[sumaysap]

Hello everyone!

I recently accepted a Tax Associate Position at one of the Big Four firms. I am starting after I graduate in May. I am really confused as to what tax group should I choose. I would potentially like to move into consulting or transaction services (particularly capital markets advisory). Please advise!

Thanks.

[Son]

sumaysap, you might not have enough experience with Big4s to realize this, but advisory and tax are not just two different departments, they are two separate entities under the umbrella of the same brand. There is very little transferability of the skills you learn in tax to what the capital markets group does. Also, while it is possible to transfer within the company, it's not that much easier than getting a job in advisory as an outsider – and your tax partner probably won't be very happy about your transfer. In my experience, such a transfer is predicated on (1) an opening with the advisory group you're interested in (for which you will have to apply and interview just like anyone else applying) and (2) you being a good performer so that the company is interested to accommodate your interest as opposed to loosing a valuable employee. Saying all this since there seems to be a misunderstanding among fresh graduates as to how easy it is to change career paths within Big4s.

To your question, are you sure you haven't been assigned to a group already? While it is possible you'd be rotated through several groups (business tax and international, for instance), it's somewhat uncommon in my experience for this to happen. I think mergers and acquisitions group might be the closest thing to what capital markets do. They, however, usually hire people exclusively into their group and don't take “rotating” new hires in – so that might not even be an option. Other than that, I would consider general business tax services group or international tax and stay as general as possible in what you do or seek opportunities to do transaction planning work.

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[rp 12]

In a nutshell I will just say get good reviews from your teams first, build a good brand of yourself in the firm/office you working at, def get CPA, be involved in the firm events, get to know people from Transaction Services, and/or Advisory group of your interest… Network w/ the professionals. Bottomline is that switching to another LoS is not going to be easy at all. Lot of factors go into play.

"Success in life comes when you simply refuse to give up, with goals so strong that obstacles, failure, and loss act only as motivation"

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[sumaysap]

@Son: Thank you for such a detailed response. No, I haven't been assigned a group yet. I was told that I'd receive a survey in which I'd be able to make two or three selections (they don't guarantee anything – it depends on their business needs). The office I'll be working at is second largest office of that firm in the US, so I believe they should be able to accommodate me in the group of my choice.

My only concern is that I don't want to choose any specialty group, which in future might affect my job prospects. I have already met two capital markets partners, a managing director and a manager, but I'll show my interest after I have worked there for a year or two. M&A tax group actually works with the capital markets advisory at my firm, since they both are part of what they call ‘deals' group, but again M&A would be so specific that it might hurt my future job prospects.

[sumaysap]

@rp 12: Thanks for your response. I am graduating in May and will have two months before I start working. I have already started studying for CPA exams and they are on the top of my list.

[Son]

sumaysap, I see where you're coming from. I agree that working for a specialized group limits your exit options down the road as I work in one myself. Since you don't have any practical experience there's also a good chance you will change your mind down the road about your preferences . So, I would say even more reasons to choose business tax or international tax groups. International has slightly less exit options because only large multinationals have large international tax departments. But it's generally regarded as a more interesting and prestigious group to work for because issues they deal with are more complex. I would stay away from multistate and individual (global employment services or whatever it is called at pwc).

It's actually great news that they're giving you options, guess one of the benefits of working for a larger office;)

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[Author]

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