Tax Assistant Review

A typical day would involve producing tax computations for business, providing corporate tax advice, managing risk for engagements, liaising with clients and determining which services we are able to provide for them. We may be involved in various different projects, producing different outputs dependent on the client. I personally, specialise in corporate tax, however there are many different tax departments.

My overall tax knowledge has developed massively. Since the advice we provide can sometimes be quite specific, we have to be aware of different tax treatments/reliefs that are available for our clients, so that we can advise appropriately. It has also made me become more organised, as dealing with multiple clients on a daily basis can become challenging, so organisation is key.

The programme is good at providing opportunities and opens a lot of doors, however sometimes being at a junior grade can be boring. You don't get to be involved in a lot of exciting projects, and end up doing a lot of admin work. Sometimes days are quite repetitive.

My team make me feel valued, and the apprenticeship management team do also. They recognise hard work and reward you fairly for it. I'm not sure about other departments, as a lot of my colleagues feel quite the opposite to me, however from a personal experience I feel valued.

The programme is advertised as having a lot of rotations between different departments, however that is only in the bigger offices. In my office there are only 2 teams to rotate into, which is quite disappointing. It also seems as though resourcing don't have apprentices best interests at heart, and try to place as many people as they can in audit as this is where the firm requires most people.

There is a fairly good amount of support; however it has been picked up by some apprentices that some of the material provided by the training provider is inaccurate/not relevant. Overall the support is good though, there are various ways to contact people for help which they communicate well.

My department support me a lot - they're happy to help at any time even if they are busy. We are quite a small department which probably helps. The apprenticeship management team also support well, by keeping us updated with what is happening and ensuring that we are ok. There are multiple people to contact if we need additional support.

The salary is ok however from speaking to friends at other big 4 firms theirs is higher. Also, a lot of people (particularly in audit) work a lot of overtime, which they do not get paid for, so the salary becomes even less adequate. There are annual pay rises however.

Yes, we are given an allocation of days each year to volunteer/do charity work, and also there are secondment opportunities once you become more experienced. There is a lot of external training available, and my office often puts on days outside of work such as social events/charity events, and constantly encourage to attend.

Yes

It's a good place to develop and gain a lot of knowledge, whilst building personal skills such as confidence in speaking to clients. The hours can be challenging but you get out what you put in. They are supportive with your studies and want you to succeed, so will provide additional help if needed

Be prepared to work hard. The hours can be challenging, and studying for exams alongside that is not easy. Get involved with as much as you can, it will help give you a good reputation early on and people will remember your name. Don't be scared, the business wants you to succeed and will help you to do so.