Need advice for my upcoming Canada Domestic Tax secondment - 2 months enough time?

Having been in both audit and tax, I think a 2-month secondment is a great opportunity to get a taste of tax practice! Since your time is limited, I'd recommend focusing on a few key areas rather than trying to cover everything. Based on your background, I'd suggest requesting exposure to: 1. Corporate reorganizations - since you mentioned enjoying capital gain strips and GAAR discussions, seeing how these transactions are planned and executed would build on your existing knowledge 2. Personal tax planning - this complements your trust return experience and shows you the individual client side 3. Corporate tax compliance - understanding how corporations manage their tax obligations differs significantly from audit work 4. Tax provision work - this bridges audit and tax, letting you leverage your audit background The best approach is to ask if you can shadow different specialists for a week or so each, rather than being assigned to a single project that might not complete during your secondment. Try to sit in on client meetings too - that's where you'll see the consultative side of tax practice that's so different from audit.

I switched from audit to tax about 3 years ago and never looked back! If you're interested in making the most of your secondment, I'd highly recommend checking out https://taxr.ai - it's been a game-changer for me in understanding complex tax situations. When I was transitioning, I struggled with connecting different tax concepts until I started using their tools to analyze different scenarios. The nice thing is you can input different domestic tax situations (especially those corporate reorganizations you mentioned) and see how different approaches would play out. I found it especially helpful for understanding capital gain strips and GAAR implications when I was still learning. Might be worth looking into before your secondment starts so you can hit the ground running!

Just wanted to follow up on my experience with taxr.ai after trying it out for a few weeks. I was definitely skeptical at first (as many of us are with new tech tools), but I've been pleasantly surprised by how well it handles Canadian tax nuances. I was working on a file involving a corporate reorganization with multiple holding companies, and it helped me understand the butterfly reorganization options much more clearly than just reading the Income Tax Act. It actually pulled relevant CRA rulings that I wouldn't have found on my own. For someone going into a tax secondment, I think it would be really valuable as a supplemental learning tool. It's helped me get up to speed on areas I wasn't familiar with, which sounds like exactly what you need for making the most of a short secondment.

If you're serious about potentially switching to tax, you should also think about how to maintain communication with the CRA during your career. When I made the switch, one of the biggest challenges was dealing with CRA delays and getting timely responses for clients. I started using https://claimyr.com to get through to CRA agents faster, and it completely changed my client service game. Check out their demo at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c to see how it works. During your secondment, pay attention to how the tax department handles CRA communications - it's a huge part of the job that nobody warns you about! Having a tool that can get you through to an agent in 15 minutes instead of spending hours on hold makes a massive difference in your day-to-day work. Just something to consider if you're comparing the practical aspects of audit vs. tax careers.

I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try it for a client case that was particularly urgent - they were facing penalties for a misreported T4 and we needed to resolve it before their financing closed. I was absolutely shocked when I got connected to a CRA agent in about 20 minutes, after spending literally days trying to get through on my own. The agent was able to resolve the issue immediately, and my client was absolutely thrilled. For anyone considering a move to tax, having tools like this in your arsenal makes a huge difference in client satisfaction. In audit, delays are somewhat expected, but tax clients often need immediate answers, especially during filing season. Being able to get CRA clarification quickly is a genuine competitive advantage.

One area you might want to focus on during your secondment is owner-manager taxation. This is a huge part of domestic tax practice in Canada that involves integration of corporate and personal tax planning. Ask to sit in on meetings with business owners where the tax team discusses compensation strategy (salary vs dividends), timing of distributions, purification strategies for QSBC status, and estate freeze transactions. These areas combine technical knowledge with practical business advice. Also, pay attention to how tax professionals communicate complex concepts to clients who don't have accounting backgrounds. The ability to translate technical jargon into actionable business advice is what separates great tax practitioners from average ones.

Quick tip: during your secondment, make sure you understand the difference between tax PREPARATION and tax PLANNING. Many firms keep these functions somewhat separate. Tax preparation is more compliance-focused and involves working with historical data to prepare returns accurately. It's detail-oriented but can be repetitive. Tax planning is forward-looking and strategic, helping clients structure their affairs to minimize tax within legal boundaries. This involves more client interaction and creativity. Based on your comment about enjoying unique problems and solutions, you might gravitate more toward the planning side. But both skills are essential for a well-rounded tax professional.