FP&A Summer Placement Review

As I developed a better understanding and awareness of the business and the function of finance my work became more enjoyable. I found the models I developed interesting and some of the problem solving very satisfying. Additonally, I enjoyed many other additional things beyond my set objectives: - Field day with a smart engineer - Trip to Leeds - Trip to the trading floor - Present with Impact - Inttroductions to other roles within finance. I also very much enjoyed the accomodation arrangements and living with the majority of the interns in the Royal Holloway Accomodation. The only negative, for me, was that Egham - where RHUL is situated, is not quite London.

I always felt welcomed from day one. Centrica is a very friendly organsiation and everyone is very approachable. In terms of feeling valued, as one performs well and is motivated, thus being valuable, they will become valued. But of course, one is also valued for creating a positive environment and their other leadership qualities.

My supervisor was abscent for one period early on in my placement which I found difficult at first. But, this was just poor timing and the way to be successful, which one learns through the course of the placmeent is that you must manage other people in order to be supported. To get the most out of your managers/supervisors you must set up meetings with them, ask the right questions and be proactive. But beyond that, the HR departement at Centrica is supportive. However, general guidance could have been better if our induction day could have spanned over more than one day in the first week.

As my work was very much project based, there were times when in between projects, I found myself with less work to do. Yet, generally I could find myself Ad hoc work to do and everything I did was relevant.

I enjoyed the amount of responsibility given to me. I produced two models which would go on to be used in the future on a monthly basis and was trusted with reconciling numbers for my team. I was also given the responsibility to work with people from outside my team, rolling out the models in one-on-one presentations with different partners.

Excel skills were deveoped phenomenally so. This will no doubt benefit me in my career in finanace and I am very grateful for this. Softer skills like presentation skills also improved a lot in this placement and I am glad of this as previously I was not confident in delivering presentations.

Friendly and not too corporate as I was in the British gas offices. Generally a bit of banter in the office whilst still remaining proffessional. Normally someone will have brought in cakes/biscuits for the team aswell, reflecting the strong team feel.

In all honesty, It feels as if it could have been done in a shorter time with a more intensive initial training period. I felt personally it was quite drawn out and with clearer guidance I could have performed the same amount of work in 8 weeks rather than 10. But in this extra time I developed stronger bonds with my team and was exposed to 'extra-curricular' things. However, the calendar was clear from the beginnning and I was often provided plenty of notice when something was being organised.

Present with Impact - Adrian Kirk 3 hour presentation skills workshop. Found this very useful and has significantly improved my confidence. Was also a very enjoyable expereicne. Excel training workshop Needed to be longer and more tailored to finance. But useful in providing good initial guidance. Development day Fun day for team builidng, kickstarting our charity work and meeting people from around the business.

It is competitive on the finance internship scheme to get a grad offer with around 50% getting an offer and a few more getting conditional offers. So it is difficult to get but it is a good graduate program which involves rotating through 3 different roles in 3 years whilst obtaining an accounting qualification of your choosing, sponsored by them.

Pretty expensive to socialise - but i'm used to going to uni in Durham! Accomodation is paid for by Centrica.