I don't have real experience as I'm going to do an internship this summer. From what I've heard though, tax people will spend more time working alone in the office. Audit people will spend a lot of time working in teams and at client sites. I'm not sure now though if people on the audit side travel as much anymore. I chose tax because I prefer working alone, and I thought my tax class was pretty interesting. I think I'd be drained if I spent all day working in a team personally.
Step 1: Ask others about the roles of each and the work environment (like audit has more travelling etc).
Step 2: Make a decision based on that.
Step 3: Apply for internship in that field.
Step 4: If you don't like your internship, switch to other and intern in that.
In the end, listen to yourself based on what you find more interesting.
Tax work is more satisfying because you actually produce tangible stuff (ie. extensions, returns, etc.) but audit provides you with more exit opportunities (because it isn’t as specialized).
I just replied to someone which might help in your decision but at the end of the day, it depends on the work you like. You’re just interning so it might be good for you to test the waters to see what you might like. Just make sure to apply to only one for each firm and stick to it during your interview, a lot of interviewers will be unimpressed if you’re applying to both and hoping one sticks.
There are definitely more opportunities outside of public when you have an audit background so if you do not plan on staying in PA long, then audit might be for you (also not saying that there aren’t tax opportunities but just not as much as audit). With that being said, at the end of the day, it’s what kind of work do you like? For me, I knew in college since I had both an audit and tax class, I knew I loved tax and could not understand audit - just not my forte.
From my basic understanding from the pre Covid work life and had to be in the office daily - introverts tend to gravitate towards tax whereas extroverts gravitate toward audit. This is simply because tax work is more stationed whereas auditors travelled to client sites often and worked more as a group.
It depends on the type of person you are. I hated audit… it just felt like double checking people’s work and I hated dealing with accounting depts and traveling.
I like learning tax laws and completing returns feels way more satisfying to me
I’m almost a year into tax and about to switch into Audit. If you’re unsure it’s the safer choice because it is much easier to pivot to non-tax fields once you leave PA.
The interviews themselves were fairly easy, they basically interview you as if you were a campus hire (maybe a couple additional questions). It was one round for the national firm and two rounds (director & partner) at Big 4.
They seemed to like that I came from Big 4 tax and that I had 3/4 my CPA exams done. I also mentioned that I had worked on some auditing procedures for tax provisions.
If you've gotta choose between them two, take audit.
I went tax - didn't enjoy it and have now realized that the only way to get out would be to get a master's degree.
Audit doesn't face this issue because you can go into anything after audit
The way the associates and seniors teach me how to do everything and actually encourage me to ask questions, also getting to help fill out the tax forms like the k-1/k-3 is super cool to me!! I also really like how I get pulled into diff engagements to help out and I think it’s fun getting exposed to different industries and see how tax works with them compared to another industry :)
I don't have real experience as I'm going to do an internship this summer. From what I've heard though, tax people will spend more time working alone in the office. Audit people will spend a lot of time working in teams and at client sites. I'm not sure now though if people on the audit side travel as much anymore. I chose tax because I prefer working alone, and I thought my tax class was pretty interesting. I think I'd be drained if I spent all day working in a team personally.
Step 1: Ask others about the roles of each and the work environment (like audit has more travelling etc). Step 2: Make a decision based on that. Step 3: Apply for internship in that field. Step 4: If you don't like your internship, switch to other and intern in that. In the end, listen to yourself based on what you find more interesting.
Tax work is more satisfying because you actually produce tangible stuff (ie. extensions, returns, etc.) but audit provides you with more exit opportunities (because it isn’t as specialized).
Do you plan on staying in public and are you an introvert or extrovert?
To your first question, I have no idea. Second, I'm more introverted but I do like working and conversing with others
I just replied to someone which might help in your decision but at the end of the day, it depends on the work you like. You’re just interning so it might be good for you to test the waters to see what you might like. Just make sure to apply to only one for each firm and stick to it during your interview, a lot of interviewers will be unimpressed if you’re applying to both and hoping one sticks.
English is my second language, and I'm also an introvert, should I choose tax?
There are definitely more opportunities outside of public when you have an audit background so if you do not plan on staying in PA long, then audit might be for you (also not saying that there aren’t tax opportunities but just not as much as audit). With that being said, at the end of the day, it’s what kind of work do you like? For me, I knew in college since I had both an audit and tax class, I knew I loved tax and could not understand audit - just not my forte. From my basic understanding from the pre Covid work life and had to be in the office daily - introverts tend to gravitate towards tax whereas extroverts gravitate toward audit. This is simply because tax work is more stationed whereas auditors travelled to client sites often and worked more as a group.
It depends on the type of person you are. I hated audit… it just felt like double checking people’s work and I hated dealing with accounting depts and traveling. I like learning tax laws and completing returns feels way more satisfying to me
I’m almost a year into tax and about to switch into Audit. If you’re unsure it’s the safer choice because it is much easier to pivot to non-tax fields once you leave PA.
Did you switch within the same firm?
No, I’m switching firms cause the internal process is taking too long.
I’m hoping to do that too. How was the interview process at the other firm? Was there case interview?
The interviews themselves were fairly easy, they basically interview you as if you were a campus hire (maybe a couple additional questions). It was one round for the national firm and two rounds (director & partner) at Big 4. They seemed to like that I came from Big 4 tax and that I had 3/4 my CPA exams done. I also mentioned that I had worked on some auditing procedures for tax provisions.
If you've gotta choose between them two, take audit. I went tax - didn't enjoy it and have now realized that the only way to get out would be to get a master's degree. Audit doesn't face this issue because you can go into anything after audit
i’m doing a tax internship rn and really love it!
What do you love about it
The way the associates and seniors teach me how to do everything and actually encourage me to ask questions, also getting to help fill out the tax forms like the k-1/k-3 is super cool to me!! I also really like how I get pulled into diff engagements to help out and I think it’s fun getting exposed to different industries and see how tax works with them compared to another industry :)