2. Agenda
Background information on the tax consultant
industry
1. Career Accountant
2. Field of activity Tax consultant
3. The way to the tax accountant exam
4. Options of professional practice
5. Development of the profession
6. Appendix: What else you might be interested in ...
3. Career Accountant 1DATEV eG
Why was that Accountants "invented"?
Tax advice makes sense, because ...
Advantages for the state:
Relief of the state in tax collection.
Cost reduction in tax collection by outsourcing
and quality requirements for tax advice.
Correct implementation of tax laws - also as
Steering function for the national economy.
Double control of tax bases.
Benefits for the taxpayer (citizen):
ensuring fair tax collection
Qualified tax advice = consumer protection
4. Career Accountant
History: Once upon a time ...Milestones in the
development of the tax consulting profession
• 1961: Tax Consultancy Act enters into force (StBerG)
• 1966: Foundation of DATEV by 65 professionals (today 40,000)
• 1975: Association of Professional Groups of Tax Advisers and Tax
Representatives
• 1981: introduction of a binding fee regulation (StBGebV)
• 1984: Partial loss of the bookkeeping privilege
• 1985: Certified auditor (vBP) and simplified accountant for BiRiLiG
• 1990: German reunification
• 1993: European Single Market
• Progressive globalization and internationalization
• liberalization of professional law
5. Career Accountant
Who is allowed to provide tax advice?
Without authority - no tax advice
•§ 2 StBerG - business-related assistance, The
assistance in tax matters may be businesslike only by
persons and associations be exercised. This applies
without distinction to full-time, Part-time, paid and
unpaid activity.
•Unlimited power (complete): § 3 and § 3a StBerG,
Power to unlimited assistance in tax matters.
Temporary and occasional Assistance in tax matters.
•Limited power (only in subareas): § 4 StBerG, Power
to Limited Assistance in tax matters
6. Who is allowed to provide tax advice?
Without authority - no tax advice
•Unlimited assistance is (only) authorized:
– approx. 95,800 tax consultants (including tax consulting companies)
– approx. 14,400 certified public accountants * (including auditing companies)
– approx. 164,400 lawyers
– *Auditors are de facto no competitors of the tax consultant, since about 95%
of all accountants are tax advisors (so-called double bands "WP / StB")
•Tax Advisory Act (StBerG) § 3 - Authorization to unlimited assistance in tax matters
•For business-related assistance in tax matters are entitled:
– Tax Advisers, Tax Agents, Lawyers, established European lawyers, Auditors
and certified accountants,
– Partnership companies whose partners are exclusively the persons mentioned
in point 1 are,
– tax consulting companies, Law firms, Accounting firms and Auditing firms.
Career Accountant
7. Career Accountant
What is the age and gender structure of the
profession?
• The profession is getting older and more
female!
• The average age is 52.1 years and is rising
steadily due to demographic change
• The proportion of women in the profession
has risen sharply in recent years
8. Career Accountant
Who is allowed to provide tax advice?
Excursus: Is there a sector-specific law firm?
• Industry consists mostly of smaller ones (and
middle) law firms.
• about 70% of all tax consultants practice their
profession in Form of self-employment.
• 70% -80% of all law firms employ incl.
Professionals max. 10 full-time employees.
• the branch-typical law firm becomes predominantly
as a single office or 1-person limited liability
company.
9. Career Accountant
How is the profession of tax accountant exercised?
Excursus: Market leader in the tax consulting /
auditing sector 2016
