Assistant Tax Advisor Review

I work in International Tax and have a number of different clients and projects that I am involved with at any one time. Day-to-day work involves working on projects through researching, discussions with overseas teams and finalising step plans. I attend client meetings which is great experience and fast paced. There are always changes to tax law being discussed or implemented, so a lot of time is spent understanding these changes and how they may affect our clients. Time is also spent on administrative tasks such as project managing/coordinating overseas teams and keeping track of budgets.

- Research and application skills - Tax technical understanding; this involves understanding the law and how parts impact our clients - Presenting skills; I recently presented at a client meeting, also there are many opportunities to present for example at internal training sessions - Mentoring others and delegating work - Ability to work under time pressure

There is a constant positive atmosphere at EY; the people are friendly and keen to see your development within the firm by taking time to discuss and explain, as well as giving you responsibility to stretch yourself. You are recognised and rewarded at EY, the hours aren't too crazy (9 - 5:30/6) and the work is interesting and constantly evolving.

As mentioned, people are keen to see your development within the firm. There are regular team meetings to address any concerns and when you join you are assigned a counselling manager who oversees your development as well as a buddy of a similar grade. There are monetary recognition awards and people provide constructive and positive feedback.

The programme is structured over 5 years with approximately 15 exams (to gain your ACA qualification, the chartered accountant qualification); there is also the option to gain other qualifications for example CTA, chartered tax advisor. The exams are well spread out and much less pressurised than the graduate scheme where although the scheme is 3 years, they do approximately 14/5 exams over the space of 24-6 months. It can be tricky to plan as we are only given a few months notice of when our next college blocks are.

We train for our professional qualifications with Kaplan; the tutors are generally very good and are always open to questions/happy to discuss any areas of uncertainty. There are great resources online including progress tests and online tutorials for difficult topics.

Very supportive team, there are regular meetings where you can raise and discuss any areas for improvement. During exams people are considerate, not expecting you to work late and encouraging you to focus on your studying. After passing each of my exams an email recognising these achievements has been circulated around the team.

I am living at home with no significant costs or restrictions, so the salary works fine for me. There is a significant difference between the school leaver and graduate salary although we are involved in the same level of work.

There are a number of networks that you can get involved in, also the EY Foundation charity holds lots of events and challenges.

Yes

In addition to the above, it's a great place to start working as it's such a positive and supportive environment. In addition to learning a lot about your service line, it's also a gateway to being introduced to a huge range of businesses, understanding what they do and the challenges they face.

Before applying try practicing a few online tests, e.g. the numerical / verbal tests. For the interview have ready examples of when you have demonstrated soft skills, be enthusiastic, friendly and ask questions.