Audit Intern Review

I really enjoyed my summer internship. One one hand, it is very different from university life, and it can be quite tiring, especially when asked to commute. On the other, that is sort of the point in the internship, and the opportunity to meet so many people and experience the routine involved in working at the company holds the real value.

The extent to which I felt valued by colleagues grew as the internship went on. Initially, being the only intern in my department and knowing nobody, it is of course difficult. As time passed though, I began to get to know people better, and feel more and more like part of the team, which I suppose is exactly what both I and the company hoped.

This was sort of mixed - there was no performance appraisal meeting (or any kind of meeting) set up at the end of the internship to discuss any issues, and by the end of my internship I had still never been told who my Performance Manager even was. Inversely, there was plenty of support available if needed, with almost everyone I met saying to just ask if I had any problems, which negated the lack of contact with management.

This varied, really. Initially, there was not a lot for me to do, as obviously having only a limited understanding of accountancy techniques limits the number of tasks I was able to complete. However, once colleagues saw that I was happy to apply myself to learn new skills and help out where I could, my work became both more challenging and varied.

I was given plenty of responsibility, being sent out on a full audit after a week or so of working in the office. I was then able to do 'real' work with the guidance of a more senior colleague if and when required. I don't know how much more responsibility you can get than representing the company in client-facing work soon into the programme!

The skills won't help so much with my degree studies, as I don't study accountancy or finance, although I'm sure the added Excel skills, organisation, communication etc won't do any harm at uni. I think more importantly though, whether I come back to take a graduate job or not, is the experience of corporate culture, and of working in the professional environment, which could be invaluable when competing with thousands of others for jobs.

The atmosphere was much friendlier than I had anticipated. I dreaded the idea of everyone sitting either in silence or on the phone for most of the day, but it wasn't like that at all. It was more a case of 'as long as you get your work done, you are free to chat, use your mobile etc'. Added to that was the approachable feel of all areas of the office (including managers'/partners' areas), and I think the atmosphere was very positive and inclusive.

Some bits very well, some not so much. The recruitment process was understandably long, but after we had been told we had places I feel the information flow could have been much better. Nobody told us how to fill out time sheets or claim expenses prior to joining, which perhaps would have been sensible. However, I can't complain strongly about that because there were plenty of people on hand to help in the office, and they did organise plenty of other things such as Interns Events, client-facing work and a CSR day for interns.

The company went for more of a learning on the job approach, with very little formal (e.g. online) training taking place. This meant it took longer to adjust and gain a solid understanding of any of the accountancy processes, but gave you more responsibility to do so independently, which meant simply another form of learning.

Employment prospects are pretty appealing with the organisation. In saying that, I feel they would be more appealing if you had wanted to be an accountant since you were 5... As I'm not one of those (few) people, it will take more thought, but there is a good chance of interns being offered places on the graduate scheme for the proceeding year, and a good chance of me accepting this offer if it comes my way.

I think there is a good social scene at times. There are certainly groups within offices/departments that go out together occasionally, but it didn't seem like a very regular occurrence. That's another thing that differentiates it from university life - people don't go out as much. They do though still socialise, with occasional after-work drinks etc.

The costs of living in Edinburgh are fairly high, especially through the summer. It's obviously nowhere near London prices, but one of the most expensive in Scotland, and very much a tourist city. If you know where to live and where to go out to, you can of course live on a budget, but if you come to Edinburgh expecting dirt cheap prices you will be disappointed!

Edinburgh nightlife is okay throughout the year, but great in August! The city really comes to life during the Fringe, with clubs and bars open till 5am and thousands of tourists visiting the city. To my mind there aren't many better places to be in August, and for the rest of the year it's not too bad either!

There was a staff bbq, with all expenses (travel, food and drink) paid for by the company. This was an excellent opportunity to meet everyone from the department across both Edinburgh and Glasgow offices. A CSR day was also organised for the Scotland interns, with all of us congregating in Glasgow to run a workshop to a group of refugees on employability skills. This was a great experience for both feeling we gave assistance to those in need, and as a team building day to help us get to know each other.