Grant Thornton: Tom Richardson

I wanted to be a specialist, so I chose the area of expatriate tax. I’ve been here two years and already I’ve got a lot of experience. You get real responsibility early on at Grant Thornton, and almost as soon as I joined, people were asking me for tax advice, which was a baptism by fire. At the moment, I have a large number of corporate clients and also some private individuals, and provide tax support for people who come into or out of the UK on assignments or secondments. I also deal with a lot of residency cases, often with tax issues that have only just been decided. Things are constantly changing, which keeps it interesting for me too.

 

I had my appraisal recently and my manager said that it was obvious that I really enjoy what I’m doing. I’m very fortunate in that I’ve joined a small growing team so I have access to very senior people and can see how things work from their level. Being in the office is great and you’re encouraged to ask questions, which just as important as what we’re taught in the classroom. I’m never just sitting filling in the 9-5 and waiting to go home - I’m always busy, especially in the run up to the tax return deadline in January, and I have been swamped at times, but at Grant Thornton everybody shares the load. One of my future aims here is to go on secondment. I like the idea of going to a developing Eastern European country. Someone I know just got sent to the Cayman Islands, but my life isn’t that glam yet.

 

Stay two drinks behind your boss.

 

No question is a stupid question.

 

We provided international tax advice and support based on recent tax cases and helped save an individual client over £300,000

What is the best bit of advice you would give a graduate looking to join Grant Thornton?