I'm graduating in 2014 and have an offer for Tax at Big 4 in the UK this summer. How hard would it be to get an IBD SA position for next summer?
I've heard Tax gets pigeon-holed pretty bad. I'm just wondering if I should push for a consulting internship this summer at a smaller firm instead?
Any thoughts would be much appreciated!
Come on guys... A little help here? Have you seen the move from Tax to IBD done before?
No, your hopes and dreams are shattered.
I thought in the realm of accounting, tax was the big money?
Yeah that's what I've heard so far, but I really don't want be in Accounting. The job sounds boring as fuck.
I've seen plent of undergrads do internships at Big 4 and then make the switch to an IB internship / full time offer. Most of them were in audit though...
Ok, that doesn't sound so bad. I mean, surely Audit and Tax can't be that different in terms of opportunities for IB. Cheers for the input.
You have a better shot of getting serious answers than makin the switch
Oh dear. So far it hasn't proven to be too bad I guess... 2 out of 4 comments were helpful.
But seriously - what do people normally do when they leave Tax?
Full time tax > IBD? Unlikely. I could possibly see the transaction side of tax being somewhat relevant, but audit is usually where people come from when they go to IB (from public accounting, which is rare).
Tax people usually go to other tax positions, but I guess you could leverage your experience somehow. Audit gives you more options. And no I don't think tax is the "big money" unless you can set up your own shop and get a hoard of clients. You're going about it the right way by asking these questions early - just keep digging on here and cpanet.com.
How is this relevant at all? He\'s asking about going from a sophomore year internship in tax to a junior year ibd sa. Did you even read the question?
^^ Agree with this. There are only 3 ways to make a good living in tax. 1. make partner 2. leave big 4 tax to work in corporate tax dept. - Not sure how high you can make it though, while a lot of people that leave audit for industry and move up the ladder, it is harder to break into the operations side coming from tax. 3 Open your own shop.
If you are not a fan of accounting and it is looking like you are going to have to put in some time at a Big 4 but want to eventually move away from accy, audit is absolutely your best bet.
For example, the client I am on is doing some mgmt. changes and the person next in line to be CFO started as an auditor and left right before he made senior.
While audit is not the most glamarious thing in the world and your not going to impress anybody by telling them your an auditor with a Big 4 firm - there are vast opportunities for those who are in audit and who are smart and willing to work hard.
I went to two superdays when I was an undergrad ( I studied accy ) and I'd say about 20% ish of the people there had either studied accounting or had done an internship at a big 4 firm (in audit)
There is no easy answer. To be fair, doing Big 4 Accounting is a pretty solid sophomore year internship. For the most part, most kids going for OCR junior year do nothing or do something rather inconsequential. The Big 4 may not impress too many bankers but it will certainly raise eyebrows when compared to your peers who spent the summer answering phone calls and making photocopies.
That being said, you will definitely be at a disadvantage to those few lucky sophomores who attain BB internships and relatively prestigious boutique gigs. Note, those are the blue chip candidates and there are few and far between. If banking is your goal, finding a boutique investment banking gig may be better but at a big 4 internship cannot hurt you.
It is an internship. Just do it, you'll learn more about the professional culture and how to carry yourself than anything else relevant to IB.
That said, I've heard FT Tax is pretty terrible. Only exit opportunities are other public tax roles or more accounting firms tax roles.
I definitely don't want to do Tax FT. I guess I'll take this internship and network my ass off for IB next summer.
Thanks for all the advice folks! Really appreciate it.
I definitely don't want to do Tax FT. I guess I'll take this internship and network my ass off for IB next summer.
Thanks for all the advice folks! Really appreciate it.
Freezepops, he edited his original post to take away a question asking about whether tax was where the "big money?" Which is why mistabrooks mentioned 3 ways to make a living in tax, also in response to the question.
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