Group Audit Analyst Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed the internship at Deutsche Bank: the opportunities to meet new people from across the globe in all divisions and extend your knowledge are excellent.

Everyone at Deutsche Bank is extremely friendly and willing to help. I felt like an asset to both teams that I joined.

Managers were always willing to help and talk through anything. My mentor was also great to talk to for support and guidance in my work.

The work was challenging, however did not mean that my days were filled with work: there was some free time in which I was able to catch up with fellow interns for a coffee, or to meet others within DB, for example the mystery coffee meetings, which enabled me to meet someone senior to myself in the business. Furthermore, there is always online training on the intranet which I enjoyed completing when I had some spare time.

I was treated like a full-time employee, and hence was given guidance, however was tasked with completing the project individually or with employees in other countries. I enjoyed being given this responsibility, as I was able to challenge myself, but could ask my managers for help if I was struggling.

As a Finance, Accounting and Management student, I believe that the financial terminology I have learned will aid me in future finance modules for my final year. Furthermore, training that I received, as well as observing two different managerial styles in both rotations will help me in management modules. Throughout my internship, I have also developed my time management skills, which will help me to balance my time when at university, and the computing skills that I have learned, combined with knowledge of basic auditing, will help me in both university and a career in audit, especially in banking.

The atmosphere was fantastic in the office: despite being sat in teams, teams spoke to one another, and there was no 'silo' specific group. For example, within Quality Assurance (QA - my second rotation), we were sat adjacent to the finance team, and everyone interacted with one another. The positive atmosphere was not limited to floors, either: in this particular building, Deutsche Bank occupies three floors, and employees talk to colleagues on other floors, which creates a friendly atmosphere.

The internship was very well set up - events were organized throughout - both networking and informal socializing, as well as 'Town Halls' and 'Hot Topics', to discuss current industry-related themes. Managers were very supportive, and the work set for interns to complete was well thought out and prepared in advance; the work prepared was designed to challenge the interns. Furthermore, the presentation that interns were required to give was a very interesting and relevant topic, and enabled us to use our resources, and interview employees from across the bank.

Training given in the first week was excellent, and really helped me and the other interns to understand basic methodology and skills required for audit. The skills we developed during training certainly were applied in our everyday work. Training was also given for presentation skills by an external company, and this was useful for our assessed presentation, for which me and other group members received positive feedback.

Future employment prospects within Deutsche Bank are very appealing, and I aim towards working as an internal auditor at Deutsche Bank: my opinion is based on the people, who are always friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable, and on the work that I have completed, and also based on social and other events organized for staff.

There was a very good social scene amongst both interns and all colleagues: interns would regularly meet for team lunches, and go out to food stalls for lunch, or go to social events together after work. Interns were also invited to engage in formal and informal social events.

I lived at home, which meant that living was very cheap. However, having spoken to other interns, there are plenty of affordable areas to live, especially in student accommodation, which are within a commutable distance. Kings Cross, Farringdon and Aldgate were all popular areas to live amongst interns. The cost of socializing was reasonable within the city, and plenty of pubs, bars and clubs are within walking distance to the office. The cost of pubs etc varied widely across the city, but was affordable for all of the interns.

I did not have much experience of the Night life, however many interns visited local clubs including Fabric in Shoreditch, and clubs in areas such as Brixton. They commented that they enjoyed their nights out, and that it was local for them, and was especially easy to get home late at night with many night tubes and night buses. The nearest tube stations to the office include Monument, Bank, and Liverpool Street, and are well connected to the rest of London.

Deutsche Bank encourage their employees to partake in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) days. One day was compulsory for interns, and involved gardening, and was very enjoyable, and a great opportunity to get to know other interns from across all divisions of the bank. Interns were asked to choose from four London locations to complete the compulsory CSR day, including Clapham Common and Beckenham Park. I also took part in another non-mandatory CSR day which involved painting murals, and met employees of the bank, including other interns and directors, as well as Vice Presidents. I made many contacts from both CSR days and felt that everyone, including myself, added value to the team. There were also activities including pub nights to celebrate interns completing their presentations, and activities such as bowling and table tennis.