Financial Services Assurance Associate Review

The work was challenging, engaging and I enjoyed that I was treated as a permanent member of staff as opposed to a temporary placement student. The engagement with EY's clients was my favourite part of the job.

The feedback system at EY was sound. It was made clear that feedback was a key area and this certainly helped with my personal development. There were a few flaws however with the feedback system when it came to year end whereby the ratings across the board depended more on the quality of the team in which you were placed rather than your own personal work ethic.

For the majority of the time my seniors were extremely helpful when it came to support and guidance. My supervisor and higher management in particular were fantastic in how they took time to support me. At a slightly lower level the management and guidance was slightly less comprehensive, especially during busy periods. This was a slight problem at times since my main point of contact was the lower level managers.

My schedule was heavily dependent on the client I was booked to. It was pretty common for my workload to either be very hectic or quite relaxed with little time for in-between. During the stressful busy season period my workload was very heavy however this was also the most rewarding work period when we completed the audit within deadline.

I was given plenty of responsibility over the course of the placement in many areas. I was trusted to complete the audit of a number of accounts independently and was trusted with high profile information.

The skills I developed last year have already helped me in my final year of studies. Furthermore since I hope to return to EY everything I learnt last year will be essential for next year.

The atmosphere in the Bristol office exceeded my expectations. Everyone in the office had a good working and personal relationship with one another which made work much more enjoyable. There were regular socials and if ever I felt stressed I felt as though there was always someone that I could speak to in order to make myself feel comfortable.

The overall placement was set up very well in my opinion. There were over 80 placement students at the firm in the UK, they gave us an informative induction week which also allowed us to network with the other students. Throughout the year there were regular catch ups available. One disappointing area was the individual responsible for our group changed more than once over the course of the year.

In terms of personal training EY were excellent. They gave us a flavour of the professional accounting exams that we would be facing post graduation by funding two of these chartered accounting exams along with all the teaching to study for these. Throughout the year they taught us like any other first year expecting us to return next year.

Future employment prospects are excellent at EY, hence why I have accepted the graduate offer for next year. As mentioned above, they support you from the off and invest in you, expecting that you will return to the firm after graduating. This is a culture that I noticed was clearly present in the firm.

There was an excellent social scene at EY. On the first week there was a different social available each evening during the induction week which helped us to get to know the other placement students thus helping us expand our professional network. This was the same throughout the year with many socials on offer.

Cost of living in both Bristol and London (my two main work destinations) was expensive. This was to be expected though and reflected how popular the two destinations are socially. I very much enjoyed staying in both despite the very high cost of living and socialising. One point was that although London wage increased heavily to reflect cost of living; salaries in Bristol were still low.

As mentioned above, the nightlife in my two main locations was excellent. It was a great year to have in between my second and final year at university since it allowed me to still have my breaks from work and have events to look forward to. I don’t think anyone can say nightlife in London or Bristol is boring.

There were various opportunities to get involved with outside of work such as joining EY sports teams for example football, rugby, netball and many more. One area I got fully involved in was the EY Pentathlon which was a brilliantly ran event that allowed me to meet other EY members from across the world and compete in sports I had never tried before.