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Meeting Jack, an Assistant Manager in Tax, he was excited to talk about the opportunities and the work culture he had experienced at BDO. Now, a year in, he can confidently say BDO has lived up to its reputation. His journey into the world of tax advisory has been an interesting one, taking him from rural Dorset to bustling London, along the way gathering experiences and insights that have shaped his career. Today, he’s sharing a bit about his background, his day-to-day role, and what makes BDO a fantastic place to work.

Man holding a beer with sunglasses on, standing in front of some skyscrapers

Hi Jack, so we're intrigued - what were you doing before joining BDO?

Hi! So, I’m a school leaver and started training as a tax adviser at a top 10 accounting firm in September 2019, in Bristol. I was there for 18 months, then moved to another accounting firm in Bristol for another 18 months before joining BDO in London in January 2023. I grew up in rural Dorset, in the southwest of England, which feels like a world away from the fast-paced environment of London.

Wow, a few miles away! So why did you decide to choose BDO and what makes you stay?

Initially, I was encouraged by what I’d seen online about BDO’s people offering, workplace culture, and the variety of work staff get the chance to be involved in. Having been here for a year now, I can say wholeheartedly that’s also my reason for staying. In my experience, most firms talk a good game about offering these things, but few deliver. BDO is the real deal, and I’ve seen time and time again the BDO partners make good on this commitment.

So tell us about your day-to-day role; what do you actually do? 

On a given day, I’m typically doing a mix of drafting tax advice around restructuring, analysing how a business works and whether it might meet conditions for various reliefs in the event of a sale, designing ways to effectively move cash and assets around groups while making use of tax reliefs, and assisting clients with their compliance obligations. This also involves speaking to clients to understand what’s behind these issues, working closely with those around me, as well as others in the tax stream like private client and US tax specialists.

Sounds complex; how do you describe it to people who don't understand? 

I tend to say: I help large businesses navigate the UK’s tax rules to make sure they maximize the tax reliefs created to help those businesses.

Think about the future then; what opportunities are you excited for at BDO?

To be honest, I’m excited to spend more time with clients and learn more about their industries. I’m also looking forward to developing specialisms in key areas of tax that will open avenues for me to work more closely with a mix of clients and other teams within the firm, nationwide.

But what about some of the things you heard about accounting? You must have heard some weird ones before you started?

Yeah I did! I'd heard that the work we do is just filling out and filing forms. Compliance work is a part of what we do, but only a part. A huge proportion of our service offering is around understanding how clients’ businesses are structured, how those structures could be optimized, the tax implications of mergers, acquisitions, and demergers, and international transactions, to name a few.

Man in pink t-shirt standing by a Ducati motorbike

We've heard the fun stuff then, but what’s the most difficult bit about working in your team?

Balancing competing demands on your time. Working in tax means that you are going to have multiple work streams to attend to at the same time, which is a blessing in the sense that it offers a lot of variety. However, it also means that there are times when quite quickly all those workstreams are demanding your attention at the same time. This is certainly manageable and gets easier with experience but can be challenging at times.

OK, and we'll ask you what we ask others: what is a fun fact about BDO that no one else knows?

Compared to other firms, BDO has a particularly generous offering of tuition-led study leave to associates studying for the chartered tax adviser (CTA) exams. These are undoubtedly difficult exams, and it’s certainly something I wish I’d had when I was studying for these at other firms.

And what about what you do outside work to relax?

I’m a keen gym-goer and a fair-weather motorcycle enthusiast. Yep, that means I love my bike but it has to be sunny for me to actually ride!

Sounds appropriate for England! But how do you maintain that passion alongside work?

This isn’t something I find difficult to do, honestly. There’s a strong emphasis on work-life balance at BDO, and I rarely miss a gym session. As for getting out on the bike, it’s tinkering and maintenance in the winter and hitting the roads in the summer! Simple as that.

Jack’s journey at BDO tells us about the balance between a demanding yet rewarding professional role and maintaining personal passions. His story highlights the supportive work culture at BDO and the firm’s commitment to its employees' growth and well-being. Jack’s enthusiasm for his work and hobbies is a testament to the fulfilling career he’s building at BDO.

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