What is your role and how long have you been at Moore Kingston Smith?
I am a Tax Assistant in the Corporate and Business Tax Team and I have been at Moore Kingston Smith for one and a half years.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your career journey to date?
I graduated the University of Bath in June 2023 with a BSc in Economics, and I had some Data Analysis work experience. I applied for the Tax graduate scheme during my final year of university and started in September 2024. Early on I got to work on a variety of clients and types of work – from tax compliance for small owner-managed businesses to large corporate groups with 20+ companies. After some time, I started to assist on advisory work ranging from short, high-level emails to full, in-depth reports on a range of topics. I now split my time between M&A tax and Tax compliance, enjoying a mixture of both compliance and advisory.
What would a ‘normal’ day look like for someone in your role?
Due to the range of work available, its hard to describe a ‘normal’ day, but if I had to describe my typical workday, my ‘to-do’ list would comprise of various projects I have on my radar for that week, involving tax returns, due diligence reports, advisory reports, or other various tax jobs I may have picked up. I work my way through these in priority order, whilst also attending meetings or having work-briefing or catch up calls with colleagues.
We also have college days which start at 9:00 and finish at 4:15 with lunch break from 1:00-2:00.
What inspired you to apply for this role/this company?
I knew that when I was applying for a graduate scheme I wanted to apply for a job where I could firstly gain a post-graduate qualification and secondly have a varied workload. I came across a few tax graduate schemes, and I reached out to some people who worked in tax to learn more about the role. After chatting with a few people and learning about the varied work; the balance of working with numbers but also producing written work; and how helpful tax professionals are to clients in the sense that we can save companies up to millions in reduced tax charges, I though that the job could be a good fit for me.
After interviewing at Moore Kingston Smith, I found that in my interview, the culture of the firm seemed to fit what I wanted in a company that I would be working for. I felt that as an employee I would be respected, even as a trainee due to:
- Flexibility with work hours & WFH
- Hot desk seating gives you the opportunity to surround yourself with colleagues at all levels of seniority
- Good working relationships and opportunities to work in teams with colleagues of all levels of seniority
- Great support from the Early Talent team to help you through your studies
I know that since joining Moore Kinston Smith, I have made the right choice.
What advice would you give to someone considering applying for a role at MKS? What would you have liked to know before starting your role?
I would have a bit of a research into the role, maybe reaching out to people on LinkedIn for advice and consider how valuable the ACA/CTA qualifications are to you - they can be very time-consuming, and you will be required to study around your work schedule. For me, this is something I am happy to do, but it is something to consider.
Finally, if you want to apply, then go for it! MKS is a great place to work and gain your qualifications.
What do you find most interesting with the sector/industry you’re in?
Within the Corporate and Business tax space, I find the fact that the tax legislation is so vast, and changes frequently, interesting. There is always something new to learn or research when taking on new work, which means that the job is always intellectually stimulating.
There are also many specialisms in tax which can be explored; for example, I have worked on both buy and sell-side M&A work, corporate tax compliance for individual companies and large international groups, transfer pricing reports, R&D advice, tax accounting, and tax audits.
What’s it like working in the City office?
I really enjoy working in the City Office. Firstly, this is the main location for the C&B tax team, so there are always familiar faces around and people to talk to during the day.
Secondly, the location is quite social and active – there is Spitalfields market for food at lunch, lots of pubs and bars nearby for afterwork drinks, and activities for work socials, such as crazy golf and more. It is relatively easy to get to other areas of London from the office.