Learn more about associate development & teaming across tax
Development and teaming at all levels are priorities for PwC Tax. Rick Stamm, our US Tax Leader, and Brett Yacker, our US Regions and Operations Leader, will share with you their thoughts on our teaming and development initiatives for our Tax associates. These are focused both on bringing our people together to team effectively and on broadening the skills and experiences of our people to help them become well-rounded tax professionals.
Developing our people through teaming initiatives, a conversation with Rick Stamm, US Tax Leader, and Brett Yacker, US Regions and Operations Leader.
What
kinds of programs does PwC Tax have to develop its people, especially at the Associate level?
Stamm:
If we are to continue to be recognized as a leader in our industry, we must constantly be developing a pipeline of talented tax professionals. To be successful, we believe that our people must gain a broad base of technical skills and experiences before they specialize in a particular area, such as international or state taxes. Our Tax associate training and development programs are designed to help us achieve this goal.
Yacker: When associates first join PwC Tax, they will be assigned to clients and have the ability to work on a variety of projects and assignments aimed at broadening their knowledge and experience before they determine where they will specialize. This is very similar to the college experience - where students first take a set of core requirements before selecting their major. We believe that this sequence ensures that every tax professional understands the big picture when it comes to a client's tax position and that he/she has a wide range of technical skills.
Stamm: We also we help our professionals gain experience in areas outside of Tax by offering them the opportunity to work on cross-Line of Service teams with staff from our Assurance and Advisory departments. Our goal is to provide our people with a wealth of experience in areas that they would not necessarily be exposed to if they specialized from the start.
How
will our people understand where they need to focus early in their careers?
Stamm:
Each of our staff should work with his or her coach to create an individual development plan and to determine what kinds of technical experiences and training they need to gain to ensure they have a broad base of skills. Using Brett’s analogy, this process is very similar to working with your college advisor to select courses and determine your major.
What formal Tax Associate training exists?
Yacker:
All PwC Tax Associates complete the Tax Associate Series, which provides continuous development opportunities aimed at building well-rounded Tax professionals. This series consists of a blend of national conferences, locally-based courses and eLearning in a wide range of Tax technical and professional skills topics including important technical areas—, , , and —during their first few years with the Firm. Associates also participate in three , where they will gain access to a variety of technical and professional skills training.
These conferences offer an extraordinary opportunity to network with your peers from other offices while attending technical classes focused on enhancing and complementing the on-the-job work experience and in-office training referred to above. Additionally courses are offered in many of the softer professional skills that are so necessary in today's business environment. The combination of broad work experience with supervisors committed to coaching and development, in-office technical sessions relevant to current work assignments, and our national conferences provide an extraordinary opportunity for all of our people to maximize their development.
How
will we measure success?
Stamm:
That's a tough question. Obviously, we're all results driven and we all want to succeed. There isn't one particular metric that we can point to that will tell us we are achieving our teaming/development goals. However, if, over time, our staff are developing broader skills, if our partners and staff are building stronger local relationships, if we are able to effectively streamline and balance the workflow of our people, and if we achieve a higher level of teaming resulting in improved service delivery to our clients, then we'll know that we've succeeded. We also expect these changes to positively affect the way our people view their careers at PwC. Greater variety, more flexibility, and more people invested in your development and success will mean a better place for all of us to work.
