A move away from repetitive tasks that will eventually be automated – towards attractive consultancy projects. Many tax firms have exactly this in mind, but they lack the right staff. This is because many of the new projects fall within new professional fields, such as Digitalisation consultancy. Is traditional recruitment in the tax sector even effective? Or do law firms need to look much more widely in other professional fields? Paul Liese discussed this with Martin Setnicka, a member of the Management Board at Taxelerate and a digitalisation expert, on „hsp live at 11“.

Martin worked at the Austrian Ministry of Finance for many years before setting up his own consultancy firm. He now sits on the Management Board of Taxelerate. Martin anticipates major changes in the tax sector over the coming years, particularly in terms of digital transformation. He shares the view of many colleagues that an increasing range of services will emerge and that the consultancy aspect will become ever more important and extensive. Due to automation and similar developments, some tasks will no longer be carried out by people in the future. There will be a need for people who can drive the sector forward and help shape its future.

According to Martin, higher-value roles will not only remain important but will become even more so. At the same time, a new profession has emerged: the digital translator. This person translates specialist content for the IT sector. They must be able to work alongside IT specialists. For example, they must have a command of the technical vocabulary used in the tax sector in order to make it understandable to the IT side.

Recruitment is changing

But what sort of people apply for a job advert seeking a „digital translator“? A large proportion of these roles require IT skills. This transformation presents an opportunity to attract young people into the tax sector. In future, not everyone will necessarily have to come from a tax background or be well versed in figures and legislation to find a job in a tax practice. From an organisational point of view, it can be an advantage if the person is already part of the company. For example, staff from other departments can be moved into a company’s tax department.

What does Martin recommend when it comes to recruitment? Within the sector, countless firms are competing for a small pool of available talent. Does it make sense to look outside the sector for talent from other fields? Martin has identified initial trends from studies suggesting that it might be worthwhile to bring in IT experts from other fields into the tax sector. There are already cases where tax specialists are working alongside automation experts to digitise their processes – with success. At present, requirements are constantly changing. One question will be how to retain talent within the firm in future. Younger generations tend to keep all their options open and remain flexible. Firms should therefore create an environment in which these new professionals can find their freedom whilst the firms benefit from their output.

Talented people, too, expect more these days

Do law firms need to address digitalisation? On this point, Martin has observed that, at least in Austria, there is a wide gap between progressive and conservative law firms. Just recently, Martin visited a law firm where supporting documents were still being delivered in shoeboxes and entered manually into a form. Other law firms, by contrast, are already taking a very innovative approach and are keen to explore the latest digital possibilities. An important point from Martin: law firms will not be able to retain young people from Generation Z in particular if they have to spend the whole day typing up receipts.

There will always be law firms and tax specialists who resist this transformation. The decision is, and always will be, a matter for each individual. However, recent developments show that law firms open to innovation can reap many benefits. Whether these take the form of time savings, advantages in recruiting the best talent, or increased turnover through more lucrative projects.