How to go about leaving tax for a financial analyst/finance/general accounting role?

Been in tax for 5 years now, one year at Big 4. Really wanting to leave tax and get away from “tax season”. Recruiters push to stay in tax because that’s where I will get the most interest but I’ve made it clear I don’t want to be in tax. Only way I’ll stay in tax if it’s not stressful (I want to be able to take pto during tax season , etc). Don’t want to stay in PA. Preferably F500. Not having much luck.

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I’m in the same boat, but with only 3 years experience. Tax is just too specialized. I’m trying to break into FP&A, but it’s been a struggle. Why would they hire someone with a tax background when there’s a handful of applicants with actual finance experience or even audit experience. My advice is to work with a recruiter since you can explain to them why you think your experience can be useful and then they can present you to the company. You basically get your resume automatically seen and someone to rally for you. While I’m a senior now, I’ve been looking at non-senior positions since I will have a better chance getting hired for those. I figure that I can still get the same or more comp, and then I can just work my way up again. Good luck!! Definitely try to get out of tax ASAP if you know that’s what you ultimately want. The longer you stay in, the harder it will be to transition out of tax.

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I’m leaving b4 PCS tax next month for a F500 digital transformation SFA role, it’s definitely not impossible - I’ve been in tax for five years. I took the Google data analytics cert course and an SQL bootcamp in my down time which helped a lot on technical interview questions. The job market is hot, interviewers want to see you have some skills and are willing to learn. Just have to learn how to sell yourself

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5 years of tax experience is honestly hard to get out of. I'm in FP&A and we never hire tax people because their experience just doesn't align. I would make it a huge point to learn about financial modeling and other analysis. The move is definitely possible but you may need to stop by a general accounting role first or upskill/network heavily.

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I left B4 tax after 2.5 years for an industry senior accounting role. I would leverage ASC740 experience as that is the closest in relation to the work, speak about working with the audit team, applying GAAP, etc. I have many more opportunities beyond the tax department now.

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The advice I’ve gotten so far has been “networking”. How does one network for a F500 job if I don’t know anyone currently working in finance at a F500 company? Any advice?

You reach out on LinkedIn and build your network from there as it will not happen over night.

I'm sure you can find alum who made the switch start there.

Good luck and don't get discouraged as it can take time as I mentioned!

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