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- From finance to tax specialisation.
- From tax compliance to business tax advisory.
- From business tax advisory to transaction tax advisory.
- From transaction tax advisory to transfer pricing (all sectors) to transfer pricing (financial services). I’m yet to find my niche in financial services – will it be banking, insurance, asset management or fintech?
The question that is always ringing in my head, ‘what’s next?’. But before we get to that, let’s talk about change and its state of being constant in our lives.
Career pivots are influenced by both push and pull factors. Some push factors are being tired of routine in your current role, no room to grow, and increasing responsibilities at home. Pull factors include work-life balance, better remuneration and benefits, more challenging work, and growth opportunities.
I have had more conversations with colleagues on pivoting in the context of entrepreneurship and so little in terms of careers. Many of us fear change and it’s an appropriate reaction for most humans because we are wired to resist change. Some have taken 180° career pivots like my friend who went from law practice to wildlife conservation. I, on the other hand, have been pivoting around a fixed point – accounting. The accounting profession can be subdivided into four main subjects, that is, financial accounting, management accounting, auditing and taxation.
Finance to tax
I started my career in financial accounting but at the end of 2014, I left my comfortable finance job because at that point it didn’t excite and challenge me enough. I wandered into the tax field and I say wandered because I seriously had no plan except apply to every firm under the sun that shines on Harare. You can read my story on how I gambled my way into a tax career here.
I started off in compliance (as we call it), helping clients with submission of tax returns, getting tax clearance certificates and doing simple tax computations. I didn’t know there was a whole world of advisory and other exciting things to do in tax so I did “compliance” for a little over a year before working with other accountants on a few advisory jobs. I freelanced for two years because no one really wanted to hire me without experience. And its understandable because I didn’t know much about Zimbabwean tax, I had done South African tax in school so that didn’t make it easier. The compliance work I did influenced me to write and publish a tax guide for entrepreneurs. This project was and continues to be my contribution to taxpayer education in Zimbabwe.
The beginning of formal employment
Eventually, I found a permanent job with Clive & Associates in 2017 which was still 60% compliance and 40% advisory. I got to do my first tax health check for a company with a Belgian-based parent. I went on to do my first deregistration for a South African entity that had divested from Zimbabwe. This was a tricky one because it involved objections and appeals. I also did my first restructuring advice for a Bank and got the necessary approvals required for certain tax elections from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority. I also did a couple of clearances for capital gains tax. I am sharing this because I was the only person working on tax assignments since I worked in a small firm so I had to read a lot to understand the provisions of the tax law. Of course, I got guidance from those I worked with. I felt alive again, this kind of work is what I needed.
Landing my dream job
As I started growing as a tax professional, the jobs started looking for me, those jobs that I needed at the start of my tax career in 2015 but never came through. I remember getting a call to attend an interview at Econet but I had never applied for the job. I really enjoyed working in the professional services space so I declined the interview. I even got invited for a Big 4 interview in Namibia but my time to move hadn’t come yet.
And if you’re wondering, I have no regrets from letting nine of these unique opportunities go (yes, I kept count). As the calls, e-mails and LinkedIn messages came in, I got a LinkedIn message from a Tax Partner at Ernst & Young (“EY”). I couldn’t believe it! This was my dream job.
After going through the interview process, I joined EY’s Business Tax Advisory practice in 2019. I had a lot to learn and that’s what I did – learn, unlearn and relearn. I soon started doing Transaction/Deals Tax work and I saw how my tax career could go in a different direction. Later in 2022, I joined the Transfer Pricing team and here my heart felt more at home. I applied knowledge from the coursework I completed for a Master’s Degree in Strategic Management. That Porter’s 5 Forces Model and much more was applicable in Transfer Pricing. This awakened the strategist in me and I found transfer pricing to be more exciting than other areas of tax.
Even though I ended up in the deep end, I kept my head above water. I will share the lessons from this experience of starting anew to leading the team. Two years later, I found myself joining another team in Transfer Pricing specialising in financial services. I went from working across mining, manufacturing, financial services and agriculture sectors to just banking, insurance, asset management and fintech.
My mind is challenged and professionally, I am fulfilled. I have continued to refine my career and now focusing on a single thing to become a T-Shaped professional. I’m not sure which sub-sector will whisk me away, maybe banking or it could be insurance or asset management. I don’t know, but a year from now I will know. As of now I am learning, unlearning and relearning, again.
From tax compliance to business tax advisory to transaction tax and now in transfer pricing. It’s making sense! However, as I dig myself into a highly specialised area, I can’t help but wonder about exit options. As you pivot and/grow through your career, it is also essential to consider whether the path you’re taking has viable exit options for your next adventure.
Conclusion
Whether you want to go for a 180° pivot or pivot around a fixed point – just do it! You never know what your heart and mind will find on the other side. Stay on the path of discovery till you find what you want.
