Trainee Tax Advisor Review

Being a fairly new joiner at a large firm, there are many opportunities to work with a variety of people and on many large clients and projects. This would usually involve admin tasks at the start (e.g. draft letters/emails to clients, managing the engagement, etc.) and as I get more experience there have been more chances to be involved in more complex tasks. Daily tasks would also involve joining team meetings to collaborate and keep up to date on the work / ensure deliverables to the client are in a timely manner.

Having a few months of experience at EY, I feel that I have not only learned new skills but have also improved existing skills. New skills I have learnt includes accounting / bookkeeping, tax technical skills, ethics and integrity and etc. In addition, in the corporate world there is always something to be done, therefore undertaking this apprenticeship has definitely improved my time and project management.

At the moment I do enjoy my apprenticeship due to many reasons. One being, the team are really helpful, supportive and understanding, especially when I do not understand a new concept as it would be foreign / new to me - colleagues would take time out of their day and explain the content. Also, there are many supportive groups / systems in place if you need help

From my experience, the programme is fairly structured but could be improved. The first few months the induction, training and support from team members and peers were great and welcoming. From early on in the course, I was informed of the internal processes, which also involves getting help / delegating tasks to overseas. In terms of studying for the professional qualifications, teams are understanding, however when it comes to knowing the dates of the exam there seems improvements could be made e.g. confirmation of exam date at a earlier time.

During my time at EY so far, the support has been great. When I joined, I was allocated a 'buddy' whom I can go to and ask any questions and have regular catch ups to voice any issues or worries. In addition, as mentioned before, there are many supportive systems for example, a counsellor (a more senior member in the team), apprenticeship coach (an individual who I can ask questions to regarding my course and I can let them know if I have a problem relating to the work and qualification).

Having completed one ICAEW Accounting Certificate Level exam, where the training provider was Kaplan, the tutors were very supportive and there was a revision course / study guide which was helpful in understanding the content. Kaplan also has a system in place where I could ask questions to a joint mailbox of tutors and receive an answer and explanation to my query.

As stated previously, at the time of writing I have only finished the ICAEW Accounting Certificate level exam. In my role as a Trainee Tax Advisor, understanding accounting / bookkeeping has helped me in my role to a certain extent. Having a grasp of accounting has helped me to be able to read the financial statements, which is important for some work, however for the majority of my role, in advisory, I don't need to apply this into practice.

Yes, there are a variety of extra-curricular activities to be involved with and are encouraged to join in different networks when you join. There are also social events, but due to the new working conditions that COVID-19 has brought, social events have been taking place on Teams. Moreover, EY have also promoted a program named EY Ripples that enables EY people and networks to positively impact lives via tapping into their unique skills and knowledge.

Yes

EY has not only been a great firm to work for, there are many learning opportunities (in different sectors) and to be involved with interesting large projects and clients. The team I am a part of are supportive and peers / seniors are also helpful when explaining concepts and tasks to do.

When applying for an apprenticeship, I would definitely recommend researching on what service line (i.e. assurance, consulting, tax, etc. ) you would like to be a part of / gain experience and and where you would like to build a career. Also, research whether you would like to work with UKI clients (energy, technology, etc.) or financial services clients (wealth and asset management, banking, insurance). When it comes to the interview, be confident and I would ensure to prepare for questions and have a rough idea of what to say so you aren't caught off guard.