Blog

Reprinted from LinkedIn with permission

Isolated cubicles and endless hours of routine number crunching – that’s the impression many people have of what working in tax entails. Through the Young Tax Professionals program, I learned how the profession continues to evolve with emerging technology and changing laws. What became crystal clear to me was that the opportunities in tax are truly endless and are not one-size-fits-all.

Isaac, a 4^th year AFM student met with SAF to talk about his experience with this program and how it prepared him for the recent CFA Institute Research Challenge (IRC). "Every student coming into SAF had heard about the 2016 team’s win on the CFA IRC international stage with Canadian Tire. As a result, I was always keen to represent Waterloo on a larger stage and knew this was a great opportunity."

Mitchell, a 4^th year AFM student met with SAF to talk about his experience with this program and how it prepared him for the recent CFA Institute Research Challenge (IRC). "It was the hard work and commitment that our team put in which ultimately made the difference. Our team members during that time were either on co-op or exchange and so it took a lot of planning and dedication for us all to stay connected."

Due to complications arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, the plan for the winter 2020 International Study Course shifted several times. I was a member of the meals and culture team, and our team was responsible for creating a presentation for the class to learn more about our original destination, Singapore. This included its history, cultural diversity, government structure, etiquette, laws, and points of interest. This allowed all our classmates to be knowledgeable about what they were to expect from the trip, and how they should be interacting with the speakers in our meetings.

Bonjour! Si vous parlez français, pouvez-vous faire ma déclaration de revenus?

To be honest, I wouldn’t have been able to understand half that sentence either if it weren’t for my co-op experience at Deloitte as a tax analyst…yes, a tax analyst.

When I first entered AFM, I really had no idea what I wanted to get out of it. I’ve always been a poor long-term planner, so for first year, my goals were – find a job, do well in courses, and have a good time.

The first time I served as a judge at the Velocity (now Concept) $5K semi-finals was winter 2019. As I observed presenters rehearing their pitches prior to the start of the event, I recall saying to myself that I was likely just as nervous as the presenters, if not more so. The other judges on the panel were all founders of their own start-ups, and I was petrified of having no feedback to provide or providing feedback that the presenters did not find helpful.

A primary consideration for most high school students contemplating post-secondary education is the name of the institution or program and the associated brand and post-graduation career opportunities. Reflecting on my four years in the math/CPA program, my recommendation to those students would be to also consider the supplementary learning opportunities because they will provide a more well-rounded university experience.

Day 6 Munich. On the schedule was Deloitte, Target Partners, and a German venture capital firm. Finding Deloitte turned out to be one of the biggest challenges we’ve faced so far due to our lack of experience in navigating the underground station.