Deloitte to create 100 new tax jobs in Wales over next 3 years
Deloitte has expanded its shared service operations in Wales and has established a new centre of excellence within their tax business which will create up to 100 new jobs in the next three years.
The Cardiff Centre of Excellence will support Deloitte’s International Assignment Services practice, which helps global employers meet complex tax compliance and reporting requirements in multiple jurisdictions for their internationally mobile employees and advises them on structuring these arrangements.
The project, backed by £170,000 business finance from the Welsh Government, involves centralising the administration and support to their clients with internationally mobile staff and the range of services provided by the Centre of Excellence is set to grow rapidly over the next few years.
The expansion follows on from a decision last year when Deloitte had previously established its quality & risk operations hub in Cardiff, providing enhanced risk management capability to support the strategic growth plans of the UK firm and to develop services for Deloitte firms in other countries. They took new premises in Cardiff Central Enterprise Zone – the UK’s first dedicated enterprise zone for the professional and financial services sector.
That initial expansion represented an annual investment in the region of £3m into the Welsh business economy by Deloitte and the operation continues to grow with 85 jobs created to date. The success of the risk hub, supported by the Welsh Government’s workforce development programme, was recognised as something that Deloitte could replicate for other areas of their business.
Deloitte partner, Craig Muir, who leads the UK firm’s International Assignment Services business saw the potential for a new centre of excellence in Cardiff. He said: “This is great news for both Deloitte and the local economy. We had a number of potential locations for our new centre of excellence, but Cardiff was the clear favourite. The support from the Welsh Government throughout the process and the availability of a high quality pool of talent in the local market played an important part in our decision making.”
Clive Dodimead is the director in charge of the new team. He commented: “Our centre of excellence has now been up and running for over two months and our initial experience has more than validated our decision to locate in Cardiff. We already have 17 new staff with another five joining us in November. Recruitment will continue throughout the year as we relocate processes into the centre of excellence. We have been really impressed with the quality of the people available in the local market and are really proud that, as a firm, we are not only creating employment but also working with the Welsh Government to bring new opportunities to Wales and enhance the skill set of our future workforce.”
Speaking at the Deloitte offices in Cardiff today First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones said: “Deloitte is one of the world’s largest and most respected professional services firms and their expansion plans for Cardiff are warmly welcomed.
“It is great news that the company continues to grow its presence in Wales with support from the Welsh Government. This latest expansion which is set to create 100 jobs in Cardiff sends out a strong message that Wales is becoming the location of choice for companies operating in the professional and financial services sector that are looking to grow their business.
“I am hugely encouraged that Cardiff has been selected and confident this latest project will build on the success of their Quality and Risk Operations team in Cardiff. Wales is the first place in the UK with an enterprise zone dedicated to this sector and Central Cardiff Enterprise Zone is helping to enhance the city’s position as a capital location for professional business services.”
Senior partner at Deloitte in Wales, Wayne Harvey, said: “Just over a year ago, we were looking forward to establishing our team of dedicated professionals in our risk management centre. While that operation continues to grow steadily, I am delighted that we are able to deliver even more high quality jobs into the local area with the introduction and rapid growth of the new centre of excellence. This is something that we hadn’t foreseen but were able to deliver very quickly in Wales, with support from the Welsh Government.”