Specialist tax training, built on real-world experience
Our Story
Catriona Loughran founded ExtraTax Training because she believed tax professionals deserve training built by people who have done the work.
Catriona traces her interest in tax training to EY's graduate programme, which gave her three years of practical learning through lectures, case studies, team exercises and role play. That experience shaped her belief in what good training looks like, and revealed how few tax teams have access to anything comparable.
The thread continued through her career. At BDO in Belfast, as the corporate tax team grew rapidly, one-to-one training stopped working, so Catriona designed a programme for the whole team, built around a case study she wrote herself: a fictional set of accounts from which teams prepared a corporation tax computation, permitted to make an adjustment only if they could name the legislation or case law behind it. Junior staff led the teams, taking responsibility for delegation and delivery, an approach that runs through ExtraTax Training's case studies to this day.
While working in her first in-house tax role, Catriona wrote Chartered Accountants Ireland's textbook for the final admitting exam (FAE) NI Tax option, and taught the module in its first year.
At HMRC, Catriona examined the tax affairs of the UK's largest groups, mentored colleagues developing their expertise, and delivered training on the tax administration of large businesses at an OECD programme for tax officials in South Korea.
By the time she founded ExtraTax Training, Catriona had spent 20 years in corporate and international tax, across senior roles in global accounting firms, multinational groups and HMRC's Large Business team. That breadth of perspective across practice, industry and tax authority is at the heart of everything ExtraTax Training delivers.
Catriona was the first person in Ireland to gain the CIOT's Advanced Diploma in International Taxation (ADIT), and supporting professionals through the qualification has been part of ExtraTax Training from the start. The business has since grown into a specialist training partner for accountancy firms, multinational groups, professional bodies and tax authorities across the UK, Ireland and beyond.
Catriona traces her interest in tax training to EY's graduate programme, which gave her three years of practical learning through lectures, case studies, team exercises and role play. That experience shaped her belief in what good training looks like, and revealed how few tax teams have access to anything comparable.
The thread continued through her career. At BDO in Belfast, as the corporate tax team grew rapidly, one-to-one training stopped working, so Catriona designed a programme for the whole team, built around a case study she wrote herself: a fictional set of accounts from which teams prepared a corporation tax computation, permitted to make an adjustment only if they could name the legislation or case law behind it. Junior staff led the teams, taking responsibility for delegation and delivery, an approach that runs through ExtraTax Training's case studies to this day.
While working in her first in-house tax role, Catriona wrote Chartered Accountants Ireland's textbook for the final admitting exam (FAE) NI Tax option, and taught the module in its first year.
At HMRC, Catriona examined the tax affairs of the UK's largest groups, mentored colleagues developing their expertise, and delivered training on the tax administration of large businesses at an OECD programme for tax officials in South Korea.
By the time she founded ExtraTax Training, Catriona had spent 20 years in corporate and international tax, across senior roles in global accounting firms, multinational groups and HMRC's Large Business team. That breadth of perspective across practice, industry and tax authority is at the heart of everything ExtraTax Training delivers.
Catriona was the first person in Ireland to gain the CIOT's Advanced Diploma in International Taxation (ADIT), and supporting professionals through the qualification has been part of ExtraTax Training from the start. The business has since grown into a specialist training partner for accountancy firms, multinational groups, professional bodies and tax authorities across the UK, Ireland and beyond.
What sets us apart
Technical depth, training expertise and investment in your team
Tax training is only as good as the people delivering it. The ExtraTax Training team has held senior roles across professional practice, HMRC and multinational groups.
We work consultatively, taking time to understand the needs of each client, team and individual before we design a single session. Our programmes are built on the scenarios tax professionals meet in their work. And success, for us, is what your team does differently afterwards.
We work consultatively, taking time to understand the needs of each client, team and individual before we design a single session. Our programmes are built on the scenarios tax professionals meet in their work. And success, for us, is what your team does differently afterwards.
Our reach
Tax professionals from firms including all of the Big 4, Grant Thornton, RSM, BDO, Baker Tilly and Forvis Mazars have studied with ExtraTax Training — through ADIT courses, bespoke programmes, or both. Our ADIT students come from more than 40 countries. Our clients range from KPMG and AAB, who commission bespoke training programmes, to Chartered Accountants Ireland and Queen's University Belfast, who trust us with their own courses and materials.
“The ExtraTax Training team delivered a number of excellent international tax training sessions, worked around our business needs and generously shared a huge amount of information. The most impressive part of the training for me though was the mix of theory and first-hand experience — Catriona Loughran and her team were able to draw on their vast experience, covering Practice, Industry and Tax Authority points of view.
I was also impressed with their willingness to really invest in my team's all-round development and not just lecture at them. I couldn't recommend the services of ExtraTax Training highly enough.”
I was also impressed with their willingness to really invest in my team's all-round development and not just lecture at them. I couldn't recommend the services of ExtraTax Training highly enough.”
JONATHAN MEGAW, INTERNATIONAL TAX DIRECTOR, GRANT THORNTON
Meet the team
Catriona Loughran FCA CTA ADIT CTC
Catriona founded ExtraTax Training to give tax professionals at every stage of their career access to training built by people who have done the work.
She holds the FCA, CTA (UK), CTC (Ireland) and ADIT qualifications, and has over 25 years' experience in corporate and international tax across professional practice, multinational groups and HMRC.
Catriona leads the design of ExtraTax Training's programmes and teaches across its ADIT and bespoke corporate and international tax offering. Her classes draw on real cases from across her career, so students learn how the rules work, not just what they say.
She holds the FCA, CTA (UK), CTC (Ireland) and ADIT qualifications, and has over 25 years' experience in corporate and international tax across professional practice, multinational groups and HMRC.
Catriona leads the design of ExtraTax Training's programmes and teaches across its ADIT and bespoke corporate and international tax offering. Her classes draw on real cases from across her career, so students learn how the rules work, not just what they say.
Alyson Sutcliffe CA CTA
Alyson is a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Adviser with almost 30 years' experience in UK corporation tax and international tax, built primarily in professional practice, advising clients across a wide range of industries, from local businesses to international groups.
Her approach to training is practical and collaborative, focused on helping people find the answers to complex tax problems for themselves, not simply telling them the solution. Alyson updates and technically reviews ExtraTax Training's ADIT UK Tax materials, alongside teaching corporate topics for the module, including international financing and hybrid mismatch rules.
Alyson's role at ExtraTax Training includes bespoke corporate tax training for a leading UK accounting firm and CTA exam support for the Taxation of Larger Companies and Groups papers. Her teaching covers the range of issues facing large corporate groups, including the Corporate Interest Restriction (CIR), loss relief and the tax challenges facing private equity-backed businesses.
She believes high standards of tax advice depend on investing in the people who deliver it.
Her approach to training is practical and collaborative, focused on helping people find the answers to complex tax problems for themselves, not simply telling them the solution. Alyson updates and technically reviews ExtraTax Training's ADIT UK Tax materials, alongside teaching corporate topics for the module, including international financing and hybrid mismatch rules.
Alyson's role at ExtraTax Training includes bespoke corporate tax training for a leading UK accounting firm and CTA exam support for the Taxation of Larger Companies and Groups papers. Her teaching covers the range of issues facing large corporate groups, including the Corporate Interest Restriction (CIR), loss relief and the tax challenges facing private equity-backed businesses.
She believes high standards of tax advice depend on investing in the people who deliver it.
Kristen Gillanders
Kristen is an experienced sales and marketing professional who joined ExtraTax Training in 2021. She is the first point of contact for our ADIT students, managing bookings, questions and course logistics from first enquiry to final exam. Having supported hundreds of students through the qualification, she has developed a thorough understanding of what it takes to succeed in ADIT, and of the pressures on people studying alongside demanding jobs.
Kristen gets to know the people we work with, checking in through the ups and downs of exam preparation and making sure every interaction with the business is a helpful one. Her dedication to our clients is one of the things they mention most.
Kristen gets to know the people we work with, checking in through the ups and downs of exam preparation and making sure every interaction with the business is a helpful one. Her dedication to our clients is one of the things they mention most.
Naina Shah
Naina brings extensive experience in business development and client management within the tax publishing and training sector. Having spent many years at Tolley, the long-established tax training provider, she has built strong relationships across the global tax community and understands the pressures and priorities of tax teams at every level.
At ExtraTax Training, Naina works with firms to understand their training needs and shape how we can best support their teams. Those who know her will know the standard she holds herself to, and it is the same standard clients find across ExtraTax Training.
At ExtraTax Training, Naina works with firms to understand their training needs and shape how we can best support their teams. Those who know her will know the standard she holds herself to, and it is the same standard clients find across ExtraTax Training.
Associate trainers
ExtraTax Training works with a carefully selected team of specialist associate trainers, bringing additional expertise in areas including Irish tax, US tax, VAT, private client, employment taxes and transfer pricing. This enables us to cover more ground at specialist depth, with every bespoke programme still designed and overseen by our own team.
If you are an experienced tax professional who is interested in associate trainer opportunities, please get in touch with our team.
Online courses for ADIT students
Alongside its work with firms and organisations, ExtraTax Training is an established ADIT course provider, offering online tuition across seven ADIT modules. Since 2020, our students have come from over 40 countries and have included tax professionals from all of the Top 10 firms globally, as well as multinationals and tax authorities.
Our students achieved 100% pass rates in five of seven modules across the 2025 ADIT sittings.
Our students achieved 100% pass rates in five of seven modules across the 2025 ADIT sittings.