Tax Manager

Starr Insurance Companies is a leading insurance and investment organization, providing commercial property and casualty insurance, including travel and accident coverage, to almost every imaginable business and industry in virtually every part of the world.
Cornelius Vander Starr established his first insurance company in Shanghai, China in 1919. Today, we are one of the world’s fastest growing insurance organizations, capable of writing in 128 countries on 6 continents.

Role Purpose

• Assisting with the preparation and submission of the vast majority of tax returns for Starr’s UK and European operations;
• Liaising with tax advisors who support Starr across Europe;
• Assisting with the design, documentation and testing of taxation internal controls leading to supporting annual SAO submission and other regulatory requirements; and
• Assisting with the consolidation, improvement, automation and standardisation of existing tax processes from across the UK and European operations.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Assist the Head of Tax by preparing (in conjunction with the external tax advisors) corporation tax returns for the UK and European entities (including European location branches).
• Maintain and improve (in conjunction with the external tax advisors) transfer pricing files, reflecting the operations of the company and its branches.
• Maintain the tax risk register and populating mitigating controls.
• Designing, documenting and reviewing tax controls, used to support general risk management.
• Produce payment on account estimates for periodic settlement to HMRC and European Tax Authorities.
• Production of periodic VAT returns for the UK and European entities.
• Production of periodic IPT returns and submissions via TMF, for the UK and European entities.
• Assist the Head of Tax, Finance Director and Financial Controllers in managing taxation activities relating to the UK and European operations of Starr.
• Implementing and ensure compliance with taxation regulatory changes, such as BEPS Pillar 2.
• Liaise with internal and external auditors to ensure that all taxation information required is produced to a high degree of accuracy and in a timely manner.
• Assist the Head of Tax, together with liaising with the Finance team, with the review of existing reporting processes to improve automation and efficiency; and reduce risk.
• Assist with the production of tax disclosures in the statutory accounts and other regulatory reporting.
• Design and development of process improvements in collaboration with the Finance team to ensure the efficient and accurate production of data.
• Consolidation, improvement, automation and standardisation of existing tax processes from across the UK and European operations.
• Support the Head of Tax to ensure the UK and European operations meet Starr Group reporting deadlines whether these are statutory, regulatory or fiscal, by review of tax deliverables.

Experience

• Post qualification experience;
• Industry experience, within an insurance company, favourable;
• Working knowledge of Tax accounting under UK GAAP &/or IFRS;
• Working knowledge of corporation tax requirements imposed by HMRC for insurance companies;
• Working knowledge of VAT requirements imposed by HMRC for insurance companies;
• Working knowledge of IPT requirements imposed by HMRC for insurance companies;
• Experience with Lloyd’s Syndicates as well as insurance companies;
• Awareness of similar tax regimes in European locations (e.g. Malta, Switzerland, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Slovakia, Czech Republic, etc.); and
• Experience in improving and maintaining taxation accounting procedures and systems.

Skills

• Advanced analysis and problem solving;
• Advanced numeracy;
• Advanced organisational skills;
• Pragmatic and balanced judgment and decision making;
• Professional business writing/presentation skills;
• Able to work effectively in a matrix reporting environment where inter-play to US tax department, local CFO and Malta Financial Controller will be prevalent;
• Ability to liaise with external tax advisors;
• Able to identify process improvements; and
• Risk Management.

Systems & IT

• Microsoft Office: advanced Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook; and
• Experience with accounting software.
• Experience using Data Warehouse tools.

Qualifications

• ACA or CTA or similar qualification. 

Starr is an equal opportunity employer, which means we'll consider all suitably qualified applicants regardless of gender identity or expression, ethnic origin, nationality, religion or beliefs, age, sexual orientation, disability status or any other protected characteristic. We recruit and develop our people based on merit and we're committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We offer first class training and development opportunities to all employees. Our aim is to grow our own talent and bring out the best in people.