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For years, accountancy firms have used progression as one of their main selling points.

"Join us and you can progress.
There is a route to Senior Manager.
Director may be possible in time."

That message still matters. Good Tax Managers are ambitious. They want to move forward, take on better work and feel their career is developing.

But progression on its own is no longer enough.

The problem is that almost every firm now says the same thing. “Clear progression” has become standard recruitment language. Candidates hear it so often that they have learned to question what it actually means.

A Tax Manager will usually want to know:

Progression to what? Over what timeframe?
Based on what criteria?
Who has actually done it?
What would I need to show to get there?

Without answers, progression becomes a vague promise rather than a reason to move.

This matters because many Tax Managers are not desperate to leave. They may be frustrated, but they are often valued, busy and reasonably well paid. Moving firm is a risk. They have to rebuild relationships, prove themselves again and hope the promises made during interview are real.

A general statement about progression rarely overcomes that risk.

What Tax Managers want is evidence.

They want to know whether Managers are trusted with clients, whether advisory work is genuinely shared, whether Partners invest time in developing people, and whether promotion is based on clear expectations rather than internal politics.

More importantly, they want to know what kind of adviser they will become by joining.

Will I get closer to clients?
Will I become more commercial?
Will I be involved in advisory conversations earlier?
Will I learn from strong Partners?
Will I be trusted with judgement, not just delivery?

That is a stronger message than simply saying there is progression.

At Manager level, candidates are often deciding what sort of career they want. Some are considering in-house roles. Some want more advisory work. Some want a clearer route to Senior Manager. Others want to specialise, build confidence with clients or move into a firm where tax has more influence.

The best firms understand this. They do not just talk about the next title. They explain the development behind it.

They can show what the role will actually involve, how the person will grow, what support they will get and what success looks like over the next two or three years.

That does not mean guaranteeing promotion. Good candidates do not expect that. But they do want a credible path.

There is a big difference between saying “progression is available” and explaining how someone can earn it.

For accountancy firms, the lesson is simple. If you want to attract strong Tax Managers, you need to be more specific.

Progression still matters.

But it has to mean something.

The firms that attract good Tax Managers are not the ones that make the biggest promises. They are the ones that can show why the move will make the candidate better, more visible and more valuable.