Vacation Student Review

I enjoyed my time during the placement with KPMG immensely. This is mainly attributed to the fact that KPMG offers a positive work atmosphere that truly emphasises on its employees' growth. This is mirrored in the way I was treated by all of my colleagues - with respect and always ready to help with an inquiry to the best of their ability. Truly, this is a firm where you will not feel neglected or left behind.

Although I was merely an intern with no previous job experience in audit whatsoever, my colleagues entrusted me with meaningful work that contributed towards the audit very early on in the internship. Although it seemed daunting to handle such tasks in the beginning, however every member of the engagement team were helpful and took their time to explain the work assigned step by step. And where good work was done, the team did not shy away from acknowledging it and provided constructive feedback wherever improvements could be made.

The interns were assigned a "buddy", who essentially acted as a mentor (usually someone who was 1 year in their role) to whom we could direct our inquiries to regarding administration etc. The "buddy" system was immensely helpful in explaining things around the office. Other than that, we were also given a Performance Manager who kept track on our performance throughout the different audit engagements and help informal appraisal meetings in which we were given feedback. This was helpful as I could see the growth in my performance from the appraisal meetings.

Since I got the opportunity to be posted on to a different client every week for the duration of my internship, I would say that my time was well used in performing the audit work. I appreciated this as keeping busy with work has given me the chance to learn a lot more about audit and accounting. Even when I completed all of my tasks, my in-charge would pull out other work for me to do in order to make sure that I was not idle. Even though I was busy with work every day, the work itself was enjoyable and I never felt bored at work.

KPMG is brilliant in the sense that it allows multiple growth opportunities for its employees, and being responsible/accountable for my own work was one of them. From very early on in the internship, I was entrusted to engage with the client face-to-face when inquiring about processes or testing their controls in place. I was also expected to complete work papers independently, a challenge which I welcomed. Even when I was entrusted with numerous responsibilities, my audit in-charge and manager never failed to provide me with the support and guidance needed.

First of all, this internship definitely provided me with a valuable insight into auditing. The training I received will definitely help complement my degree studies as well as serve as a foundation for my chartered qualification. Secondly, this internship also massively enhanced my communication, teamwork and time management skills in which I believe will be vital throughout my life as I step into the employment pool.

The general atmosphere in the office was definitely a hardworking but friendly one. I found that all of my colleagues worked hard and took pride in their work but still maintained friendliness with their peers (having lunches together, making brews for one another etc). Everyone spoke highly of one another, everyone was always ready to lend a helping hand to a colleague with a query, which made being in the office a positive experience.

The placement was organised well. The first two days was the induction, in which we were given basic instructions on who is KPMG, what our job would entail, administration issues such as laptops and ID cards etc. We were then shown how to view our weekly schedules in order to see which clients we were posted to.

Although I was only with the firm for 6 weeks, I did feel that KPMG truly supported my journey throughout the placement. My performance manager was genuinely interested in my performance as well as what I wanted to achieve out of the internship. I was also given training modules to be completed to ensure my work will be up to KPMG standards.

This is an interesting time to be joining KPMG, as they are stepping up their strategy in winning new clients and tenders. Future employment prospects look good as they have been successful in bringing in new work across the country, even with a saturated market. There are also numerous opportunities within the organisation such as secondments to foreign countries.

The office regularly hosts socials, which is a great way to get to know colleagues and even managers. Sometimes it would be a farewell party for a manager going on a secondment, or a bowling game just to let off some steam. Everyone in the office also usually turn up for the socials hosted.

Accommodation and cost of living in Preston was definitely not too much of a challenge compared to the bigger cities.

Shops in Preston (St George's Shopping Centre, Fishergate) closes around 5.30/6, so depending on what time you get off work, it may be too late to do some shopping. However, places to eat are plenty in Preston and since the office regularly hosts socials, I was left with plenty of options for my evening activities.

KPMG is an advocate for many charitable causes, such as education etc. Thus, they allow their employees 6 working days to volunteer with charities that support the causes that are in line with KPMG values.