Tax Analyst Review

I work with a range of clients, assisting with ad hoc indirect tax advisory queries. For example, I may work with 5 or 6 different clients in the average day, having calls and face-to-face meetings, reviewing data sent by the client (such as contracts/engagement letters, VAT returns, types of transactions) and analysing this together with tax legislation and HMRC's guidance in order to provide advice.

I have learnt a lot about tax and accounting through my apprenticeship so far, including passing several examinations in these topics. Whilst on the job, I have had the opportunity to go on a couple of training courses to learn more about the tax needed for my job, as well as lunchtime training sessions on core topics. I have also developed better business writing skills through my emails to clients and various reports.

I really enjoy the opportunity to learn. Each day is different and each client query is different too, so there is always the chance to delve into the legislation and learn more about the appropriate tax treatment for the circumstances. I enjoy the varied nature of the work, as well as working in different teams for each client.

The programme is very well structured. Our exams are quite evenly spaced over the year, to allow us to have enough time in the office between exams so that we can work on our actual job and develop relationships with our clients, as well as sufficient preparation time for the exams themselves.

We are granted study leave for each exam we sit. This is two or three days leading up to the exam and allows a lot of time for revision. We also receive on-the-job training from our teams, as well as lunchtime support sessions from colleagues who have previously passed the exams. For some of the exams, we have the opportunity to attend college. We also have internal training courses where we learn about the areas of tax specifically relevant for our jobs.

We attended college for one of our certificate level exams for the ACA. We were provided with our tutor's contact details, so if we had any issues with the questions set for homework we could contact her. We were also able to contact her in the lead up to the exam itself when revising.

Our first exam (tax) has been very useful for our day-to-day role as it gave a broad overview of the taxes so was helpful in understanding what other colleagues are doing on cross-tax projects. The accounting exams have not really been relevant, but it gives a better understanding for the compliance side of things.

Yes there are lots of extra curricular activities. Each team has regular socials and many of the young people go for drinks after work. There are also Christmas parties and celebration lunches (for example when people complete their qualifications). There are also many sports clubs, choirs, religious clubs, language clubs etc, and the opportunity to learn new skills too. As part of our volunteering, you can also do charity sports days (e.g. football matches or cricket days)

Yes

I like the independent learning aspect of the course - we revise for exams in our free time but we are given study days for this too. This is much better than some organisations which demand apprentices attend college on Saturdays, for example. I also enjoy the team nature of the job and it's client facing which is always more interesting. The job pays well and there's good opportunity for career progression too.

For the interviews, you may be asked to prepare a short presentation. It sounds silly, but a lot of people don't link this back to the business area they are applying for, so definitely make sure you're thinking about your role in the company when writing your presentation.