The largest tax educator in the Netherlands is Het Register Belastingadviseurs (RB). The institution provides tax training at higher vocational level and offers a wide range of training options. Training is provided from the basic tax consultant training to the master tax consultant. In addition, students can obtain a tax degree at the University of Groningen (RUG) within two years.
Task Head of Training
Mrs. M. Smit is head of training at the Register of Tax Advisers. She focuses on streamlining all existing courses and thinking about new courses. She looks at what is going on in the market, is in contact with other organizations and tries to find out what the tax profession needs in the field of training. Among other things, it is fed with information by – and the Register Tax Advisers is part of – the professional organization Register Tax Advisers with over 7,000 members. Partly this professional organization indicates the needs that exist.
Knowledge directly applicable
The head of study underlines the great value that the training institute attaches to students being able to apply the acquired knowledge directly. In order to achieve that goal and to be able to guarantee it, RB does everything it can to always keep up to date with everything that relates to the field.
For example, the RB has:
- a professional technology bureau that keeps an eye on all developments and is immediately aware of new legislative proposals;
- a very large network of employees of universities and tax consultancies;
- lecturers all working in the field, some as tax inspectors, others as tax advisers or university lecturers.
Practical training
The training courses that the RB provides are not only bad practical with great attention to:
- theory;
- case law;
- policy statements,
but also with knowledge that directly applicable is in practice. The RB students often already work as a tax adviser, accountant or in the business world and can immediately put what they learn into practice.
Offering handles
The Register of Tax Advisers is constantly thinking about how it can provide its members with the best possible service and how the prospective members (all students are prospective members) can be trained as well as possible, so that in practice they have all the tools to help their customers.
As an example, Ms. Smit indicates that the Register of Tax Advisers:
- has started tax refresher courses for people who have completed their training some time ago;
- offers an extensive Permanent Education program.
Tax refinancing courses
Developments continue in the field and advisers must keep up to date. It is also possible that someone’s customer base changes; that the advisor will specialize and focus more and more on, for example, corporate tax. Then it is useful when such a person can follow a training or course in that specific field.
Permanent education
In the spring and autumn, the Register of Tax Advisers offers an extensive Permanent Education Program. These are short (tax) courses that are not only accessible to members but also to others.
Education tailored to the customer
This includes:
- the in-company training courses. For example, the RB is conducting in-company training in agrofiscal matters at a large tax consultancy and accountancy firm. Here general agricultural advisers are retrained to become agricultural tax specialists. Rising in level from consultant to HBO master’s degree;
- courses from the Permanent Education program. Offices can purchase courses from this program. Then it is about education that is completely tailored to the needs of a particular office;
- fiscal maintenance. In this case, a teacher comes to an office three times a year to inform the employees about income tax, corporate tax or sales tax. An information transfer that is fully focused on current events.
Importance of good advisers
The demand for tax advisers is enormous on the labor market. This need for tax guidance will certainly remain so in the future, in the opinion of Ms Smit. The reason for this is that people do not want tax highlights, but that their affairs are properly arranged, so that they encounter as few problems as possible from the tax authorities. It is therefore good that the advisor not only looks at the tax aspects, but also takes the general legal aspects into account. That includes: pensions, financial planning, wills and so on. It is not so important that the consultant knows every detail of all issues, but it is important that he can identify where problems could arise and then discuss this with the client.
Knowledge is the consultant’s most important tool
In the future, a tax adviser will act in a much broader field and also refer you to specialists, such as a notary. Knowledge is the most important tool of every consultant. If that knowledge is insufficient or not ‘up to date’, the customer notices this and goes to someone else. It is therefore very important for firms to train their advisors excellently and thus enable them to provide their clients with the best possible service.