Assistant Tax Advisor Review

I am an assistant tax advisor within international tax services. This involves keeping up to date with UK tax law and drafting emails to clients and the team to inform them of these updates. I receive client queries on the UK tax consequences of transactions and will research the legislation and draft comments to send to a manager who will review. I also undertake admin tasks on a day to day basis such as collating costs from teams and billing clients, and keeping client files up to date. When requested by the client, I attend client meetings to discuss in person the implications of the proposed transaction.

As well as my day-to-day job, I am studying towards the ICAEW ACA qualification. This involves periods out of work and studying at college. We also have lots of internal training focused towards our day jobs. This helps me understand the basic tax principles which we look for when analysing a transaction. The junior members of the team take turns to present training sessions which gives an opportunity to grow soft skills as well as technical skills. I have learnt how UK companies are taxed and the interaction of international tax law with UK tax law. I have also grown in confidence when presenting my ideas.

I enjoy the mixture of work and study and the range of people you work with. You join with a year group/ intake that you see each time you go to college which is a nice transition from school. My team within my day job are also friendly and approachable. I feel able to ask questions about my work and also enjoy team socials outside of work. The programme has exceeded my expectations in terms of providing you with a good network. The culture at EY is very friendly.

Whilst working on projects with a manager or above in my team, they are very good at providing feedback as you complete tasks. This includes thanks and appreciation as well as critical feedback to help you develop. We are also issued impact recognition awards. However I feel that this recognition is not carried fully into year end appraisals.

The programme is very structured. We are given dates of when we will be out at college and when we will be in the office. You are also assigned a counselling manager who you can sit down with as often as necessary to discuss work load. In my team we have resourcing meetings each week in which we speak about projects we have on-going and if we have any capacity which is helpful to structure your week. On a day-to-day basis you are expected to find your own work by networking but there is support available if you are struggling to find any.

Our training provider for the ICAEW ACA qualification is Kaplan. We attend courses in blocks for each exam we sit. Whilst at college the tutor is available in breaks and after class to discuss any questions. They also provide their email address for any questions we have whilst back at work. If the tutor is not available they are happy to put you in touch with another tutor available when you are to go into college and discuss any questions. I have utilised this support and think they have a great attitude towards supporting you.

The people I work with in my teams are very supportive in terms of managing workload, exams and any outside of work commitments. You are also assigned a counselling manager who is the go-to person for these queries but in reality everyone is happy to help in anyway they can. It is very easy to access support and my counsellor is always available to talk things through.

As I live outside London my commuting costs are very high. EY offer a rail season ticket loan so I can make use of the discount given to annual tickets. This helps reduce my cost. I am also living at home so only pay minimal rent to my parents. If you were renting in London I would think you'd be 80% of income on living/ travel expenses. With the office being in central London, the social costs and cost of lunches around the office is very high. I always try to reduce this by brining in lunch.

The EY Foundation provide lots of opportunities to volunteer. I am participating in a 7km mud run challenge this week which I also took on last year. It's a great way to raise money for charity and build relationships with those in your team. EY has many sports clubs which you can join.

Yes

I think EY is a very friendly place to work and are very flexible with working conditions. It's a great name to have on your CV if you want to work within the finance and professional services industry and they pay and support you to sit your ACA exams (which is the winning point for me). I think if you were not dedicated to achieving the ACA qualification then the programme could be considered intense.

Make sure you find out what EY do first and why it interests you. EY want to hire those who are passionate about the services we offer. For interviews and assessments days I would say practice is key (even if it is in front of a mirror!). If you join EY my advice would be to make as many contacts and relationships as you can. You never know where/ what you want to move on to next and those relationships could be the stepping stone. I would have liked to been told that this is not a 9-5 job and I wouldn't apply if that's what you're looking for.