Corporate Tax Review

I did enjoy the internship overall as the people I worked with were really nice and helpful. I was exposed to a wide variety of clients and learnt a lot about corporate tax and what a place on the graduate scheme would involve. However, at times the work could be quite menial and some days I had very little to do.

I felt very valued by my colleagues (probably because I was doing all the work they didn't want to do themselves(!)) Everyone was very friendly and appreciated the work I was doing for them. The feedback I received was very useful and honest which I have been able to take into my next internship and my university study.

The support I received was quite good. The internship started with a 3 day induction in the Canary Wharf office which gave a crash course in tax and corporate tax which was really useful for people who had not done any tax before, so walking into the regional office on my first day I felt like I understood a lot of what people were talking about/ what I was being asked to do. I was able to ask lots of questions on the work I was doing and everyone was very willing to explain and also give feedback on the pieces of work I did as well which meant I was able to improve throughout my time at KPMG. At the end of the internship I was able to have an 'honest conversation' on my performance helping me to improve.

It varied. In general I would say I wasn't very busy, there were days that were much busier but there were never any stressful deadlines to meet or the need to work longer hours. I think working in a regional office in July/August is always going to be quiet and as a vacation student there is only a limited number of things you an help with, so I imagine the grad scheme work definitely be busier!

As expected much of my work was reviewed (and changed) a number of times before the final piece of work was sent to a client, so it didn't feel like I had much responsibility. Although people were happy to explain how they wanted things presenting and what to improve but again it felt like I couldn't put much of my own ideas across. My work mostly involved lots of smaller tasks such as drafting emails, checking accounts etc. rather than long term research projects in which you would have more of a personal input.

My degree subject doesn't have anything to do with tax so I'm not sure how much of what I learnt is applicable but I'll definitely take forward more commercial awareness and confidence which will help in future job applications and any presentations which I will have to make at university. It's always useful to know about tax as we will all have to pay it at some point in our lives(!)

Friendly, but could be quite quiet at times. In the regional office I was the only intern and there was one other recent graduate (who happened to be on holiday most of the time that I was there), there rest were all older managers so I felt quite detached from them which led to quite a serious atmosphere.

Considering it was just a four week internship the firm invested a lot in my training. As I was at a regional office I was given free accommodation in Canary Wharf for the 3 day induction with travel expenses. The 3 day induction - 2 days of which was at the KPMG Tax Business School and we had full days of lectures and interactive exercises plus paid for networking drinks after work. Once in my office everyone took time to explain what they were doing and how to use various computer software.

I was lucky enough to secure a place on the 2017 graduate scheme in London after my final interview at the end of the placement. I think the conversion rates of getting a grad job after the internship are extremely high so most people tend to get an offer which is a nice position to be in going into the final year of university. It is also possible to interview for a different service line or different office if you want to work for KPMG but might think you are better suited in a different job.

I was the only intern. There was one other graduate. So no, there wasn't any social scene. But to be fair on my induction in London I went out for dinner a number of times with other interns from around the country and the networking drinks after the induction were good fun. I imagine the social scene is very dependent on your office size/ location.

Pretty much non existent. I'm sure this was because of my regional office and the age of my colleagues. As everyone drove to work no one was really up for going for drinks after work or they had to get back to their families. There was only one other graduate in the office so there weren't any people to go socialising after work with. The office was small so there were no sports teams or anything set up to get involved with. I'm sure this would be very different in London.