Assistant Tax Advisor Review

I work in the Tax department, and in that there is several different tax teams. In my role I was given a more admin role at the start but now I have started to work on more client focused projects as I gain more experience and understanding on how the business works

From starting in September, I have learnt a lot of new skills/hugely improved on existing skills. There is a lot going on and so you learn to manage and prioritise work and learn how to make the most of your time. Working on client work can be different from client to client, so you are nearly always learning new skills, especially when doing client work you are building your technical knowledge and being able to apply it.

Various times where it is good, but there are some times where its not the most enjoyable - i.e. having to work and then study when doing exams or when you have a big workload on and there's deadlines to meet. Overall, it is good but it is a big adjustment from leaving school and then just jumping into the apprenticeship.

The actual studying part of the apprenticeship could be improved on, as it is still fairly new in the area I am in so not a lot of people know what is going on, it would be useful to know the dates of exams ahead of time and what exams you are actually doing next. For work, it is usually good are theres always some sort of work to be picked up.

EY assigns you a 'buddy' when you join which is really useful as you can ask them questions/voice concerns to. You also get a 'counsellor' who is more senior and you can also voice any corners/questions to them. In your team you get support when you need it and also in your peer group there are some people who you can really easily reach out to and ask for help etc.

The training provider EY provides you with is Kaplan - they are really good tutors and the website with all the course info/study sessions/mocks are really useful and well laid out. You can email your tutor for support when you need and they are always really helpful. EY has next to no input on your exams, you have more of a responsibility to keep them informed, again back to the point where not a lot seem to know what goes on with the apprenticeship.

As of now, I have only sat one certificate exam which was accounting, so currently not the most helpful exam for a tax advisor, but over all the exams will probably be really helpful as you get to have an understanding of the background knowledge most people already know in the company.

There a lot of different networks which you are able to join which can lead to different opportunities. COVID has put a stop to any in-person networking events so have yet to go to any of them, but EY has been able to do different things via Teams, which was good when you first join, being able to get to know the rest of the team.

Yes

Overall, I think it is a good experience as you get to learn as you work, and then be able to apply what you learn into a client situation, however, you really need to know what you are getting into, as it can be overwhelming at some points learning to balance things out.

Do a lot of research and try to speak to a lot of different people to hear what they have to say. The work and type of studying/exams are so different to anything you learnt in school, so just be prepared. Research what you think is the right / good company and service line for you being going into it. Also try to get work experience at the company as this helps a lot in making a decision.