Tax Associate

Eric Gilmore

Education: University of Georgia, BBA in accounting, 2006. University of Georgia, Masters in accounting & financial planning, 2008

As a defensive end on his high school football team, Eric Gilmore knew he wasn’t going to make it big in pro football after he tore his ACL. Luckily, his offensive line coach had a background in accounting and encouraged Eric to sign up for the accounting elective he was teaching. Gilmore enjoyed the attention to detail accounting required, and with the encouragement of his football coach, he decided to stick with it as a college major. Now he’s a tax associate at the Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he does taxes for the rich and famous (well, sometimes).

How did you hear about the job at PwC?
The summer after my freshman year of college I was looking for a position in accounting and got involved with INROADS, an organization that helps place talented minority students in corporate America. They arranged a few interviews for me with different accounting firms, including PwC. Since I was only a freshman, I didn’t qualify for the normal tax internship that college juniors can apply for, but I got a position in PwC’s internal firm services. I was helping out HR, recruiting, and administration for two summers, until I could apply for the tax internship my junior summer, and do more “real” accounting. By working in internal firm services, I had the opportunity to shadow other PwC professionals, and that’s when I decided I really wanted to pursue a career in accounting.

What is the best part about your job?
The challenging environment. Since everyone is so smart and does such great work, it forces you to step up your game and be a better accountant. At school I was used to applying for and winning a lot of scholarships and awards, but in the PwC environment, everyone would qualify for these awards. This helps keep you in check while encouraging you to set specific goals, like learning different tax laws.

What’s something about PwC that others may not know?
Most people assume accountants are geeky, but people at PwC are laid-back, fun, social, and it’s really a team atmosphere. My wife always jokes that she imagines me at work typing away on a calculator, but really it’s a lot more fun than that.

What’s the most fun project you’ve done since starting?
My most fun project was doing a tax return for a public figure, whose name I can’t mention, that has many different businesses. I was able to see how this individual set up his different companies and organized the taxes for each, which was interesting. I also had a great team for the project, so that made it even more enjoyable.

What’s your advice to students who want to work for PwC?
Continue to work hard in the classroom, keep your grades up, and really understand the things you’re learning in class. It’s also very important to establish and broaden your personal network of contacts. At school, there are so many available opportunities to go to recruiting events and learn about different companies. Students, especially accounting majors, should take advantage of these opportunities, because it will help you land a job!