This time we’re speaking to Gurpreet Pawar, our latest recruit to the Claritas Tax team. Based in our Birmingham office, Gurpreet has joined our hugely successful Transactions Tax team as Manager.
We spent five minutes with Gurpreet finding out more about her work experience, what working in Australian tax is like and what she likes to do at the weekend away from the world of taxation.
Gurpreet, welcome to Claritas and thank you for finding the time in your first week to take part. Let’s start with a simple question to begin with –
Q1: Why Transaction Tax, what is it about the particular area of tax that interests you and what experience will you be bringing to Claritas?
I chose Transaction Tax because it is fast-paced and a challenging area of tax which really keeps me on my toes and enhances my technical knowledge on a daily basis.
No transaction is ever the same and that’s what I love most about the job. Having previously worked in a Big Four firm in Birmingham my experience is broad, and I’ve worked with several clients across a variety of sectors which has allowed me to build experience in working with both private equity and corporate clients which I think I will be able to leverage at Claritas.
Q2: Back in 2019, you took part in a secondment to Australia with a former employer, how does Australian tax legislation compare to the UK, and what was your greatest takeaway (not food) from your secondment?
Surprisingly, the Australian tax legislation is loosely based on UK tax legislation which made it a great deal easier to get to grips with!
I focused mainly on corporate tax whilst I was working in Sydney but had some exposure to Goods and Services Tax (“GST”) and employment taxes too. I will admit that GST was slightly harder to get my head around!
The biggest takeaway from my secondment is the confidence I built. I became much more confident in my UK tax knowledge (as I quickly became the ‘UK- go to’) but I also built my personal confidence both inside and outside of the workplace.
Q3: You also have a sports leadership qualification, what does that entail and are there any synergies between team sports and Tax?
I actually completed this qualification alongside studying for my GSCEs, so it most certainly taught me how to multitask which I think is a key skill needed in Transaction Tax!
The qualification involved running a series of sports events and coaching sessions which allowed me to work with a range of individuals which gave me the opportunity to start learning how to adapt my learning and teaching styles, another skill we definitely need in Transactions.
I could go on, but I won’t bore you with the details!
Q4: What do you do to relax at the weekend to forget about the day job?
I love spending time with my family and friends so that’s who you will usually find me with on the weekends. I do enjoy playing sports and netball and tennis are my favourites so I try to get out and play with friends as much as I can.
