Tax Associate Review

My job responsibilities as a Tax Associate include the following: • Assist in tax investigations and disclosure processes through external liaison with clients and HMRC • Analyse data and compute tax liabilities • Drafting of disclosure report sections and preparing appendices • Assist with administration and correspondence • Develop knowledge of UK taxation through studying for the Chartered Tax Advisor (CTA) qualification • Prepare tax returns when required

I was undertaking the Chartered Tax Advisory (CTA) qualification. There were internal training courses available. I learnt technical skills such as excel functions, data entry, technical tax knowledge; client take on and risk reporting processes, report drafting and preparation of tax returns. I also learnt soft skills such as how to work better in a team and time management.

I did not really enjoy the programme. The work is very monotonous and leave little scope for professional development. I expected to be doing more variety of work. such as drafting reports and liaising with clients, instead of always being given data entry/billing tasks. The colleagues in my team are supportive and friendly however, and I appreciate the culture where working overtime is strongly discouraged.

In terms of the qualification, the programme is very structured. There was a 2 week residential induction at Cambridge when we first joined, and there are a lot of internal training courses throughout the year. There are a number of internal training staff to support your studies throughout. Task delegation has not been particularly organised - some grads seem to get way more work than other grads do. There is also a lot of hierarchy within the team in that junior staff will only be expected to do certain level of tasks.

I receive a lot of support from my people manager, who checks in with me once a week. I was assigned a buddy as well when I joined. There was some support from HR during Covid but I did not feel the support was tailored to me. There is a general supportive culture but this has worn off a bit due to Covid.

My training provider is my employer. There are a few tutors and they are easy to contact and will answer any questions you have. There is a lot of supportive towards the qualifications, including courses, consolidation work, and more. I did not particularly enjoy the content of the studies however - it is very technical and dull.

My qualification help me understand the technical complexities and legal basis of the tax cases better. I definitely gain more knowledge about tax through the qualification. Sometimes the immediate application isn't directly felt, but it can be useful in helping in report drafting and interpreting case law, particularly if one progresses to be in a more senior position.

There are quite a few corporate social responsibility events that staff can get involved in and there are general allowances (10 days towards CSR activities). There are events to get involved in although because of covid a lot of them were cancelled. I attended the Christmas ball as well as a few other events.

Yes

If you are interested in pursuing a career in audit/tax, BDO will support you throughout your apprenticeship and studies and offer you plenty of opportunities for learning and training. The work life balance is also quite good (at least in my team) that management appreciate that after 5:30 + weekends are your own free time.

Be genuine and relax. They want to see how you demonstrate your strengths throughout the assessments. There is no right or wrong answer to each question, but make sure you do your research into the team you're applying to and what you expect the role to involve. Lastly, do not be afraid to ask questions!