Kick starting your career in International Tax

At RSM, tax is one of our three main services. What many people might not realize is that there are many smaller specialty groups within the larger tax practice. RSM’s international tax group offers local knowledge and global perspective to help clients with a broad range of issues. To get a better understanding of what it is like to start a career in international tax, we caught up with Victoria R., an international tax associate, who shared her insight.

What was your biggest challenge transitioning from college to working as an associate?

Waking up early (joking!). Probably the hardest part was the shock of how little I actually knew. I, like many people I know, went to school for accounting and sat through hours upon hours of classes. After graduation, I thought ‘okay, I know everything there is to know’, but boy was I wrong. While all those hours of classes certainly gave me the basics and were invaluable, there is a large difference between knowing something in theory and knowing something in practice. While it was a bit overwhelming at first, my colleagues and managers always took the time to teach me and help me grow. And I am still growing and learning two years later.

How did you know you wanted to work in tax?

I chose tax because I like to solve problems. Obviously our clients come to us not only to do their tax returns, but also to advise them on taking advantage of available credits and incentives as well as help plan their operations in a tax efficient manner. This is where my enjoyment of tax lies, within the consulting. A client may need to repatriate foreign earnings or open a manufacturing plant in Germany or wants to know if there are any incentives for exporting their goods. There are many possible answers to endless situations, and I enjoy helping clients figure out which answer is the right one for them.

Did you know what international tax was prior to starting at RSM?

Not exactly. I thought International Tax (ITax) would include more international travel, but mostly we work with US clients who do work abroad (exports, foreign subsidiaries, etc.), or foreign persons who do work in the US. We see how their activities will affect their US tax. We also work with other RSM International offices in order to provide our clients with a worldwide picture of how a certain transaction will be taxed.

What would you say is the difference between the work you do and the work that people in other tax groups at RSM do?

ITax is largely a consulting group, with a large majority of the group being lawyers, not accountants. Not many other tax groups do as much consulting as we do. But, as I mentioned before, this is one of the reasons I enjoy my work so much.

How often do you have contact with partners and upper level management in the group?

Every hour or so. As we aren’t a large group, there are several projects on which I work directly with partners and senior managers. We are also a very friendly group, so there are several times people will stop by just say hi to each other.

What do you think you have learned the most in your time in the international tax group?

I could fill a long novel with what I have learned knowledge-wise in my time with the group. As far as skills I have learned, I would say self-review and being okay with the fact that I don’t have to know it all. Self-review has helped me make sure I am happy with my work product and don’t produce a balance sheet that didn’t balance. And as I mentioned before, there is a large learning curve when you start working, but the curve never truly goes away. There are always questions you will be asked that you don’t know the answer to, and it is okay for you to say that you don’t know.

To learn more about international tax at RSM click here!