Tax Associate Review

I prepare tax returns on a set client list (70 or so in your first year, increases with the next tax cycle), I am responsible for the organisation of these clients, but do have meetings with my manager to make sure I'm on top of it and not struggling. I also have set days of study, these are about 4-5 every 3 months, but there are also days where we attend 'soft skill' training. This can occur virtually or in person, sometimes in a different office (travel is reimbursed by the company - don't worry!).

I have begun to develop my understanding of tax through attending different courses. There were about 5 or 6 Mercia led courses that were especially useful, these were half a day each. There isn't actually as much maths involved as you would think - which could be a positive or a negative for some!

I'm really enjoying it so far. It's definitely a good fit for me. The only difficult bit is balancing the study with your work: you are expected to do all of your revision towards exams (with the exception of training courses) outside of work hours. However, you can build up TOIL through overtime and use this for study.

It has been reasonably well structured so far. The training was all 'buddy' (someone a year ahead of you) led although you are ok to ask anyone questions - everyone is more than happy to help. The only real issue I faced was having a training course the week before and after an exam I had (for a different exam!) but the training providers have since acknowledged this was baldly organised due to feedback from the firm.

I receive a lot of support - managers tend to have catch ups with their teams fairly often and are always happy to chat if you have any concerns. There are progress reviews at 3 and 6 months to make sure you are meeting expectations and can raise any queries you may have.

There is a forum online to ask questions, as well as an email address. In my experience, you get a response very quickly (same day mostly). The tutors for the training courses also give out their contact details in order that you can reach out to them specifically with questions.

It's actually very useful! It has meant I've been able to learn my role a lot more quickly than otherwise, I think. It helps to be able to apply it in everyday work too. It's especially useful as it means I understand the back workings of what's going on in order to explain it to clients.

There are quite a few networking events! We have a social committee who organise all of them and do a really good job. So far we have had a quiz (which was really good to meet people and have a chat in a non-work environment), our Christmas party (nice excuse to dress up) and our January meal (to celebrate the end of the tax cycle!). There are also plenty of people around at lunch, and we have team lunches occasionally too.

Yes

I've really enjoyed it. It's friendly as a firm and has a massive amount of both support and knowledge. There is so much you can learn from people and they are more than happy to help you. There are plenty of internal opportunities such as secondments to different departments and such too.

The application process actually had a really swift turnaround. I had managed to go from first application to job offer in the time it took EY to go from final assessment center to offering me a final interview. Therefore, I'd suggest applying earlier if you can. The assessment days and interviews were all during school hours which was a bit inconvenient, but my sixth form was very good about giving me the time off to do them.