Have you ever experienced working in the Tax department before?
I interned in Deloitte's Corporate Tax division a while back, and I have to say, its nothing like how I imagined it to be.
You have to do a surprising amount of talking, and preparing Tax Comps is rarely as easy and simple as how you did it in class.
Its tough, but I do think it becomes easier the more you do it. I liked that they treat me like an actual staff during my internship...
But at the same time, it can be a bit too much. Silly me for coming in during PEAK PERIOD.
Speaking of which, Peak Period in Tax was....an experience, for sure. But what comes afterwards are peaceful times in the office.
September is probably the best stress-free month if you're working in Tax.

Tax:
- Pretty much a Deskjob. Come in at 9, sit at your workstation, work and leave (ideally) at 5. Dont be fooled tho; seniors who leave early often take their work home.
- You work in the office. Get to enjoy cool Deloitte perks like Ice Cream day, Movie Night, etc.
- The office being in TTDI is great. Lots of restaurants to try out. You'll get fat easily if you're not careful. But seriously, really love being in TTDI.
- During peak period, Deloitte gives you 2 weeks of free Dinners. DINNERS. Which means you're staying in the office way past 5pm.

Audit:
- You're often out and about at the clients place. When you're in the office, you dont have your own workstation. I see the auditors working at any empty tables they can find. Some of them even work or chilling on the floor.
- Since you're out most of the time, you're missing out on those Deloitte events. I heard auditors are too tired to join Movie Night. Prefer to go home and sleep.
- Get to travel, meet with lots of different people, learn about different businesses and how they operate. You can escape the monotony of a deskjob, but its tiring.
- You're given travel allowances. During peak periods, Deloitte will allocate you free meals for a month or two.

Its hard to say which path is the best path for you. IMO, you need to try it out yourself and see if you like it. I really like Tax. I still do. But now I'm curious to try my hand at Audit.

Hmm, I dont seem to have any problems in applying via their usual Deloitte Careers page. So I cant help you there. Maybe try using a different browser?

Yes, Tax is a specialised career, and if you're still at a relatively young age, its best to not pigeon-hole yourself in one field completely. Starting with Audit is a good advice to heed imo. But there's nothing wrong with going into Tax first and then transitioning into Audit later on. When you've had enough of Tax, you can always ask your manager and HR about transitioning into Audit. With the current COVID19 situation, I'd honestly take whatever I can get when it comes to getting a job from the Big 4. If you applied for both Audit and Tax but only got the job offer for Tax, I say take the job. If you get an offer for both Audit and Tax, then I have to agree with others and recommend that you start out with Audit. It is the most eye-opening, horizon-broading, mind-expanding work out of the two...and also the most exhausting. Which is why you should start with it. If you find that you dont like the Audit work-style, then take comfort in the fact that you've gone through it and that you can look forward to a Deskjob in Tax.

Worth noting; A senior of mine said that if you've graduated and you're looking to Intern in Audit... Don't. You wont get to learn much in just 3-6 months. Instead, apply for an actual Audit Associate position and work your ass off for 2-3 years. Its tiring, but at least you'll learn more and the pay would be worth it.

Free meals is nice lah. Think other Big 4s also do the same. Only during peak periods tho and only for Dinner. Lunch you still have to pay for yourself.

Hello. Just wanted to check with my fellow accountants here. I applied for PwC's Jr Xplorers Programme (Jan 2021 intake) earlier this year. I contacted HR about a month ago, and they said we should get further updates on the program sometime in September. Well, we've passed the halfway point for September already, and I'm just wondering if anyone here who applied for the same program has had any recent contact with HR regarding this program.

I tried calling them a bunch of times already this week. Cant ever seem to get the right timing.

This post has been edited by KappAmir: Sep 17 2020, 04:38 PM

I appreciate the support.
No, I havent gone through any of the online assessment or interview yet. I just wanna confirm that I'm not missing out on PwC's Jr Xplorers program.

I'm weighing my options at the moment. I currently have an opportunity to join a different Xplorer program which starts in October and ends in April 2021 (6 months). However, this Xplorer program is NOT Accounts-related...(Its more of a "me following my dreams" kinda thing ). I'd like to be certain on the status of my application with PwC so I can make a more informed decision. As much as I like to be a dreamer and join next month's program, the realist in me is leaning more towards getting the experience in Auditing first. It wont look good if I joined one program and then quit halfway to join PwC's program.

Wait, 2 years? A friend of mine joined and finished the program earlier this year. It shouldnt take more than 4 months, I think. According to him, he joined an audit team comprising mostly of fresh graduates like himself (with only 2 senior auditors) and was quickly given clients to audit. No joke, he was clueless for about 2 - 3 weeks, even got marah by manager also (but not so much lah, because manager knows that he is new). Eventually he got the hang of it lah. Based on their performance in those 4 months, PwC might contact them and give them full time employment.

My buddy only really did Audit work for the first 3 months only. Then COVID and PKP happen, he just spend the last remaining month "working" from home and doing nothing. He didnt get absorbed, but he liked the experience.

Those associates that you knew, were they promoted to Senior Associates by the end of those 2 years? Because the saying I keep hearing is that you should soldier on in Audit until you get promoted to Senior Auditor and then get through 1 - 2 peak periods before jumping ship. You'll get better experience.

Dude, how long ago did you apply for the PwC Jr Xplorer?
I applied since October and all I ever got was an email saying that they will contact me sometime in November. Its almost December and I havent heard anything from them.

Also, mind sharing what they asked during the Interview? Was it phone-screening or via Webcam?

Thanks for the update.
Clearly you got further than me, and I hope you get the job.
Thats weird for me tho. I only got an invitation to do the Pymetrics assessment in October.
After that, I havent received any word at all from them aside from that one email in November.
Dont tell me I didnt make the cut just because of the Pymetrics games...
Because if so, then that would be both funny and equally depressing...

I reached out and received a quick update from HR.
Turns out I didnt make the cut. *sigh*
Like damn, I didnt even get to take a proper assessment or any phone-screening interviews yet.
They must really want ACCA students or something, because a Degree sure isn't getting me through the door.

I'm still in the timeout from KPMG, and haven't heard anything from EY.
I've had some internship experience in Deloitte (which I really liked), but sadly they dont have many jobs open for Graduates.
Ideally, I'd really like to join PwC or Deloitte...but its easier said than done.

Even so, I appreciate your positivity. I just hope something opens up for me soon. Hopefully I can get lucky with the PROTEGE programs.

This post has been edited by KappAmir: Dec 1 2020, 03:00 AM

If you got an ACCA, then you can surely get in. It seems like most of my friends with ACCA gets to join the Jr Xplorers Programme.
The question here is whether or not you can still join for the Jan 2021 intake, because it seems like they have already reached the final stages of the candidate selections. You can still try and submit your application.

Its been more than 2 weeks, yes?
You may call them to ask for an update, but I wish you luck. Its not easy for your call to get through to HR. If you still couldnt connect to HR after several tries, go ahead and send an email to PwC. They will usually reply to your emails, although a bit later.

This post has been edited by KappAmir: Dec 7 2020, 08:16 AM

Most likely that Pymetrics is just so that they have a record of you for future applications. I did mine not too long ago and thats about it. But hey, maybe you'll get lucky and get the gig. You can look Pymetrics up on YouTube for some idea...but PwC has some surprise games in store, of course.

This post has been edited by KappAmir: Dec 21 2020, 09:55 PM