Tax advisors are top earners - European experts wanted

It is no secret that jobs in some areas of investment banking pay extremely well. Million dollar payouts for top credit derivatives traders or top originators raise few eyebrows. It is less well known that a small number of accountants working in the secretive area of 'tax driven finance' are earning sums that would leave even credit derivatives traders agog.

Tax driven finance (also known as structured tax finance or optimisation finance) refers to the practice of reducing tax liabilities for corporate clients. Tax liabilities in one country are offset against tax credits in another.

Practitioners often put together complex debt and repurchase agreements, known as repo structures, to help clients benefit from differences in national tax rates. Some earn up to 10rn a year, say search consultants.

For the best in the field, at least, there are still jobs around. Rachel Dickens, a headhunter at recruitment firm Executive Resourcing Group, said: 'It is a very buoyant recruitment market. Corporate and financial institutions alike need good tax advice whether there is an economic downturn or not.'

Another senior headhunter, who wanted to remain anonymous, confirmed there were vacancies: 'There is a lot of recruiting in this area. Successful teams are looking to add talent and trying to expand in terms of new business areas. A few players are also looking to establish new teams.'

Just as headhunters working in the tax driven finance sector like to preserve their anonymity, so do the main players. Facilitating tax avoidance, legal though it may be, carries a certain stigma.

As a result, successful tax schemes are not widely publicised. But headhunters say top banks in the market include Barclays Capital and Deutsche Bank.

Most teams are based in London. The market has traditionally focused on structures based on arbitraging between tax systems in London and the US. However, future growth is likely to involve continental Europe. As a result, banks are hiring tax experts from Italy, Germany and Spain.

Dickens said: 'There is a big push into Europe now. Most of the big banks are building European teams.'

Few jobs in the sector are advertised, and most senior positions tend to go a close knit group of individuals.

To work in tax driven finance, it is usually necessary to have a tax accountancy qualification, such as an ACA, or perhaps a first degree in Law and Taxation (LLB). People also need to be creative.

One headhunter specialising in the area said: 'You need to be very smart and a very strong communicator. You need a love of structuring and complex analytical situations. And you need to read 4 tax manuals over a cup of coffee on Sunday morning.'

Giving up Sunday mornings may be worth the sacrifice. Margins earned on tax driven finance work are high, and this is reflected in very generous pay. According to headhunters, top earners in the sector are on 5m--10m a year.

People lower down the hierarchy are also rewarded well. Vice presidents at top houses can earn 750,000 or more.

Entry level positions for newly qualified tax accountants start at 60-70,000 basic, plus a bonus.