Tax Analyst Review

I am encouraged to participate in as much as possible, so I am involved in lots of different projects taking on responsibility for lots of different things - for example: company/client research, risk and take on procedures, drafting emails and legal documents, going to client meetings and taking notes for client calls, preparing ERS returns and am starting to be involved in the billing side of things as well.

I have learnt a lot in my role so far and have developed many of my office skills to fit the new environment, my business writing has improved considerably, as has my multitasking and organisation. I have been on a couple of internal training courses to help develop my use of company specific software and learn more about the companies values. I have not yet learnt anything from my apprenticeship provider (BPP), but Deloitte have been great at jumping straight in with training and support.

It is hard to know if I am enjoying the programme as I have not really had much contact from the programme provider (BPP)and have not started any of the training or college. I am very much enjoying working at Deloitte and in my team though. The course met my expectations from Deloitte as they have ensured I am involved in everything that the Graduates are and are giving me lots of opportunities, but BPP have not met my expectations at all and I am disappointed in that.

I feel very valued by Deloitte. Everyone in my team has reached out to me to get to know me and tried to get me involved in work they think I will find interesting or useful to learn about, and they are very good at giving regular feedback to let me know that I am valued.

Neither me or the other BrightStart in my department really know how our course is meant to be structured. We have been told that the course isn't yet finalise/finished and that all prospective college/exam dates after May 2017 are not confirmed, and we have both been missed off of email lists several times so have not received all of the communications we should have - other Brightstarts that I know in different departments didn't even know about their Reflective Statements being due until after the phonecall check in. The induction sessions that were run were not good at all, and we didn't seem to receive an actual answer to any of our questions just vague responses, they did not seem prepared at all. I have had a check in phonecall with my BPP coach but my statements are marked by different people so there does not feel like there is a mentoring support system in place, and the feedback from the statements is confusing and contradictory - I as told in one that I had not met all of the objectives, but later down the page it mentioned how well I had met all of the objectives and that I had passed the module.

From the beginning the support has been poor. In one of the induction sessions I asked a question about whether we had study days and I received bad attitude and a remark that it is in the exam policy so I should look at that - I had never been sent an exam policy and had previously emailed BPP noting that they hadn't sent me one. It then took a week for them to send me a copy to sign and return. When myself or other brightstarts have sent in queries the responses are quite slow and generally not very helpful - and It usually takes a while to get support as it is unclear who you should contact for different issues. I still am unclear on how the programme works because we are only sent generalised leaflets/booklets that are aimed at a wider audience, not just your specific course or situation, and the online calendar has no dates in it. The feedback provided on the reflective statements I have submitted is confusing and contradictory - saying that I have not met the objectives but later on the same piece of work saying how well I met all of the objectives and passed the module.

My employer gives us a personal coach when we join, so I have a specific person I can go to if I need support in relation to the programme, but the rest of the team will try and help me if I need it in regards to any work issues. My coach however doesn't know very much about the programme either and seems to rely on the information BPP provide me, they do not contact him with anything.

My salary is very generous and the benefits package is amazing. We were offered loans when we joined to help cover the cost of moving to the area etc and I know we are paid a lot more than people in similar programmes in other companies. I have worked in a couple of similar roles and there are very few places that give such a generous package to school leavers or even people with a couple of years of experience in finance roles.

When we first joined we went away for three weeks on a Tax Academy to give us some basic training in soft skills and some tax technical understanding before we joined our offices, and there are monthly partner drinks that we can go to. There are also fairly frequent team nights out or group meals, we have office sports clubs and a social committee for the department. I have been involved in some of Deloitte's other 'out-reach' type programmes with sixth form students and entrepreneur challenges, and there have been a couple of company supported charity events like Lauchpad's sleep out and Christmas donations. There are a lot of opportunities to get involved.

Yes

I have worked for a couple of large financial/business services companies and Deloitte is the place that has really made me feel valued, and really allowed me to enjoy my job. I am given a lot of trust and respect, and the responsibility to manage myself a lot. I feel like Deloitte took the time to try and get to know me before offering me the job and that has really shown now that I work here because I feel like I fit well with the team and they make the effort to work with me, not just expect me to work for them their way. There is a lot of opportunity within the firm and the focus is very much on developing and looking after their people.

I would advice you to start thinking about applying fairly early, so you have time to research the programme properly and to give yourself the best chance. I applied very late and got lucky that there was a spot left, but meant I only had a weekend to prepare for my partner interview! The application process can take a long time, but you are guided through it very well and there are people you can contact for help even if you're right at the start. The assessment days are a good combination of group and individual activities so that it s not scary but you have the opportunity to show off your ability. The onboarding process is amazingly supportive, even for a super late joiner like me (there was about a week between getting the job and starting the inductions) they made sure I had all of the information I needed and talked me through step by step what I needed to do, and there are so many networking events set up so that you get to know people before you have to do any of the scary stuff.