Tax Associate Review

I prepare tax return for internationally mobile assignee's who have tax obligations in multiple countries/jurisdictions. I also speak with the clients to obtain information and ensure they understand the tax return process. I also work as part of the Dat Management team and Exari software development team with other team members.

I have enhanced many skills whilst working as an apprentice at PwC in the OneGM team. I have become more capable and comfortable with my communication skills, technical person tax knowledge, time management skills and feel I am better prepared to organise my day as I have had to revise for exams whilst also working full-time.

I enjoy working with some of my colleagues as I was part of an intake of school leavers and graduates which means there are people the same age as me with similar interests. However managers and higher in the team do not trust junior team members and therefore there is not much freedom in the role.

My programme is reasonably well structured as we have lot's of notice for when we are in college for our core exams. Our CBE's are booked for us which is not very effective as although it ensures we sit them it often clashes with peoples holidays that have been booked for a long time.

I receive support as there are adequate tuition and revision days in college with the tutor, however they only provide a small number of days off before the exams as self managed learning days which forces me to take A/L in order to fully cover the syllabus if for example I have multiple exams.

We receive support from most tutors with prompt replies to emails however some tutors are not as fast to reply which is frustrating when you are trying to understand a topic and do not get a reply for days at a time (weekdays) or sometimes even at all! This could be improved.

The majority of the exams I complete have no relevance to my day to day role and so whilst the exams may broaden my overall tax and accounting knowledge I do not feel (apart from the personal tax ones) they improve my on the job performance on a day to day basis.

There are lot's of clubs and communities which are quite heavily advertising with the office. These include religious groups, sports groups, leisure groups and social clubs). This helps to meet people from other teams who you otherwise would not have met who share the same interests outside of work as you.

Yes

As if you join the right team and work with the right people there is the possibility to move anywhere in the business which accommodates peoples change in career choice and fully utilizes their skills and accommodates their goals. This is not the case for everyone at PwC however it is the case in some cases.

To speak to people in that industry and/or team/sector currently to get a real idea of what they do to ensure you know you like/enjoy it and that the team is right for you (i.e. they take care of their staff and want them to succeed).