Updating Results

Stacey Kent

I get to learn new things every day, which means my job is never boring. It’s also a very hands-on role, where I get to work directly with clients, grow my skills and see the impact of what I do.

What did you study? When did you graduate?

I studied for a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Western Australia (UWA), majoring in Accounting. I graduated in December 2018.
 
Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Perth, Western Australia, where I went to the local primary school and high school. I attended summer school in a small country town in France for three months during high school. I spent a great deal of my youth playing basketball at both domestic and state levels. While doing my university degree, I was involved in volunteering and clubs on campus, which helped me create a wide range of networks and build on my skills and interests.
 
How did you get to your current job position?

I applied through the Vacation Program while still studying at uni, which was four weeks of work experience in December. After completing the internship, I was offered a Graduate role and started working full-time at the firm the following year.
 
How did you choose your specialisation?

I enjoyed the taxation unit most at university and was keen to explore what career I could take up with those skills and if I’d even like it as a career choice. So I applied for Corporate Tax through PwC’s Vacation Program, which was the perfect opportunity to familiarise myself with real-world work through a short internship while still studying at uni. 

What was your interview process like?

The process wasn’t time-consuming at all. The first stage was an online application, where I submitted basic information about myself, similar to a resume or CV (I didn’t have to upload my CV though, only relevant information). Next was the online assessment, following which was an online video interview, where I responded to three general pre-recorded questions about the firm and the role I applied for. After making it past this round I was invited to the Tax Assessment Centre, where I took part in a group assessment activity, office tour and networking. Lastly, I had an interview with people from the Corporate Tax team, where I was asked a range of different questions relating to why I was interested in working with PwC and what attracted me to Corporate Tax.

What does your employer do?

PwC is one of the world’s leading professional services firms delivering audit, assurance, consulting and tax services to more than 5,000 clients. We work with businesses, government and the community to help Australia thrive, bringing together a diverse background of people and skillsets to build trust in society and solve important problems.
 
What are your areas of responsibility?

Corporate Tax helps clients to effectively manage challenging and constantly evolving local and international tax legislations. Utilising our skills in finance, law, or broader commerce, we offer clients from a variety of industries services across compliance, consulting and general tax. 

My role as a consultant is to work with my team and collaborate to support and provide high-quality tax advice to our clients. The teams that I work with usually have 4 to 5 team members. My role generally involves helping clients with their tax issues, writing letters and rulings to the ATO (Australian Tax Office), tax compliance work such as income tax returns, and providing tax advice on deals such as M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions). 

Can you describe a typical workday?

At PwC, we encourage working flexibly, this means that we can choose and change our working hours. As an early riser, a typical workday for me would usually start around 8 am, where I check my emails and plan for any meetings with my teams and/or clients. I typically work on a variety of projects for different clients throughout the day, so no two days are the same and there’s something new to learn every day. 

The last project I worked on was a due diligence report for a client, where we researched the tax consequences that may be applicable to the client. This was a high pace job that had a one-week turn-around.
 
What are the career prospects with your job?

There are many roles you can branch out into from corporate tax, whether that be secondments to PwC in other states or countries or tax teams in large multinational corporations. Within PwC itself, there’re ample opportunities to create the career you want to be based on your evolving skills, so if there’re elements from your current role you’d like to delve more deeply into, you can find the opportunities and support to do this. 
 
Could someone with a different background do your job?

Definitely, at PwC we are focused on diversity and inclusion in all aspects of the firm. My team has people from different backgrounds, different degrees, such as law and engineering, and cultural backgrounds. Broadly speaking, the core skills within Corporate Tax are finance, law, or broader commerce - and these could well be applied across a variety of roles within PwC. It doesn’t matter what your degree is - the focus is on the core skills you can apply to the role.
 
What would your career be if you weren’t doing what you’re doing now?

I would have probably pursued a career in basketball and attended a US basketball college.
 
What do you love the most about your job?

My job gives me the opportunity to work on a diverse portfolio of businesses such as health, government, infrastructure and tourism companies, which keeps the job interesting. I get to learn new things every day, which means my job is never boring. It’s also a very hands-on role, where I get to work directly with clients, grow my skills and see the impact of what I do.
 
What’s the biggest limitation of your job?

Trying to juggle multiple jobs for different clients can be stressful sometimes with timelines and due dates, however, having multiple people in a team makes it easier to divide up the workload and not rush through. It’s busy but there’s always support and collaboration. Currently, I’m working full-time while also studying for my Chartered Accountants (CA) qualification, so it can be difficult trying to find a breather for myself between the two. Fortunately, PwC encourages flexible working and for people to be able to pursue their ambitions and even pays for higher qualifications (CA/CPA for instance), all of which have been of great help to me. 

Which three pieces of advice would you give to a current university student?

  • Apply for Vacation or Intern programs, these are great ways to discover whether you like the company, team and the job specialisation. There is no limit to how many vacation programs you can apply for or do. PwC also has other student career pathways so have a look on our careers website to know what the right fit may be.
  • Get involved at university, whether through clubs, volunteering or going on an exchange program to another country. You’ll gain invaluable experience and skills that can help you in the workplace, whether with dealing with people or doing the work you do. It’s all valuable.
  • Have hobbies outside of university and work in order to have a good university or work-life balance.