Tax Assistant Review

In my role I prepare and complete tax returns to be sent to clients, I also prepare and complete bills to go to the clients. I will either send these off to clients via the post or I will email them directly with the return or give it to them in a meeting. I additionally chase clients for information to help to complete their tax return via letters or emails.

I have learnt a lot about tax and how to use certain systems on my laptop to complete a tax return or send a letter/email to a client, I am developing my communication skills by talking with clients, with people in the office and with meeting new people on courses. Additionally I have developed my teamwork skills by working with the rest of the tax team.

I enjoy the programme very much, I have enjoyed meeting new people and working with the team as it has brought me out of my comfort zone. Being in this apprenticeship has met my expectations as it has been a great experience so far, everyone has been welcoming and it has made me not feel nervous like I was on my first day.

My programme is structured very well. I have been to various training courses so far and they have been very useful to me. If I have been unsure with a part of my training or studying my line manager and my buddy has been happy to help me and explain what it is that I am unsure about. Everyone else on the team has been very helpful to when it comes to work, if I have been stuck and asked for help they have went through it with me and made it easy for me to understand. I have had a good amount of work to do whilst I have been here and as I am understanding more about tax and how everything works via my study, the tasks are getting easier to complete. Additionally there is a clear hierarchy in the team which is clear to understand. Finally there is a clear structure as to how you will progress in your role which is very useful.

I receive a lot of support from my employer, in terms of my studying the team have helped me when I had a questions regarding a certain topic I had been studying which I found very helpful. I have easy access to support in terms of asking the team or even reading through my study guides again. I also know if I had any problems I could ask the HR Team for some support but I am yet to have a major issue. My line manager has helped me understand my training and how my exams will work which has been very helpful. Also I have a buddy I can ask questions to when I need help which is very useful.

From my training provider BPP I will start to go to college when I am finished my foundation ATT exams, I will also receive a tutor to ask questions to if I need help with my studying which is very useful. There is also courses that I have been on which are ran by BPP which were very useful.

What I am learning currently has helped me a lot because I am learning things that give me a bit of knowledge when I am completing a tax return. For example previously I had been revising about the annual allowance and we had a client who had one and I was a bit unsure at first but I went back and revised it again and it made sense to me. I feel that when I have completed my course I will understand my role much more as I will have a better knowledge of tax.

There are many things outside of work to do, we have had a night out for Christmas and when we finished our busy period which was January. We have also had football tournaments and have played a few matches against our downstairs football team in different locations around Newcastle. There was yoga a few weeks ago in the office and there has been a lot of networking events to get involved in around Newcastle.

Yes

It is a great place to work, everyone is really friendly and make you feel at home. The training and studying are very helpful and the structure is very clear. There are a lot of social events to get involved in and they are all a lot of fun. The training is fun and helps you get a better knowledge of your job and how to do it better. Finally there is a clear structure as to how you will progress in your role.

Firstly I would recommend them to apply for a job at RSM for the above reasons, then I would advise them that to show that you enjoy doing things outside of work e.g. football, meeting new people. I would tell them to expect to be outside of your comfort zone as they will be meeting new people quite a lot and talking to HMRC for example which might seem quite daunting but it isn't bad. Additionally I would tell them to accept every opportunity they get to do things outside of work as they are lots of fun. Finally I would say not to worry if they didn't know much about tax for example as that can be picked up when revising or when at a training course or even whilst you are working.