Tax Assistant Review
at EY
Higher Level Apprenticeship
Tax
Canary Wharf
Review Submitted: March 2025
Overall Rating
4.6 /5
The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!
4.5/5
-
Overview of Role
5/5
-
Skills Development
4/5
-
Structure and Support
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:
5/5
Job involves:
- Tax Advisory work (Advice regarding company structure, updated regulations etc.)
- Tax Compliance (VAT returns etc.)
- Tax Advisory work (Advice regarding company structure, updated regulations etc.)
- Tax Compliance (VAT returns etc.)
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
4/5
Overall I have really enjoyed my program so far (roughly 7 months into it now). The work life balance is far better than I expected and have definitely felt I was given a good amount of time to prepare for my first round of examinations (first 5 ICAS ones). Everyone has been really welcoming and if I'm honest the career progression is there if you are willing to work hard and just give the best form of yourself. The variety of client within FS has been really interesting so far and the work has definitely helped improve my Excel and more technical skills.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
5/5
Developed skills:
- Presenting (Helping organize Corporate Responsibility events, communicating ideas to clients etc.)
- Teamwork (Worked with other graduates to develop a team newsletter)
- Analytical mindset (Given the opportunity to analyze work independently and then run through it with a higher individual after)
- Presenting (Helping organize Corporate Responsibility events, communicating ideas to clients etc.)
- Teamwork (Worked with other graduates to develop a team newsletter)
- Analytical mindset (Given the opportunity to analyze work independently and then run through it with a higher individual after)
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
4/5
Structure is good. All ICAS training is done at a college off-site (BPP for us, based at Aldgate or near Kings X). Internal training provided in the office / online with other graduates in you specialized area of tax, giving you the opportunity to properly get to know other Grads / BAs. All very helpful for Accounting / Finance understanding. I studied STEM and haven't had too many issues with the content so far, beginning with the basics and building from that.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
5/5
A lot - Everyone is supportive so not really had any issues. You're allocated a buddy (someone from the year above on your exact program), a counsellor (someone in you specialized field, usually a manager) and a student coach (someone specialized in HR and general company wellbeing). Also a student coordinator who's job is organizing student events and incoming Graduate / BA induction events. Basically if you need support, it is there for you.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
3/5
Training definitely helps, but I would say the BPP teacher and their general ability to communicate the content massively varies. Some teachers are really good, some are just not that great. They somehow managed to accidentally leak the first of my two mocks by keeping a SharePoint called 'Past Papers' open, so I ended up scoring an average of 96%.. They are relatively supportive I believe, like you can upload question to a form and get a response.
ICAS structure is really good in terms of like content available to use, practice questions etc.
Note - This is not EYs fault and reflects fully on BPP and other training organizations.
ICAS structure is really good in terms of like content available to use, practice questions etc.
Note - This is not EYs fault and reflects fully on BPP and other training organizations.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
4/5
Training definitely helps, unfortunately not all the content is directly applicable to Indirect Tax but that's where the internal training really helps as it is all directly relevant to. On the flip side the qualification means you don't specialize too early in your career.
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
4/5
For extra-curricular activities, I help coordinate pro bono work (PM pro bono position) and organize team socials occasionally, notably did a pub quiz etc.
Cannot do sport because of a shoulder dislocation, but people play rugby, football, rugby, hockey, tennis, running, skiing etc. so many opportunities all with other people from EY and a great way to meet people.
Cannot do sport because of a shoulder dislocation, but people play rugby, football, rugby, hockey, tennis, running, skiing etc. so many opportunities all with other people from EY and a great way to meet people.
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend EY to a friend?
Yes
Why?
Because there's lots to get involved in, career progression is clearly there and if you work hard you get rewarded accordingly.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to EY?
Don't put on a persona for what you think they want, because ultimately at some stage of the application they will see through it. They're not looking for an end product, EY want people who are willing to work hard and learn / work towards a qualification. Read about the opportunities they provide, the CR work, AI developments. Read the news, be aware of your surroundings and global events.
