President’s page

I hope you are all keeping safe and in go od spirits. Although the weather certainly does not feel like it as I write this President’s page, I am sure there are better days ahead and we will be on the path to some semblance of normality.

At the CIOT, life remains as busy as ever, as we find innovative ways of running all our various activities online. I am delighted to say that we finally implemented our important ‘make-over’ at the beginning of May.Our Institute now has a totally revamped website and new modern branding. We have spent a considerable amount of time on this worthy project to ensure we got it right and we are all very excited to see its full launch. 

New digital presence

Our new website still contains all the tax technical items and news we know you access and enjoy. But it now has some new features, including fresh case studies of CTAs and information videos. It is also refreshing to have clearer functional navigation to help you find what you need easily and quickly. And for those who enjoy gadgets, it also has Tax Bot where you can ask the site to find you the information you need! 

If you haven’t already been able to do so, please pay our new website a visit at  www.tax.org.uk. When you arrive at the home page, you will see our new modernised visual branding.

New visual style

We started our rebrand ‘journey’ long before the first lockdown. This involved detailed consultations with different groups of our members over a six-month period. Whilst all these groups were fond of the ‘owl’ logo (as indeed am I), the newer generation of CTAs certainly felt that it was not representative of them and those following in their footsteps.  

We also had to consider our international activities, both with our international tax qualification ADIT increasing its overseas presence and our licensing of other overseas tax bodies. In certain overseas jurisdictions, it was clear that the owl did not enjoy the same status of being a sign of wisdom as it does here. We were also advised that the owl logo was very cumbersome to use in the digital age and that the vast majority of businesses and organisations – including many professional membership bodies – had replaced their traditional, intricate logos with simpler modern-looking ones.

The CIOT Council therefore sought a new logo and branding which would be symbolic and future-proof. Because almost all of our communications are now delivered digitally, we needed a distinctive, simple and unfussy mark that would retain its clarity across all digital channels. However, we were clear that we needed to retain ‘our’ distinctive and historic blue colouring and that we had to respect the CIOT’s heritage. Our Institute’s work often involves analysing complex and technical matters in considerable detail. Our design agency therefore focused on the owl’s eyes as being symbolic of vision, hence our new logo is a representation of the owl’s eye.

We feel that building on our heritage in this way helps us to create a meaningful, modern visual identity which upholds our professional standing in the modern world. 
If your firm is interested in applying to use the new mark, please contact our Membership team. Those already registered will be notified and asked to reapply online shortly.  
I would add that our owl still presides over the Institute’s formal crest and remains an important symbol for us.

National Volunteers’ Week

To coincide with National Volunteers’ Week, I would like to draw your attention to our feature on volunteering on page 22. As a membership organisation, we rely heavily on our wonderful strong army of volunteers and, as I hope you will recall from my previous President’s pages, I never miss an opportunity to thank them for their vital support and valuable work. 

Keep safe and let’s hope for good times ahead...

Our Institute now has a totally revamped website and new modern branding. We have spent a considerable amount of time on this worthy project.