[Jriver]

More limited in options and less corporate tax roles in general? So would you say it’s a competitive field once you get out of public accounting? Corporate tax- is it enjoyable?

[jaredo155]

I have never worked in public accounting and as such can't really respond to your first question about the opportunities that are presented in the tax field through that. However I did work in Corporate Tax for about three and a half years, and I absolutely loved what I was doing. I worked in a very small tax department (6 people), and we had nexus in 41 states. So needless to say I got my hands on a little bit of just about everything, from income (federal, state, and local), property, sales, incorporating, acquisitions, etc. I found corporate tax to be very enjoyable for a couple reasons you aren't likely to get through auditing or general accounting. First I feel like in tax there is much more gray area left up to at least some interpretation (this is more true in property and sales than income), which makes it fun to search for the best position to take. Also being involved in the acquisitions side of it was fun, because we got to be part of the strategic arm driving where the company went instead of just accounting for it after the fact. I will say tax jobs in general in the private sector seem to be far less plentiful, but the amount of people seeking them seems to be less as well. I am sure some people will disagree with my experience, but I really enjoyed my time in tax.

AUD - 2/2013 - Passed!
BEC - 5/2013 - Passed!
FAR - 8/2013 - Passed!
REG - 11/2013 - Passed!
"Do or do not, there is no try." - Yoda

[splinter1643]

Compared to audit, I'd say it's more limited in terms of the positions you might get. As one of my co-workers said, when you're in tax, you're in tax for the rest of your life…but if you do audit first, you have options to do accounting, audit, or tax.

CPA license in progress....

[whitelilies04]

I work in tax for a big 4. My office does mainly corporate taxes and I love it. I don't feel limited at all by my choice to specialize in tax. We serve mainly large, multinational, tech corporations. Most people at my firm do their time and then jump to industry (usually one of our clients) and I will likely do the same at some point. If you decide to make a career in corporate tax, it is definitely a niche. So it isn't terribly competitive, but that is because there are so few people with the skill set necessary to fill the jobs available.

I don't think it is as limiting as Splinter made is sound, I know a few people who have left my firm and are now just general revenue accountants at different large corporations.

FAR - passed, 11/12
AUD - passed, 5/13

[splinter1643]

Well, I guess it depends on a lot of factors; I really shouldn't have generalized! I started as a tax associate in a very small office at a big 4 firm, so maybe that's a unique scenario. So consider the below, but it might not apply to your situation.

In my area, if the recruiters know that you're in tax, the first thing they will do is to recruit you for a higher-level tax position, and it's usually going to be corporate tax. If you're interested in tax-only positions and don't intend to do accounting, you'll still have many opportunities to work in different industries. My coworkers have switched to corporate tax positions in smaller companies or become tax analysts.

However, if you're a tax professional looking for accounting positions, it really depends on the experience you have. This is where I think your options are much wider provided you have relevant audit or FAS109 experience. People in my office who started in audit were more likely to switch to tax, but it's much harder to go from tax to audit, or even get an audit rotation.

CPA license in progress....

[Author]

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