Graduate opportunities

Meet Josie

Name: Josie Cransberg
Job title: Senior Associate – Corporate Tax (Perth Office)
University attended: The University of Western Australia
Degree Qualification: Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting and Finance
Year graduated: 2022

What’s your job about?

As an associate, I do the initial work of preparing tax returns and advice for review. This allows me to get to know the clients and their transactions and see jobs through from start to end. As I have progressed, my exposure to complex and challenging tax issues has helped me to gain more experience and independence.

One of the benefits of working at Grant Thornton is their national work model, allowing us to collaborate with people from different offices and teams. This has broadened my knowledge of various tax issues, such as FBT and payroll taxes, which complements my core corporate tax work.

As expected, the first year on the job was a steep learning curve but Grant Thornton’s training programs helped me through this. I was involved with real client work from day one with on-the-job training while receiving formalised graduate training from different partners. Keeping up with the changing tax laws is essential for my role, and Grant Thornton’s training programs ensure that I am updated and informed.

What’s your background?

I was first exposed to accounting during high school in Western Australia when I took Accounting & Finance as an ATAR subject. From then, I knew I was interested in accounting and it was something I wanted to learn more about. As such I did a Bachelor of Commerce at UWA majoring in Accounting & Finance, graduating in 2022. 

I became interested in tax during my studies, as I liked the challenge of learning new things in a dynamic field. I was lucky enough to do several vacation work placements at different firms, including one at Grant Thornton. I enjoyed seeing what the working world, and Grant Thornton specifically, was like before starting my career. I was grateful to be offered a graduate role at Grant Thornton following on from my vacation work. I joined Grant Thornton as a graduate in 2023 and have worked in the Corporate Tax team for almost a year. I have continued to learn something new and interesting every day! 

What’s the best thing about your job?

The learning. I like the challenge of understanding and solving different issues daily and seeing how we can benefit our clients. I have discovered many tax issues, laws, and regulations that I did not know about before. Now, I value their importance and function within our society. We have clients from various sectors, and I enjoy learning about them and their fields, whether it be agriculture, mining or technology. I think the team has played a fundamental part in my learning pathway. They are super supportive of the learning process, helping me along the way and pushing me when necessary. I know there is always more to learn, and I am eager for the challenge ahead.

What are the main challenges for you?

Managing the busy and down times effectively and efficiently. 

Sometimes, multiple clients or managers require results simultaneously and it is hard to balance which ones to prioritise and which ones to delay. Teamwork is crucial during these times. Fortunately, I can rely on my team to support and guide me during these times. In tax, we are lucky that the compliance side of our work is stable and can be planned for, ensuring that we produce high-quality work no matter the pressures. 

Downtimes, where the workflow is low, are also challenging for different reasons. In these times I find it important to self-motivate. Finding tasks to help improve soft skills or revisiting issues that were unclear in past work projects are things I like to do to help fill gaps. However, our team is good at ensuring we have a balanced workflow to help minimise the amount of downtime we have. 

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student

1. Expand your network. Your university peers could be your future colleagues, clients, or competitors, and having a large network is always beneficial.
2. Gain experience. Uni does not always provide hands-on experience (especially in Commerce), so take any opportunity to acquire it, whether through vacation work, part-time jobs, or volunteering.
3. Be yourself. No one wants a clone of someone else, so stop comparing yourself to others. Be authentic, trust your instincts, and pursue your goals.

Meet Elena

Name: Elena Davis
Job Title: Senior Associate
Service Line: Audit & Assurance
University Attended: University of Adelaide
Degree qualification: Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Finance)
Year graduated: 2021

Elena’s journey with Grant Thornton began in 2021 as an Undergraduate in Audit & Assurance at the Adelaide office. Starting full time work while still studying proved challenging, but Elena enjoyed the experience. “I knew I wanted to be in Audit and I haven’t regretted a second of it. Audit is just such a fun aspect of accounting and there’s no shortage of work, so I get to feel like I’m earning my wage most days.”

A day in Audit & Assurance never looks the same, but whatever Elena is assigned, she is guaranteed to be using Excel. “I do a lot of work with Excel – usually things like vouching and recalculations – I love doing stuff like that. I also enjoy reading through company documents like board minutes. To me, it’s like I’m reading the story of the business, and I love seeing how things change and shift over time. That kind of thing also gives me a solid foundation and good context for the work I’m doing,” Elena says.

Moving from America to Australia eight years ago was the catalyst for change in Elena’s life – including her professional journey. When asked about what she loves most about her job, she said that it wasn’t just one thing. “This is a tough question – I love a lot of different things about my job. I enjoy getting to figure out the different pieces of the puzzle when it comes to auditing a client; I enjoy doing things like reading board minutes and ASX announcements. I also really like the culture and community of my team and the Adelaide office,” Elena says.

How can you be your best self at work? “There’s a great opportunity for work-life balance with Grant Thornton, more so than with other firms in my experience. For where I’m at in my life, I really value that, and I appreciate the camaraderie of the service line I work in. We all work to help each other when and if we can, and there’s always room to pick up extra work.”