What are the possibilities after your audit contract AND further beyond? Do you disappear into the mythical Bermuda triangle? We can tell you now this didn’t happen to Alex. Here’s a case study of what happened in Alex’s life from the time he moved to Bermuda till now…
Alex moved to Bermuda from Edmonton, joining one of the Big Four firms as a Senior specialising in offshore clients. Alex didn’t previously have any financial services experience, not having been based in a major finance centre, and was keen to get this onto his CV.
He joined the September intake with about 25 other Seniors. On arrival, Alex joined them for orientation courses, local induction, IFRS/US GAAP training, and learnt how to audit FS sector clients.
The next few months prior to the start of busy season was also taken up with planning and interim visits, as well as arranging permanent accommodation (sharing with some other expat CAs from Canada), getting into sports, and first-time visits to New York and Boston.
Alex notes that the training programs were very extensive, being tailored to accountants with little or no prior FS experience; there’s undoubtedly a steep learning curve to handle the responsibility of managing a portfolio of FS clients successfully over your first busy season.
Alex met the challenge and was particularly pleased to have chosen to specialise in insurance, since the nature of these clients includes large holdings of investments too. Having been professionally stretched over busy season, he felt much more confident by the time summer came around.
Time sped by – as it does when you are busy – and Alex realised that he’d had the opportunity to learn a huge amount, enhance his CV with marketable new skills and experience, and travel around the United States. The first pay rise (95% tax-free) was welcome. Socially too, he’d made a huge number of new friends and members of his family had been out to the Island to visit him several times.
By his second busy season, Alex had to weigh up whether he preferred an FS Audit Manager position with the firm
As it happened, one of Alex’s colleagues who’d left practice the year before had moved into an insurance company, managing a portfolio of US entities’ captive operations on the Island, and knew that Alex would shortly be coming out of contract.
He was head-hunted at the end of his audit contract and given a pay rise for the move. He joined as an Account Executive and was promoted a year later to Senior Account Executive, with a further tax-free pay rise.
Alex stayed for a further two years before using his experience and contacts to gain a position as a Senior Manager for a major insurance company back at home. He returned with a fiancée and enough savings to put down on a house.
Of his closest friends from Bermuda days, one is now a Partner with a Top10 practice, one is CFO at an asset management company, and another is a Vice President and living in the Cayman Islands.
On being asked whether he would repeat the experience again, if he could go back in time, Alex says: “Bermuda totally changed my life. I never had Monday morning blues once while I was there; I learned such a great deal that was simply out of reach to me back at home.
“Plus I made some great friends from different countries and had the time of my life. I really believe going offshore is a no-brainer for anyone who wants to make something exceptional of their life and career.”
See also: What Do Candidate Say After Moving Offshore?
If you are a lawyer or chartered accountant and interested in working in the Bermuda/Caribbean region, visit our jobs portal to see the latest vacancies. Our site also includes a downloadable All You Need to Know guide which will tell you all you need to know about living and working offshore.
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