Anyone have insight? My two tax season stint got the attention of the hiring committee of this bank in town. Interns in the Corporate Tax Department at bank will participate in the general administration of the corporate tax function. Our intern’s experience should allow an opportunity to see how the internal tax department of a relatively large corporate taxpayer functions. In addition, due to our co-sourcing relationship with a big four accounting firm, the intern will also be able to interact with other professionals pursuing public accounting careers. Interns in the Corporate Tax Department will be involved in some or all of the following functions and responsibilities: Assist in the development of work papers and documentation associated with the 2009 tax returns of bank and various affiliates. Assist in the review of federal and state tax returns. Assist in the accumulation and analysis of information required for the income tax accounting function. Assist in the administration of federal and state audits; including accumulation and analysis of information required by auditors and analysis of the relevant rules and regulations at issue. Assist in the development and administration of certain data bases that are used to accumulate information for tax return and tax accounting purposes. Conduct tax research on routine federal and state inquiries. Perform analysis on the effective tax rate of bank and how it compares to peers Qualifications Basic Qualifications: -Working knowledge of financial analysis techniques and general accounting procedures -Well developed mathematical and analytical skills -Ability to identify and resolve exceptions and to analyze data -Very good verbal and written communication skills -Extremely detailed oriented -Ability to work independently and also in a team environment
I’d pass on that - unless you want to do taxes and such.
I agree, Corp Tax can get you pigeon-holed pretty quick. It is only an internship though…maybe for the experience only.
This is the same bank that is interviewing me for an M&A Role. Regardless that tax is not my focus, getting in would be nice.
Also, I’m in no position to turn an interview down. Regardless that I don’t care to work in tax forever, it may not be a bad way to see if I like it. Worst case is I’ll be in that bank and have the ability to transfer into another department if tax is not for me.
The hardest part is figuring out the current/deferred liability. If the bank does a bunch of leasing the book and tax depreciation creates timing differences. I’ve got a model that requires about an hour of inputs and gives you the adjusting entries to be made. Update this bad boy once a quarter and lay low the rest of the time and its a pretty cush job. However, I can’t lay low and wander around asking people if they need help with anything. But that’s another post for another thread.
Just to clarify, will you be doing tax work FOR THE BANK, or helping the bank doing taxes FOR THE CLIENTS? There is a big difference. If you’re doing tax work FOR THE BANK, then you’ll be reviewing/prepping a lot of K-1s, and partnership returns. It’s not very glamorous. If you’re doing tax work FOR THE CLIENTS, it might be a bit more interesting. If the client is big enough and has a sophisticated international structure, you’ll get exposure to M&A tax, International tax, tax planning, etc. However, from the description, it sounds like you’ll be doing a lot of internal auditing of federal & state returns and/or workpapers. This will be a lot of ticking & tying, making sure the numbers flow to the right line, and seeing if everything ties out. I would go to the interview. You don’t want to get blacklisted for other opportunities. Ask the interviewer what your specific roles are and communicate your interests. If you can get into a position where you see a lot of the tax planning (especially M&A and International), you might be able to leverage that skill for another position down the road. Otherwise, worst case scenario is not accepting the internship, right??? I hope this helps, and Goodluck!
Thanks CA. The tax work will be for the bank. My guess is it will be more corporate tax than the tax implications of M&A, etc.