Associate Review

My day to day role is to provide tax advice to clients in relation to proposed deals. This involves investigating company's tax affairs, discussions with clients and internal specialists, researching complex tax matters and reporting on our findings. We provide varying types of reports depending on the nature of the proposed deal.

I have learnt and developed lots of new skills including communication skills (verbal and written) through various mediums (e.g. client meetings, telephone calls, emails, reports, memos), report writing skills, researching skills, project management skills, note taking skills, time management skills, analytical skills and general day to day work skills and ethic.

I am happy with the experience it has given me and the opportunities to learn and develop. I appreciate the ability to have been part of a good team who I have learnt a lot from. I do not enjoy how long the programme has been and the intensity and persistence of the off the job learning (qualifications etc.) - sustaining this level of pressure (balancing work and studies) for 6+ years in a progressively more demanding job / level of exams is not good for mental or emotional wellbeing.

The programme continues to be more organised as time passes. Initially there were issues with organisation. There continues to be issues with organisation from a studies and exam perspective. The structure of the programme in theory is good as it allows access to good qualifications however more thought needs to be given to the balance of work and study time (in addition to people's home lives) to make it more sustainable.

Support from my team is very good - they support both in the work environment and where possible, the study environment. More needs to be done to offer emotional and wellbeing support to people struggling with the balance of work and study, particularly as the work loads increase and the difficulty of exams increases.

Training provider is adequate. More could be done to ensure more support (particularly personalised support) if needed. The individual tutors are very good and very helpful, however, it would be better if the whole training provider had better systems and more organised structures in place to provide this same level of support as the tutors. Sometimes response times are unacceptable.

Part of my qualification is relevant to my job and provides me with a good base for some of the technical content I have to cover in my day to day role. However, quite a large part of my studies are not linked to my job but do cover background business information etc. which can still be quite helpful.

Yes, lots of corporate social responsibility initiatives and this is encouraged. Lots of networks for various different things including cultures and sports. There are also lots of professional networking events but these are usually run by external providers but they are sometimes subsidised by KPMG. There has been a bit of a decrease in this due to covid but things are trying to be moved online where possible.

Yes

KPMG is a good place to learn, develop new skills and have access to opportunities. If it is not the place for you long term it provides good grounding for other jobs and also looks good on a CV and makes you more employable. Overall depending on the team and programme you are on it is a good place to work.

Make sure you understand the roles and responsibilities going in and understand the structure of your programme. Do research about any qualifications you will be working towards and make sure you work hard to reach those. Take as many opportunities as KPMG will offer as it will better your skills and also provide a good basis for future jobs.