Industry Sectors

Accountancy firms

All of the Big 4 accountancy firms have an international presence and well established transfer pricing practices. As well as documentation compliance based assignments, transfer pricing within an accountancy firm offers the opportunity to work with some of the world’s largest and most complex companies and transfer pricing planning assignments. This coupled with controversy, Advance Pricing Arrangements, thin capitalisation work, provide plenty of variety. With an increasing focus on developing industry expertise, a transfer pricing role within an accountancy firm can provide clear opportunities for specialisation in areas such as oil & gas, financial services, consumer and luxury goods as examples.

Firms outside of the Big 4 also have developed an increased TP capability and provide an alternative to a Big 4 environment. These firms provide opportunities for TP experts to play a greater role in a smaller team with increased responsibility.

Law firms

There has been considerable change in the legal sector from a transfer pricing perspective, with teams moving increasingly towards a multi-disciplinary framework.  Global law firms now offer clients a range of transfer pricing expertise beyond legal advice to include economic consulting and broader commercial transfer pricing support. Whilst some law firms have an established, worldwide transfer pricing practice, there are exciting opportunities to join firms that are also seeking to build transfer pricing teams from scratch. Joining a new business area in a firm that already has a strong corporate client portfolio, generally offers an accelerated career path for professionals whose strengths are business development and client management.

Economic Consultancies

These global boutiques offer high-level advice on a range of complex transfer pricing issues, ranging from APAs through to litigation, audit defence and intangible property. These firms typically appeal to economists with advanced qualifications (PhD, MBA or CFA) who want to broaden their expertise into other areas of economic consulting as well as transfer pricing. The transfer pricing practice of any boutique will be considerably smaller than a Big 4 environment; however the opportunity to work on non transfer pricing related projects is much greater. Depending on what might be of interest, economists have been involved in anti-trust, public policy and M&A projects alongside their core transfer pricing related work.

Industry

An in-house move can be a great means of furthering your career. Opportunities tend to have a strong international focus, requiring you to be based in a Corporate Headquarters. An open-mindedness to relocation will always present exciting opportunities and TP International has successfully assisted numerous professionals in their quest for the right industry move. An industry specialism becomes much more important to employers than in other sectors of transfer pricing which is something to consider in advance of your search.