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Emily Greer : From creativity to compliance: Emily's pathway to a career in tax

Published: 7 Jul 2025

   

Julie Abdalla speaks at the Senate Hearing
The Dux of CTA1 Foundations in Study Period 3 2024 shows that being focused and disciplined in everything you do can help you find your purpose. 

A Unique Path to Tax 

Emily's path to a tax career was unique. After obtaining a bachelor's degree in interactive and visual design, she landed a job at the ATO call centre during the Covid pandemic in 2020. During this time, she discovered her love for tax and a desire to help others, which motivated her to return to university. In 2022, she pursued a Master of Business (Professional Accounting) at QUT. "I enjoyed helping people at the ATO and realised I was drawn to the logic and structure of accounting," she told us. "Design can be very subjective, and with the rise of technology, people often do it themselves. Accounting, on the other hand, is foundational, and understanding it can be really empowering." 

Finding Purpose in Private Business and Tax 

Emily found her feet at Grant Thornton a year ago and has been working in compliance, supporting diverse entities with their tax obligations. “It feels good when I can apply tax and accounting concepts in a way that’s both accurate and efficient,” she shares. “At first, I thought you had to be amazing at maths to work in tax, but I’ve realised it’s more about attention to detail, problem-solving, and a lot of reading. Once I found the right learning style, it’s not as hard as I first believed. It’s a great feeling when you can make sense of something you initially found confusing.” 

She also acknowledges that the transition hasn’t been without its challenges. “Starting a new career from the bottom isn’t easy—especially when people your own age are out enjoying their weekends. It takes tunnel vision and the belief that trying is better than wondering ‘what if’ later on.” 

Studying at The Tax Institute 

Emily enrolled in the Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) program through The Tax Institute (TTI), she told us she has already been able to apply what she's learnt at TTI to her work in compliance, telling us it has helped with her attention to detail. Having completed the CTA1 Foundations subject, she intends to follow her employer's study plan and continue with CTA2A and CTA2B. "I enjoyed the activities and testing my knowledge. We often do training at work; however, the CTA tested my knowledge to ensure that I understood the concepts," she told us. "I got to learn the manual calculations for things often done with technology. The CTA allowed me to go more in-depth on topics I was interested in and that are most relevant to my job." 

Advice to tax professionals considering further study 

Emily told us she is motivated to complete the CTA program before progressing to become a CA. We asked her what advice she’d give to other tax professionals considering further study. Her response was thoughtful: "Studying is as beneficial as you make it. If you want to learn, then it will be worth it."