Audit intern (TMT) Review

My placement at EY ended up being an enjoyable experience but it definitely improved as the internship went on. For the 6 weeks I was there, the employees I met were really welcoming and were always willing to answer my questions about working at the firm if I ever had any.

Initially, I did not have a lot of work which as a result meant I had no team for the first two weeks of my internship. However, when I did find work from people on my floor, they were always so appreciative of the work I did for them. They were honestly really nice to work for and I felt like I could always ask them career advice which really helped me make the most of the experience.

My counsellor was quite supportive and I always felt like I could drop him a message regarding any issues I was having. For example, when I was lacking work, I let him know and he made it a priority to ask around his division if they needed any extra help. Whilst he was very busy with his own work, we still managed to have our review meetings. He was extremely helpful in the first meeting as he helped me lay out a clear plan of the goals I wanted to achieve during the internship which helped me shape my internship. Further, our final meeting was also a great insight into his past areas of expertise and he gave me some great personal advice on auditing the different industry areas.

Initially, there was very little work to do and so it was disappointing as I found it quite boring. However, it was unfortunate as being on the 2nd scheme meant it was after year end and there was less work in general. I did make sure to send out emails to people on the floor so that they knew I was available and I did get work to keep me busy. Around 2 weeks later, I was lucky enough to be assigned for the rest of my weeks at EY at the same client and since I was the only other person with the manager on site I was able to get more work from him. The only problem here was that I would finish my assigned task and then have to wait for some more work which meant I sometimes felt I had to pace myself to keep busy.

Initially, I was not given any great responsibility since I was not assigned to an engagement.Therefore, when I got one off jobs from people on my floor, it was not very technical and was more admin orientated which meant learning wise it was not very fruitful. However, when I eventually got onto client site, I felt like I had more responsibility since I was editing working papers and lead sheets on the GAMx for the audit. I also learnt how to do some actual testing which was definitely more responsibility.

Since my degree is economics, I have not been able to directly transfer anything I learnt but in terms of career progression and beyond uni, it has been my first proper insight into working at a world renowned professional services firm.

The atmosphere at the office was great - all the other interns at the London office from other divisions were there so it provided a really social setting. This really helped during the first few weeks of the internship when there was not a lot to do.

Unfortunately, I feel like there was quite a lot of disorganisation with many of the administrative tasks. I had to bring in my A level certificates again at the beginning of the internship when I'd brought them to the assessment centre. Then I got an email few weeks later to bring them in again which did not make a lot of sense. The induction week was good but I do feel that it was too long and would have preferred a more technical induction to help add to the knowledge learnt from the internship.

My manager from my engagement was very helpful and set aside some time to thoroughly explain the basics of auditing so that I had a good foundational understanding of the work EY was doing for the client. This definitely proved a learning curve and I am happy to say I have learnt a lot from my manager.

The internship ended successfully as I was given an offer! There was a roadmap that I was given with tasks that I had to try and complete. Then, along with my manager's feedback, my counsellor had to present my case to a panel and a decision was made.

I was lucky enough to be surrounded by a very sociable group of interns which helped when there were 'dry periods' with work. We would also try and catch up after work when possible which was really fun.

Considering we were in London it was quite expensive for students. It would have been nice to have a subsidised canteen but the MLP canteen was quite expensive. However, when we went to the Canary Wharf office, their canteen was a lot cheaper which did not make a lot of sense!

When we had the time, we would casually organise some drinks at the end of the week for when we had time. Whilst it wasn't a regular occurrence, it was fun to hang out. London's nightclubs are amazing but we were in London Bridge so bars are more common and convenient to get to.

There was a circulation of emails regarding joining some of their networks such as the Professional Women's networks. Also, I had the opportunity to play netball outside working hours and there was also opportunities to give a talk to the new set of graduates. It is important to realise during this internship, that the opportunities are not usually handed to you and you normally have to take the initiative.