Lyndsay MacGregor, Tax Consultant at Deloitte in Manchester

Lyndsay MacGregor is a Tax Consultant in the Manchester based team of Deloitte, working in the Tax Valuation Group unit of the Global Employer Services Tax service line. She joined Deloitte in September 2007, immediately after leaving university and studied LLB Law at Strathclyde University. MacGregor reflects on her career at the Big Four firm, her roles on projects and how Deloitte supports her in making a social impact. 

What do you like most about your role?

The variety of work – our team provide valuation services to every department within the tax team. My valuations vary from huge corporate restructuring exercises, tiny minority shareholdings, and goodwill valuations to name a few. 

Working within a team – whilst I feel I have a lot of responsibility and ownership over the jobs I work on, I know there is a really strong team behind me who are always happy to provide advice and assistance on the tough projects. 

What didn't you know, but wish you had known when applying and joining Deloitte?

You will be bombarded with information in your first few weeks. There is a lot of training to get through and lots of new people to meet. For me, there was so much that it was impossible to remember everything. Luckily, you will be assigned a buddy who will answer any questions you have, no matter how silly, and work with you on your first few projects. 

Within the first couple of months, you will find your feet, feel part of the team and fluently speak in all those acronyms that initially baffled you!

What work do you get involved in on a day to day basis at Deloitte?

I have a very varied role, providing tax valuation advice across all taxes and all industries. My work is project based, and most of my valuations are completed within a month or two. This means that I get to work with lots of clients on a broad range of valuations each year. I normally have between 5 and 7 projects on at once, of varying complexity and size. Every valuation I do is a new learning experience as no two valuations are ever the same.

For each project, we will discuss the client’s objectives, gather information, review the sector and industry of the client, select appropriate valuation methodologies and lastly prepare the valuation. Following this, we follow up with a telephone call or meeting with the client to explain our valuation in more detail. I also regularly liaise with the Shares and Assets Valuation team at HMRC in respect of our client’s valuations. 

Aside from client work, I assist with planning and presenting at a number of seminars for the Tax Valuation Network. So far, I have presented in Manchester, Edinburgh and Birmingham and looking forward to presenting in other regions.

How do you deliver or contribute impact, leadership and innovation in your role?

My biggest contribution so far was when I spotted an opportunity to develop our tax valuation services in the Manchester office. I requested to join the national team as the Manchester representative and began working full time on tax valuations. This led to a new source of revenue for my team.

Shortly after this, I assisted with the introduction of the Deloitte Tax Valuation Network – a network of professional advisors, with whom we share knowledge and discuss valuation issues. This has really helped me to build a network of contacts within my area of specialism.

What social, society and CSR activities have you been involved with at Deloitte?

Lots! To name a few:

• Help for Hero’s 26 mile hike;
• 3 community days helping with gardening, painting and community activities in the local area;
• Away days: murder mystery event, white water rafting, ropes course
• 4 summer balls
• 8 Christmas parties

There is always something going on, and you can be as involved in these events as you like.

How has Deloitte played a role in your long term career goals?

In my experience, if you work hard, you can progress very quickly at Deloitte. I have so far managed to achieve all of the career goals I have set, and still have a number that I want to work on in the future. My team has supported my career goals, and opened up opportunities for me to develop and achieve my objectives.

One of the benefits of joining such a large organisation is the options available if you find that your career is not following the path you wanted. Deloitte offers such a broad variety of professional services and I have found that they are supportive of internal moves, meaning that there are plenty of opportunities to change roles. I have friends who have moved into different service lines, moved regions and even moved countries whilst remaining at Deloitte. 

I have completed all of my professional exams, being the ATT and CTA, and I received a lot of support for this from Deloitte, including study days, tuition, exam materials etc. Lots of people had gone through the exams before me, so there were plenty of sympathetic ears and friendly advice!