About

The Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) is the leading professional body for those providing tax compliance services and related activities in the UK. Our members are qualified by examination and practical experience to assist individuals and businesses in complying with their tax obligations. Members come from varied backgrounds and with very different prior experience.

The ATT was formed in 1989 to provide a qualification for those engaged in tax compliance. The creation of the Association grew out of the development of taxation as an independent professional activity in its own right and the clear need for a qualification specifically related to the field of tax compliance.

The Association’s examination provides an excellent basis in UK taxation together with the relevant law and accountancy principles. A successful examinee – who also fulfills the practical experience criterion – acquires through membership of the Association the qualification ‘Taxation Technician’ and use of the designatory letters ATT. Fellowship of the ATT denotes the letters ATT (Fellow). The ATT qualification provides a solid foundation from which to build a future career in taxation or related fields.

Management of the Association

The affairs of the Association are directed and managed by a council, supported by committees and working parties. The largest is the Member Steering Group, one of whose primary aims is to ensure that the Association is responsive to the needs of present and future members, those who employ them and those who use their services. Members of the council and the committees give considerable amounts of their time to the Association, on a voluntary basis.

Members

An increasing number of members are using their ATT qualification to practise in their own right and to provide taxation compliance services directly to the public.

Since admitting its first members in January 1990, the Association’s growth in membership has exceeded all expectations. Many members hold a qualification from another professional body and have seen the ATT as a natural addition. The largest source of members, however, comprises those engaged in tax compliance. Increasingly, the Association is recognised as the professional body for this growing group of tax practitioners.

Since 1 January 2011 members of the ATT who have obtained 10 years’ membership have been able to apply to become Fellows of the ATT using the post nominals ATT (Fellow) and the title Taxation Technician (Fellow).

Members have use of the Institute’s Tony Arnold Library, which is situated at King’s College, London, including access to theses and bodies of work written by successful candidates for CIOT Fellowship and a number of online databases.

Values and support

All members are subject to an ethical code that governs their professional conduct. Reported breaches of the code, or failings in the quality of service, are referred to the Taxation Disciplinary Board. This is an independent organisation established by the Association and the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) to handle all complaints against members of both bodies. If the alleged breach of ethics or standards is established by the Disciplinary Committee of the Taxation Disciplinary Board it can impose penalties or, in a serious case, exclusion from membership.

ATT members have direct professional access to members of the General Council of the Bar in England and Wales, the faculty of Advocates in Scotland and members of the General Council of the Bar in Northern Ireland. Members also have access to a counselling service with regard to professional and personal issues.

Professional development

The Association organises a yearly members’ conference that is taken to different venues around the UK as well as a number of one-day and half-day seminars. The Association also offers two student training conferences each year, run in spring and autumn in preparation for the May and November examination sessions. These are held in conjunction with The CIOT.

The Association also has branches throughout the UK, catering to the requirements of the members and students within their areas with technical and social activities.

Learn more about ATT qualifications here.

Alternative qualifications

The ATT has worked with other professional bodies and employers to create a new Higher Apprenticeship programme in tax which is closely aligned with the requirements of the existing ATT professional qualification, enabling Apprentices to secure that professional award as part of their Apprenticeship.

The programme will provide employers with a new model for recruitment and development from a broad, diverse talent pool, particularly aimed at young people leaving school or college aged 18. The programme will equip apprentices with the range of technical knowledge, broader business skills and competencies they need to be productive employees in the professional services. If you have any other queries, contact [email protected]

Publications and communications

The Association publishes, with the CIOT, a monthly journal called Tax Adviser and the manual Essential Accounting for the Tax Practitioners. In addition to this, the Association publishes the Essential Law for Tax Practitioners, which forms the basis for the Law E-Assessment.

Tax Adviser, a journal which all members receive as one of the benefits of membership, includes technical articles, current tax notes, details of recent tax cases and news from the Institute and Association. Members also receive an annotated copy of the annual Finance Act or Acts, an annotated copy of other tax acts or publications as the council may decide (this currently includes a copy of Tolley’s Tax Guide).

The Association communicates regularly with its membership and its students through the website and by email and through the monthly ATT Members’ News and quarterly Students’ Newsletter, emailed to all registered students. Newsworthy items and technical topics of note are released to the professional press and general media.