Rising Star: Katie Brennan, Transfer Pricing Advisor, PwC

Degree Law (UCC), Masters in Tax (University of Limerick)
Job title Transfer Pricing Advisor
Employer PwC

Starting with PwC

When I started in PwC Tax I joined the Transfer Pricing department. This is quite a specific and complex area; therefore it took time to gain a complete understanding of how the transfer pricing world operates. Getting involved in projects early in my career was a steep learning curve; however I had great training and support which allowed me to gain an insight into the area as a
whole. My work is quite varied; it can involve going out to meet with clients to talk about their requirements, carrying out benchmarking studies in the office or drafting reports to support a transfer pricing policy.

Key milestones

It’s hard to believe I’m not even a year yet working with PwC, as I feel I have been involved with such a variety of projects and acquired so many skills in such a small space of time.
I travelled to London with a manager to present a workshop to a client and I think this was a milestone for me. It was completely different to what I would normally do day to day, I had to present to the client group so there was little room for error. This work challenged me, however I felt confident in my knowledge and I really enjoyed the experience. A certain degree of networking was also involved, which is important and a good skill to develop. I used this experience as an opportunity to build my own personal network and this has since proved useful for work on other projects.

Advice and tips

My advice for new graduates would be to work hard at whatever you do. I feel that it is a fantastic time to be entering the jobs market, our economy is recovering and Ireland is becoming a centre for the establishment of many multinational corporations. New graduates fresh out of university will have a wealth of knowledge to offer these organisations; the next steps are to demonstrate a strong work ethic and an enthusiasm to learn.

Katie Brennan was interviewed for Ireland's Leading Graduate Employers 2014/15