Tax analyst Review

My role is an analyst in the Executive Compensation Consulting team in the tax department. This involves acting as the middle man between shareholders and boards when regarding how executives are paid and general corporate governance developments. On a day-to-day basis this involves creating the first draft of papers and regulatory updates for companies.

I have developed my existing mathematical and computer skills. I have learnt how to code in excel using VBA to create Macros which i have previously not been able to do. Additionally I have also studied for the ACA which has enabled me to learn finance information and tax legislation.

The work I have completed has been enjoyable and is extremely interesting and has an impact on big business decisions. However, there is an issue with how niche the work is and the limited transferable skills to other departments. Additionally, the work-life balance is quite poor, and the company culture is set to reward people who work ridiculously long hours with no overtime pay.

The induction process was fairly well organised and allowed crucial skills to be developed. The team is also fairly well organised and there is an extensive mentor support system that encourages regular meetings. However, there has been some major problems regarding the organisation of exams and tuition including some issues with the original exams being taken not being explained.

There is an adequate level of support from my local team, and if i need help i can always ask someone if i need help with my job. However, there is little support from the firm's HR team, they are often slow to reply and can often not have the answer to simple questions.

Overall the tuition from first intuition has been excellent, there has been clear guidance on exam technique needed and the basic accounting principles that are needed to be a chartered accountant. The only slight issue has been regarding communication around exams, particularly since I am on a unique course rather than the ACA-CTA joint course.

I feel that the specific ACA qualification does not massively assist in my day-to-day job. However, I eel that this is purely due to the highly specific nature of my team rather than any issue with the qualification. I also think that the qualification is the best suited qualification to my role.

I feel that there has been no extra-curricular activities to get involved with. There is the occasional social activity, however when these occur there is often limited attendance due to the long hours at work and the excessive overtime. There is no advertised Deloitte sports teams, so if these do exist they need to be publicised better.

No

I personally feel that the work-life balance is completely wrong at Deloitte, with the expectation being that you complete at least 2 hours unpaid overtime per day. I feel that this is unfair and should be altered, either by paying for overtime or changing the culture and appraisal system to not punish people for not working unpaid overtime. I also feel that there is limited support for extra-curricular activities, and a large part of this is the long working hours.

The application process can take time from start to finish, I would tell people to be patient and ensure that their application process starts early in September. The assessment days can be challenging, but it is important to be yourself rather than act as a typical graduate that you think Deloitte wants you to be.