I initially got into tax because of my courses at the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF). I found that the professors that taught had an immense amount of experience and credibility straight from the industry. Furthermore, professors always did a great job of going beyond a simple explanation of what the rules were, by actually telling us the purpose and logic behind them! It was extremely helpful that they had these first-hand accounts about working at professional service firms and they knew the right areas to focus on. In tax courses specifically, professors focused on what will matter most to clients, CRA and policymakers. Fast forward to today, I’ve found so much of what they said to be true, so now I’m better able to identify significant issues.
It wasn’t all down to courses though — nothing could replace the job training I received in co-op. Since I already knew I was interested in and wanted to pursue a career in the world of tax, I was able to find specific jobs that allowed me to work in that sector. The experiences I gained from my co-op work-terms allowed me to excel in my tax courses with little effort for the remainder of my time at SAF.
Alongside my love of tax, I also want to have a long-lasting impact on others like the SAF community has had on me. One day I hope to work in a role where I analyze government policymaking.
I recently wrote the Common Final Examination (CFE), and of course, I took the tax role. What I found the craziest is I barely had to do any revision. SAF had already given me such a strong understanding of tax, that I was already prepared for the technical portion of the test! Taking the CFE, and landing on the honour roll was extremely motivational and proves to me that I can and I will continue pushing myself into the professional that I aspire to be one day.
Tax is a big beautiful world, and I still have so much of it to explore!