Charlie Wilkinson

After spending 18 months as a Tax and Trusts Apprentice while completing my ATT Foundation qualification, I moved into full‑time Private Client work and continued progressing through the next stage of my ATT studies. My day to day duties looked like:

• Managed a personal caseload of over 150 private clients, including high‑net‑worth individuals, professional athletes, and small business owners, ensuring tailored tax solutions for diverse income sources and net worth levels.
• Worked directly with partners on selected cases without the need for managerial oversight.
• Gathered and reviewed tax return information from multiple sources and prepared accurate self‑assessment tax returns.
• Produced comprehensive written advice on various tax matters, specialising in Inheritance Tax planning to optimise client tax strategies.
• Acted as a daily point of contact for clients via email and phone, adapting communication style to client preference.
• Trained new graduates to ensure consistent quality and adherence to team standards.
• Corresponded weekly with HMRC to resolve complex tax issues, facilitating timely solutions for clients that exceeded junior staff capabilities.
• Liaised with third parties, including financial advisers and accountants, to obtain and verify information required for client tax returns.

I managed a caseload of around 60 clients, covering both personal tax cases and trust cases throughout their full tax return compliance cycle. My responsibilities included:

• Drafting letters and emails for manager review before they were sent to clients
• Completing basic tax returns for private clients and trusts
• Communicating with third parties and HMRC to resolve straightforward queries
• Supporting the team with day to day administrative tasks

• Completed one-week rotation in 16-person cohort, gaining hands-on exposure across front- and back-office trading functions, enhancing understanding of trading operations.
• Rotated through Corporate Finance (investment trusts), Institutional Sales Trading, Electronic Sales Trading, and Equity Trading, with insight into FTSE, ETF, AIM, and small‑cap markets.
• Participated in trading simulation, presenting final analysis to senior directors, demonstrating strategic insights and market understanding.