#FYI Niamh Parsons, Tax Associate, EY

What is your name, employer and job title?

My name is Niamh Parsons, I work in EY and I work in the FSO tax practice.

What are the main tasks you do in your job in a normal week?

We prepare tax computations and returns for clients across aircraft leasing, insurance, banking and capital markets and wealth and asset management. We work on interesting tax projects, on tax advice which may include due diligence and interesting projects on Brexit. We work with our audit colleagues on the tax side of the audit.

What skills do you need to be successful in your role?

The skills I need to be successful in my role includes proactive listening skills, communication skills and interpersonal skills. I also feel that time management skills play a vital role in a fast-paced environment such as EY.

What advice would you give to a college student?

The advice that I would give to a graduate who wants to work in one of the big four is to do your research on all the different departments and all the different roles available in the big four accountancy firms. This spans broadly across transaction advisory service, people advisory services as well as audit advisory and tax. I feel a lot of skills can be learned throughout university. Communication skills, interpersonal skills and time management skills are all skills that can be adopted and progressed throughout university whether through working on projects or working with different lecturers or different teams for projects.

How did you get into your job?

I always wanted to work for a big four accountancy firm. In my final year I'd applied online for EY. I had gotten an interview and I'd gone to the informal meeting process on the Wednesday evening with the follow up formal interview and the Friday after this I'd gotten a call that evening stating that I had gotten the job on successful completion of the 2:1 degree in college.

What advice would you give before the interview process?

If I was to give myself advice before the interview process, I would say to remain calm and composed. Be confident going in and have your answers well prepared. When they ask you a question do not be scared and ask questions freely to get a grand understanding of what the firm and their core values are all about.

What do you love about your job?

My favourite thing about working in EY is the Flexi time on offer to allow for work-life balance, the gym membership and the ability to work across a wide range of clients with different managers on a daily basis.