[barelystayingsane]

I am a relatively new associate (less than a year) at a Big 4 firm and have always wanted to do a rotation in film/entertainment tax. People always talk about discussing career goals/opportunities with your coach and discussing it early on so that people can get feelers out there and start to get plans in motion, but I am not sure if this is something worth discussing. I work in international tax, so there is definitely some applicability to film tax when it comes to overseas filming, tax credits, etc. However, it is so specialized I think it would be difficult to find a way how I could take what I learned in that area and apply it to my area now (I work in the Midwest), and I’m assuming I would have to give a reason as to why I should do this (other than I’m interested in it). Is it worth even mentioning this to anyone, or do you think people would just brush it off?

Thanks!

[Mayo]

I think your coach would definitely take it seriously and should give you some solid advice on it. I'm not sure how Tax works though, but I would imagine a limiting factor would be location. At least in audit, if you want film and entertainment clients then you go to LA.

Now, if there are opportunities in your office a lot of it will depend on your rating and if anyone vouches for your work. Simply, if you're good, then people will listen. If not, it will be much harder and it takes a stronger network to pull it off. Just don't expect it to happen tomorrow or next week. Go in to it with a short-mid term plan of 6 months to a year or maybe a couple of years depending on the specialization (again, I'm not a tax guy). But a couple of weeks after busy season is probably a good time to talk to your coach about it.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Mayo]

I think your coach would definitely take it seriously and should give you some solid advice on it. I'm not sure how Tax works though, but I would imagine a limiting factor would be location. At least in audit, if you want film and entertainment clients then you go to LA.

Now, if there are opportunities in your office a lot of it will depend on your rating and if anyone vouches for your work. Simply, if you're good, then people will listen. If not, it will be much harder and it takes a stronger network to pull it off. Just don't expect it to happen tomorrow or next week. Go in to it with a short-mid term plan of 6 months to a year or maybe a couple of years depending on the specialization (again, I'm not a tax guy). But a couple of weeks after busy season is probably a good time to talk to your coach about it.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Author]

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