Big 4 M&A Tax to IB?
I have an offer to go to big 4 for M&A tax consulting this summer, which would likely lead to an offer. I know the big 4 -> IB has been beaten to death many times here from TAS or valuation, but haven’t seen this position discussed at all. I am a JD student and haven’t had any traction on 2024 summer jobs yet. Just wondering if I start here can I go to IB or should I look to internally transfer to a different position if I’m hired before making the move? M&A tax is one of the higher paid business lines with a jd, so would likely be looking at a 50k pay cut to go to TAS or valuation, but if that is what it took to get to IB then i don’t really care. Ultimate goal is IB RX but honestly I’d be happy with any MM or LMM shop doing regular IB.
Just go get mba. It’s really that simple.
Preface: I have no JD, no experience specifically with Big 4 tax, but I have gotten offers without the most optimal experience
So here is the thing, it is tough to transition into IBD because you will likely be transitioning in at the Associate+ level. In other words, you likely have too much experience to start as an Analyst, which will make things more complicated. Yes, you will have strong accounting / legal knowledge and this will likely make you a very strong asset, but the problem is that you wont REALLY understand what goes into buying and selling a company. Sure, you may have the strongest perspective on what occurs from a tax lens during the DD leg of the process, but from pitch to wire transfer, a LOT happens that you likely wont have any experience or knowledge on.
With that said, I am a firm believer that anything is possible. You just need to levelset with yourself going in. You need a friend in IB already who can help you with the simple stuff (e.g., steps in a deal process, core responsibilities of an Associate) and the critical stuff (e.g., all the excel and PPT shortcuts). Then, you need to grind your ass off to learn the various models. Knowing a DCF, precedents, public comps, etc. This is something you can do in your free time. I didnt major in Finance so I learned it all during UG while working 40+ hours a week, so if you are driven, it can be done.
Ok, so now you have put in the work. Next, you need a bit of luck. Given the general M&A environment, this part may take a LOT OF TIME. It could take a month, it could take 2 years. Essentially, you need a bank to take a chance on you. There are plenty of LMM banks that may do this, but you need to network non-stop until you find one (ideally 5+) that is hiring.
Then, you need to practice for the interviews and crush the modeling test. If you can do all of these, you should be able to leverage your experience to move to a stronger bank down the road.
It is really all going to come down to how badly you want it. In every role Ive held, I was one of the less qualified folks with the non-cookie-cutter backgrounds. Got into IBD (internships) when I didnt fit the profile, broke into consulting with no directly relevant experience, and now got into Corp Dev (where I ultimately wanted to be) as the only person on my team with a non-banking background (never did IBD FT).
Most people will tell you up front it cant be done. Most people will also tell you the juice isnt worth the squeeze, as a ton of work and time will be spent making this transition. If you want it badly enough, you can make it happen.
I would probably start there and then migrate to TAS if you can. It's an uphill battle and we've interviewed multiple Big 4 Tax professionals (some more CPA background, others with JDs) and neither felt like they had enough transaction skills to start as an IB associate. To the other poster's point, you get stuck in no man's land where your background and age push you out of the typical analyst candidacy but your lack of deal experience (M&A tax can be helpful, but its such a small piece of the puzzle) makes it nearly impossible to start as an associate.
So then why do banks hire MBA career switchers? Seems like they would be subject to all the same problems?
They have some prior work experience for one and a broader set of skills and get critical IB internship experience. Why aren't you considering going into corporate law instead as a mechanism to eventually move over?
combination of grades and school prestige.
I literally went from Big 4 M&A tax to BB/EB - it took years and years to remove the stain that was tax on my CV by jumping between TAS and Lead AdvisoryFundamentally, you have a big 4 career offer - good job and you do learn some incredibly technical stuff, but for a dream gig in IB / PE the other two departments above will get you into IB / PE much faster and will help you pass interview questions easier.
Plus you have to do tax exams which are painful… and I'll promise you'll forget 90% of it within 2 years.Tax is much more legal and wordy than other departments too so if you're more numbers, I'd have a rethink - the most numbers you do are funds flows and tax modelling (if you're lucky).
To be clear, you have to love modelling and valuation and be prepared to spend hours and hours learning something you won’t really get taught on the job - you need to want to move badly otherwise the stigma of being a tax advisor will weigh down many interviews
Any positions I should apply to instead? Should I suck it up and try and go to an MBA program? I just feel like I need work experience instead of more school and that is harming me all the way around. I am trying to balance that idea with a job that will set me up for the future. It just seems like even related roles are pretty much not hiring. I am not set on big 4, I am really willing to do anything I could reasonably expect to get hired doing.
How about restructuring law or M&A law? RX especially is lawyer-heavy on the IB side since those documents are complicated. That would not be a difficult jump. Unless you are super against law I would try to slot yourself into some sort of financial law over M&A tax.
Otherwise I'd go to corporate finance - FP&A, corp dev, strategy etc, Big4 TAS perhaps. Those won't recruit this far out, closer to MBA timing (so networking for summer 2024 would kick off next fall, interviews in late fall and early spring) Still might be a jump or two but you'll have an easier time getting there than from tax accounting. There are roles hiring, but in this labor market they will go for someone with finance experience over a JD with no finance on their resume. This is where networking and self-teaching yourself some finance and accounting makes the difference.
I agree you should get some work experience. Going straight to an MBA with no work experience is a pretty sure path to landing nothing for IB recruiting, they pretty much will not hire associates without work experience.
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