Tahlia, tell us about your journey with PwC so far.
I started way back in 2012, straight out of high school! I was considering an Accounting degree and had entered a competition for work experience at PwC, which I won. I joined the Vacationer program alongside third and fourth-year university students, feeling way out of my depth. I joined the Assurance team for the three-week program and was invited back to the Incentives and Innovation team (one of our specialist tax teams) the following year. Since then, I haven't left!
By the time I finished university, I had three years at PwC under my belt after working part-time in the Incentives and Innovation team. When I finished my degree, I was ready to try something new and talked to my Team Leader about what my next steps within PwC could look like.After conversations with various business areas, I landed on the Assurance team. I quickly found my passion in Internal Audit and followed my interests to my role now as a Manager in the team.
It sounds like you've had a lot of opportunities to try new things and grow - can you tell us about the support you received from PwC?
One of the things I'm most grateful for in my time at PwC is the support I've received in progressing my career and moving across different business areas. Having open conversations with team leaders about how I want to grow my career at PwC helped me decide what was the right next step for me and take that leap with confidence.
When I was ready to look for a new role, I didn't know I wanted to join Internal Audit, but I knew the type of work I enjoyed and the skill sets I wanted to pursue. My team leader helped me explore different options and encouraged me to get to know the teams I could progress to. I spoke to partners and staff across Assurance to learn more about their teams and their work, which helped me feel confident in my decision to move into the Assurance team. I started with a blended role of both External and Internal Audit. I quickly found that I really loved the Internal Audit side of things. It wasn't an area I knew much about before I joined the team, so I was grateful for the opportunity to discover something I was passionate about.
While starting a new role and team can be challenging, these conversations and knowing I had the support along my journey put me at ease. Being encouraged by different people across the firm gave me the support I needed to take a risk in my next step. It's paid off: I love my role now, and I'm excited to see where it takes me.
Can you tell us more about your work as part of the Adelaide Assurance team?
I focus on Internal Audit, which essentially involves performing an assessment of the risks and controls within various areas of our clients' businesses. Each client we work with is quite different, which keeps the work exciting. Our Adelaide team has diverse clients across financial services, healthcare, and education to name a few. Because we're a smaller team, we get broader exposure to different market types. Getting to experience various kinds of challenges and explore how I can apply my knowledge in different ways is one of my favourite things about working in this team. There hasn't been a single day where I've felt like I haven't learned something.
What's your favourite thing about your time at PwC?
While I love my work and enjoy all the learning and growth opportunities I've had, the people have to be my favourite part of my PwC experience. Our Adelaide team has a great culture. It's the sort of environment where everyone is happy to help each other out and have a chat.
Any final words of advice for growing your career at PwC?
My advice for starting and growing your career with PwC is to be open-minded. Ask lots of questions and take the opportunities that come your way. There is a lot to learn and lots of people willing to help, so be open to it.
