IES deals with international tax, social security and other cross-border issues for employers and employees - for example, compliance and remuneration. I find the international aspect really interesting — probably because I lived abroad myself for a while - I went to Australia to finish my degree.
Yes, I like travelling a lot. The opportunity to work abroad really attracted me to KPMG actually. I had my first overseas assignment in London, two years after I joined, and I was so happy about it because you would only normally have the opportunity after three or four years.
Well, international exposure is important because most of our clients are international assignees. I have to be an assignee myself to understand what other assignees are talking about. I raised this with my performance manager and a year later I was on assignment.
Well, I think integrity is the word to describe KPMG. At first, we appear to be relatively conservative, but given the current climate — especially in the US, where there are a lot of regulation and risk management situations — a careful approach is healthy for the client and for our member firm. Our clients do see the value we bring to them.
I like my job in IES so what I want to do next is continue my international experience. I want new challenges and exposure. I’ve already been on secondment to Chicago for three months, and had a long-term assignment in Switzerland for two-and-a-half years. So I don’t want to stay in one place forever. I find working abroad really rewarding.