Trainee tax adviser Review

I am a trainee tax adviser in a private client tax team so essentially the clients I work with are wealthy individuals. Work invloves: - Personal compliance so preparing tax returns; - Advisory work which could involve a range of tax planning; and - Trust work which includes preparation of accounts, tax returns and Inheritance Tax Returns.

My communication skills have developed massively as there is certainly a way to speak and write when communicating to a client or even to a senior collegue. I have also massively learnt how to manage a work load and be organised. It is hard to sometimes stay on top of work so you have to make sure you are organised and keep a good to do list.

I really enjoy the programme. It gives you a few years longer at a junior level so you can really take your time to understand what you are doing and work hard on all of the important soft skills as well as more real life experience. I think it puts you in a good place for when you progress.

Very. There is a whole team of managers who purely look after the programme and make sure if run smoothly. There is a clear pathway in place and the programme advisors are very helpful and always willing to answer questions. Since joining the scheme, it has grown a lot and developed, all in good ways.

A great amount. Since specialising into my team, I get so much support and I know I could talk to them about any issue. They will always help you and do whatever is best for you. Especially during lockdown, they have made sure that everyone is checked in on and conversations are constantly had to make sure you are ok.

Tollies/First Intuition are really helpful and I have really enjoyed doing my CTA exams through them. They have very structured programmes and offer a lot of support. The study material is very good but there are also tutors you can email and forums that you can post questions to and read other peoples questions on.

It massively helps as without the technical tax knowledge, it would be very hard to understand what was going on at work. Especially in the last 12 months as I have done more exams, I have noticed that I find the work much easier to do as I really get what is going on and I am not just taking a guess.

Yes there is a social team that work together each year to think up ideas etc. Ignoring lockdown there is usually a monthly or bi monthly event, some just simple sociale events, others are corporate sporting events or challenges etc. Within my team there is also them networking events shared around when others are invited to extenal events.

Yes

It's a great organisation to work for as there are endless opportunities. You get to experience work and clients that are as big as they are going to get so it is a great place to learn as you see such a vast range of work and get to work with some very experienced and knowlegable people. Overall it is a great place to work.

Just be yourself and it doesnt always patter if you aren't a top scorer in your exams as KPMG look at the soft skills just as closely as exam grades. Try to research the different areas within KPMG to make sure you have a rough idea and maybe an idea of what area you like the sound of the most.