **Ivan** Dorina **Jablonowska** Joanna **Jackson** Chloe
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 NEW MEMBERS ADMITTED DURING 2023**
**Jamieson** Grace **Jasinska** Marta **Jhandad** Amir **Jing** Linhan **Johns** Amy **Jones** Edward **Jones** Lindsay **Jones** Matthew **Jones** Sam **Kang** Prabhdeep **Kapoor** Aatreyie **Karimji** Aziz **Kashyap** Vinay **Kasim** Abiola **Katovsky** Katherine **Kavanagh** Oliver **Kavi** Kishan **Kean** James **Keets** Daniel **Kellett** Samuel **Kellett** Ross **Kelly** Caelan **Kelly** David **Kenton** Josh **Khan** Hafeeza **Khan** Waqas **Khan** Tabassum **Kharkowa** Bilal **Khatun** Raihana **Kinney** Jonas **Kipling** Danielle **Klaff** Meyer **Knight** Francesca **Knight** Liam **Knowles** Roy **Kouris** Michael **Kozlowski** Piotr **Kreaa** Yasmina **Kukebal** Eerik **Kumar** Ranjith **Kwiatkowska** Liwia **Kwok** Hiu Kwan Danae **Kyriacou** Christina
**Labanca** Zakary **Lam** Hoi Yan Kinki **Lam** Jessica Ka-Wing **Lambert** Adam **Lane** Katy **Lau** Alastair **Law** Carmen **Lawry** Matthew **Lawrynowicz** Klaudia **Leddy** James **Lee** Morgan **Lee** Rachel **Lee-MacGregor** Jessica **Leslie** Rachel **Levine** Joshua **Li** Fengyi **Liang** Yuyan **Liddell** Max **Lim** Patricia **Linnell** Kain **Lisle** Charlotte **little** James **Liu** Yan **Lonergan** Jack **Long** Karen **Lord** Jayne **Lowe** Hannah **Lunn** Jack **Luo Banjai** Lilly **Mackenzie** Abbi **Mackie** James **Maclennan** Annie **MacMillan** Anne **Madekwe** Sanyu **Magon** Rohan **Majkut** Elzbieta **Manning** Tracy **Martin** Travis **Martin** Jasmine **Martis** Ivan **Masters** Connor **Mawson** Sarah **May** Tyler
**McCormack** Millie **McDonnell** Stuart **McElhatton** Eve **McGrath** Liam **McKinney** Lindsay **McKnight** Finella **McLoughlin** Aaron **McMillan** Alexandra **McMinn** Arianne **McPhee-Cox** Amber **Measures** Lily **Meddings** Lee **Mendes** Sharrel **Menon** Anju **Mercer** Emma **Metcalfe** Yasmin **Milburn** Lewis **Millington** Nicholas **Mills** Julia **Mills** Joseph **Misiewicz** Sylwia **Mistry** Nishant **Mohamed** Yonis **Mohan** Dhanya **Montague** Charlotte **Montgomery** Rachel **Moore** Debbie **Moore** Ruth **Morrison** Rebecca **Mottley** Nicholas **Mountford** Oliver **Mudagal** Mahantesh **Murphy** Nathanael **Mydlo** Agnieszka **Nagaraj** Balaraj **Napper** Ryan **Naseeruddin** Mohammed **Naylor** James **Ndangana** Shaughn **Needham** Dean **Nelson-Akajagbo** Okeme **Nevens** Lucy **New** Jessica
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 NEW MEMBERS ADMITTED DURING 2023**
## **Ng** Kia
**Nguyen** Linh **Niemeyer** Elizabeth **Ning** Huan **Noble** Gemma **Norquoy** Charlie **North** Katy **Northam** Amy **O'Callaghan** Georgina **Ofori** Lois **Ogilvie** Claire **O'Hara** Sean **Ottley** Ryan **Paczka-Little** Marzena **Pai** Prathibha **Pal** Subhojit **Pal** Praveen **Palmer** Aaron **Parize** Lucy **Parmar** Katerina **Parr** Thomas **Partner** Oliver **Patel** Roshan **Patel** Karina **Patience** Lauren **Patil** Archana **Pekarovicova** Veronika **Perry** Jennifer **Peter** Mariya **Phillips** Gemma **Pirie** Gareth **Polson** Sasha **Press** Ashley **Pressland** Alexandra **Proc** Agata **Proko** Desara **Pryer** Olivia **Pullen** Andrew **Puvanendrarasah** Inthumathy **Quartermain** David **Quinn** Megan **Radia** Ram **Raheem** Mohammed
**Rasheed** Henna **Ratnappuli** Krishan **Rees** Connor **Renton** Joanne **Restall** Paige **Reyland** Deborah **Richardson** Jack **Rickels** Anne-Marie **Ridha** Mustafa **Rigas** Christos **Rivers** Philip **Riyaldeen** Fathima Zainab **Roberts** Joanne **Roberts** Kieran **Roberts** Ffion **Robinson** Jack **Rose** David **Ross** Daniel **Rossiter** Ellie **Rubens** Amy **Russell** Oscar **Russell** Julieanne **S A** Thrupthi **Saddique** Imania **Sadek** Muhammad **Saeedzada** Loreta **Saffhill** Regan **Said** Nisreen **Sajan** Pawandeep **Sakowicz** Urszula **Samphier** Philippa **Samuel** Gemma **Sangarathas** Nilaksiga **Sapsford** Rebecca **Saunders** Alexander **Savundra** Rudolf **Schwabe** Louise **Scott** Anna **Scott** Claire **Scrivins** Kate **Seccombe** Chris **Serrano** Mycah **Seymour** Helena
**Shadangi** Neeraj **Shafi** Zayba **Shah** Careen **Sharma** Akshay **Sharp** Jasmine **Sheepwash** Alexander **Shepherd** Elle **Sherlock** Caroline **Shimla** Samiha **Shipton** Sarah **Shirley** Samuel **Shirran** Abbie **Shrimpton** Andrew **Sinaevschi** Alexandru **Singh** Shakthi **Singh** Gursewak **Singh Dhadwar** Aman **Smallwood** Victoria **Smith** Emily **Smith** Brandon **Smith** Suzannah **Smith** Katie **Smith** James **Smith** Carmen **Smithers** Rosemary **Stables** Laura **Stewart** Rebekah **Straughan** Ben **Stuart** Kirsty **Sturgeon** Richard **Styles** Lence **Sunderji** Sabera **Sunny** Abhilash **Suresh** Kushal **Suresh Babu** Supriya Jadhav **Sutor** Abigail **Sweenie** Kyle **Swinden** Louis **Talwar** Davinder **Taylor** Alice **Tebbutt** Elli-ann **Tegg** Lewis **Telko** Iuliia
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 NEW MEMBERS ADMITTED DURING 2023**
**Thakrar** Priyesh **Thapa** Deepak **Theobald** Amber **Theochari** Eleanor **Thomas** Sion **Thompson** Michael **Thomson** Alexandra **Tingley** Alexandra **Tivey** Amy **Tong** Lin **Townsend** Jaime **Trevor** Jason **Tuer** Alastair **Turner** Shalena **Udokporo** Onyekachi **Underdown** Rebecca **Unwin** Sophie **Vaghela** Akshay **Vallance** Robert **Varsani** Cheryl **Vaskeviciene** Erika **Vaswani** Nikhil **Vatti** Nithin Reddy **Venugopalan** Saranya **Viney** Heidi **Vivers** Joel **Wales** Lewis **Wang** Shuijing **Waterfall** Joshua **Waters** Chloe **Waters** Tom **Watson** Kevin **Watson** Mark **Watts** Lauren **Webster** Jack **Wehling** Marcus **Wells** Harry **Wells** Jamie **Wetherall** Adam **White** Madeline **Whitehall** Agnieszka **Whittingham** Andrew **Whittingham** Robert
**Wilkins** Hayley **Wilkins** Jaime **Williams** Daniel **Willshaw** Jacob **Wilson** Andrew **Wilson** Michael **Wilson** Lee **Wilson-Mills** Alexandra **Winmill** Arthur **Wint** John **Witkowska** Magdalena **Woolhouse** Emma **Worwood** Nicola **Wrightson** Luke **Wyllie** Darren **Yates** Guinevere **Yeardley** Juliette **Yeomans** Emily **Yue** Guiyun **Yusuff** Rilwan **Zaman** Laura **Zaman** Amilah **Zaraiah** Daniel
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**ANNUAL REPORT 2023 NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING**
**Notice is hereby given that the thirty fifth Annual General Meeting of the Association of Taxation Technicians will be held on Thursday 11 July 2024 at 14:00.**
**To register for this virtual meeting, please visit: www.att.org.uk/agm2024**
Ordinary Business
**1.** To receive and adopt the Report for Council for 2023.
**2.** To receive and adopt the audited Financial Statements of the Association for the year ended 31 December 2023.
**3.** Re-election of Council members who retire under Regulation 43:
- **3a.** Graham Batty
- **3b.** David Bradshaw
- **3c.** Richard Freeman
**4.** Re-election of a Council member who retires under Regulation 38:
- **4a.** Jamie Hooper
**5.** To appoint UHY Hacker Young as the auditor of the Association.
By order of the Council
## **Jane E C Ashton**
Chief Executive 30 Monck Street London SW1P 2AP
**Notes** :
- a) A person entitled to attend and vote is entitled to appoint a proxy or proxies to attend and on a poll to vote instead of him or her. A proxy must be a Member of the Association.
## **18 April 2024**
- b) A person who has appointed a proxy may nevertheless attend the meeting and vote, in which case any votes cast by the proxy will be superseded.
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