Audit Associate Review

I really enjoyed my work placement - The people, the work and the company were all amazing. So much so that I have already signed a contract to go back after my final year! A great company to work for.

My colleagues were extremely friendly and I felt really valued. They didn't treat me like a placement student but more like a graduate, therefore I was given so much responsibility. After only a few months I felt fully included in the team and have made friends for life.

At Ernst & Young you get a placement manager, a buddy and a counsellor. The placement manager mainly deals with the university paperwork and helps at the end of the year to facilitate an offer. Your buddy is there to help with any personal issues and you counsellor helps you to further your skills over the year and help get feedback from supervisors. My counsellor was excellent over the year, organising 4/5 meeting throughout the year and keeping in constant email contact with encouraging messages. My supervisors on clients were again very helpful and would take time out to improve my audit skills - no matter how long it took. Overall the level of support and guidance at Ersnt & Young is high.

Audit is extremely busy especially between December and April. Be prepared for many late nights and to put the work in. However, even though it is busy the work is stimulating and you are rarely bored as the work changes from day to day. There is always work to be done and the socials and people make up for the late nights.

I was given so much responsibility that I was genuinely shocked. Straightaway on my first audit, the executive sent me to talk to a client even though I had no idea what I was doing. This is because the executive trusts you and wants you to learn on the job. Over the year I have audited most of the balance sheet items such as cash, fixed assets, creditors, debtors and accruals. I was also allowed to audit sections of stock which is normally undertaken by second years. The level of responsibility is extremely high.

The skills I have built upon over my year are organisation, communication, evaluation, self development and using my initiative. However the main skill I have improved on is confidence. Being put in certains situations in audit like talking to clients has meant that I have had to improve on my confidence instantaneously.

My office was in Cambridge so it was a small office compared to the larger regional offices. Therefore the atmosphere in the audit area was always high and conversation is always taking place. However, as with the stereotype of audit there are moments when the atmosphere can be quite subdued simply because everyone is working hard. Again this is made up for during the socials.

After I received the placement everything was organised extremely well. Especially at the end of my placement when I asked to transfer to the Leeds office if I had an offer, this was done very quickly and with a lot of support from my seniors. However, in the application stage, especially when sorting a date for a partner interview the support staff were poor and nearly ended up losing me my placement.

Ernst and Young invests everything in their placement students because they hope that they will be the next graduates.

Withing a week of leaving, I was given a call to say that I had an offer from the Leeds office. The contract arrived within the next 2 weeks and was signed straightway.

Due to the Cambridge office being so small, general socials are hard to organise. However, because it is a small officce everyone is close and so there was always socials for employees birthdays or leaving parties. There is also a social committee within Ernst & Young which organises meals, theatre trips and trips to the races. People are invited to join to committe and make their feelings about social ideas known.

The cost of living and socialising in Cambridge is high, however the Ernst and Young wage more than makes up for this therefore the cost becomes reasonable.

The Cambridge nightlife is not brilliant, especially after living in Leeds for many years.

Ernst and Young takes pride in offering their employees 2 days to undertake volumteering in the comunity which they urge you to take.