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Bowl Leader
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Bowl Leader
Hello all,
Would like to know specifically about Queer inclusion at SocGen Societe Generale. What is the attitude of mangers and HRs towards treating LGBTQ identifying candidates? Is company really inclusive or it’s just a lip service? Considering an offer with the company but being an out and proud Queer woman, super anxious and concerned.
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Mentor
Anyone recently received a tax manager offer from EY ? I’m going through final interviews and want to see what your experience was like (negotiation process, initial offer higher/lower than expected?, did you give them a salary expectation range? How long did it take from final interview to offer etc) TIA!PwC EY KPMG Deloitte
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Everyone says, “You don’t need a JD.” I agree. However, B4 firms pay JDs out the nose compared to CPAs. While I agree it’s not practical to get a JD based on personal development, it might be good if you value money.
JD here. Does it vary by office or something? I feel like my salary is very underwhelming…
You definitely don’t need a JD. Just do a rotation in the m&a group and see if you like it. I’ve worked m&a and some of the non-attorneys in the group were fantastic. And If you think about it, they have to be. It’s tough to be a non attorney in a primarily attorney group.
If your ultimate goal is to be in m&a, you don’t need to go to law school for that. If you think it will help you become a partner, it is irrelevant. (Just FYI - if you don’t have a CPA, you can’t become a partner - you become a principal. So very literally, unless you have a CPA, you won’t be a partner).
I primarily do transactional work. The partners I work for most are not JDs but can duke it out with the best of em. Don’t be intimidated by the JD.
Also - most of the tax stuff is through the LLM after JD.
Partner vs principal is completely semantics on title and how it’s presented to outsiders. Principals are partners that receive K-1s and own the partnership.
I personally don’t think it’s worth getting a JD unless you’re going to be doing corporate law. As a CPA, in M&A tax, you don’t need to get the JD.
Definitely not to do the work .. more so thinking Parnter route or if that doesn’t work out.
Do you have a genuine interest in going to law school? It’s a lot of time/money/debt that might not pay off. I would consider that before doing it just for M&A tax
Coach
I’d guess that 50% if lawyers regret going to law school (source: me, a lawyer).
I think JDs have more exit ops than CPAs, but if you aren’t looking to leave big 4, then there’s no need to get the extra credential.
Agreed, but you never know with B4 .. might be burned out or not on P track. I’m hedging my bets here almost.
Coach
Don’t get a JD just to do M&A tax. I have a JD and am in TT.
In my opinion, go to law school if you want to join big law (tax or otherwise). If you want to stay in M&A tax at a big 4, law school is not worth the money, time, or effort.
Mentor
Following this one
D1, what are your initial thoughts? Mine are that I see Partner CPAs at my firm so I know it’s possible, but the group is 99% JDs. I’m wondering if it’s worth it to expand my network and be able to go in house some where as a JD vs just as a CPA.
I think if you are looking for upward mobility in the M&A tax group, would recommend you leave big 4 as most are JDs. I’d start looking at mid-tier forms like RSM, BDO, etc, seems to be more CPAs in those practices.
RSM has JDs in its M&A group as well, along with CPAs.
I don’t think a JD necessarily gives you an edge though. And it’s very expensive.
Consider enrolling one of the better Masters in Tax programs that offers some M&A courses or better yet has a deal with their law school that MSTs can take a couple law school classes. The top professors are worth it long term. Average programs with average teachers are not. If you can grab a few really good classes and leapfrog your knowledge base and get an MST in a year given your CPA and undergrad acct background it might be worth it. It’s less about the degree itself and more about speeding up your learning curve. Law degree definitely not worth it given your situation.
Coach
Lol classes aren’t shit compared to real life work. This is not true at all.
Did 5 years in core tax group at EY followed by 3 years in M&A tax before leaving a few months ago as a senior manager. Have my CPA, no JD. I would say my pay lagged behind my peers in M&A a little bit but not materially so. Exits opps are tougher to find with a pure M&A tax background however especially for JDs where outside salaries are not as competitive unless you want to go to a law firm. From a pure financial standpoint I don’t think it’s worth the extra years of school + debt just to do m&a tax which you can easily learn on the job with a CPA, especially with prior compliance/provision experience. At manager/senior manager level and beyond it doesn’t matter at all if you’re a JD or a CPA in m&a tax.
Coach
What sort of m&a tax exits have you seen? And where did you move to? I’ve been casually perusing LinkedIn jobs and have seen m&a integration stuff and some tax counsel jobs. That’s about it from what I assume would be jobs for m&a tax people. I’m a Manager with a JD and looking to leave in 1-2 years and no way in hell do I want to go big law.
Senior analyst, international tax here. Not currently a CPA, do you believe that’s something that would hold me back from moving up the chain? Not an MST either.