Karen O’Reilly, Tax
Almost eight years ago, I joined PwC in Dublin as a graduate. After finishing my psychology degree, I went travelling for a while in New Zealand and Australia. When I returned home, I decided to change my career path. I completed the Higher Diploma in Business Studies and then completed my ACCA exams while working part-time. I was looking into jobs with accounting firms when I heard about the graduate programme in tax in PwC. It appealed to me because of the chance to obtain professional qualifications while gaining on-the-job experience. I wanted to join PwC because it has an excellent reputation, and the work sounded exciting and varied.
I joined PwC in 2011, working on the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Tax team in Dublin. I completed my professional tax exams over the next few years and progressed to manager level. In FDI, I had the opportunity to work with a range of Irish and multinational clients on a wide variety of work. I also had the chance to go on a client secondment in 2016, which was a great learning experience and gave me a much broader outlook on the issues that clients face.
In 2018, I saw that PwC Galway had established a new tax team and was looking for a manager to join the group. As I’m from Galway, the opportunity to move back home and stay working with PwC appealed to me.
The partner in Dublin was very supportive when I spoke to them about it, and they put me in touch with the tax partner in the mid-west. I met with them to discuss the role and the type of work I would be involved in, and it sounded both exciting and challenging. The tax partner there had made the move from Dublin some years back. They said it was the best decision they had made and had never looked back, which helped me to make my decision.
“I transferred to Galway in January 2019, and the transition was very smooth. There is an excellent atmosphere in the office, and I’m delighted I made the move back home.”
PwC provides excellent training and development opportunities for employees. Over the years, I have availed of various tax technical training and soft skills development programmes, as well as attending EMEA international tax training.
PwC has a fantastic team culture, there is a real emphasis on teamwork and collaboration, and people are always willing to help each other out. PwC also offers a lot of flexibility, which helps people to achieve a work-life balance.
It’s a great place to build your career. The best thing about working at PwC is the people and the support network. There is a real focus on working together and building relationships. You’re never on your own and can always get support when you need it.
“I transferred to Galway in January 2019, and the transition was very smooth. There is an excellent atmosphere in the office, and I’m delighted I made the move back home.”
