Insight Day Review

I hope to enter the audit division and getting to hear from a trainee in audit and ask a plethora of questions regarding life in audit was definitely useful! Hearing about BDO's other divisions was also great (tax, corporate finance) for insight and understanding the difference and why people enjoy their division.

From the beginning I was treated extremely well by the staff of the office when entering the building and finding my way to BDO's floor. After this I was seated with other people who were taking part in the insight day and found this part to be extremely useful as we all got to know each other before the day had even begun. After this when meeting This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyPlacement Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions and being introduced to the firm I definitely felt valued through the effort that she put in to make sure the day was as great as possible. We had speakers from tax, audit, transactional services to come in and give a presentation to us on their role as well as answer any questions that we had. On top of this we then had several more people come in during lunch so that we could have a chat with everyone and gain even more insight into BDO and tips on being successful at the firm.

We were given a lot of information regarding the recruitment process and what was needed in order to become successful. We also got to take part in a group exercise where we had to come up with an answer to an interview question based on commercial awareness. This is a part of interviews I have always found difficult and very much enjoyed this part of the insight day and feel I am far more equipped to be successful in an interview where such a question will come up. We were also given a lot of info about the firm in general which I found to be interesting. The best and most informative part was getting to hear from someone in the audit division which I hope to join. I was able to ask many questions on things I was unsure of about the career as well as entering into a career in audit after having taking a year to experience something else.

I have already graduated however I wish I had taken advantage of this opportunity whilst a student as it would have enabled me to have been more successful in interviews that I had. The insight day taught me and allowed me to practice using PEST to solve a commercial awareness question that often comes up in interviews for roles in financial services firms. Alongside this it also allowed me to see the environment that I would be working in and the great people I would meet in attaining a graduate position at BDO.

The structure of the insight day was very successful in my opinion. We were given an introduction to the firm and given tips on how to be successful in the recruitment process. We were also allowed to have a chat with people who worked at BDO whilst having lunch which was extremely useful because it allowed me to ask more questions that were specific to my situation. The presentation and questions and answers session was also done very well as we were able to learn about several different service lines.

The atmosphere was great due to getting to meet like minded people with similar ambitions and plans for their future. We later got to work with these people in groups and break the ice further. Alongside this the energy of This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyPlacement Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions and the speakers was also great and made the presentations great.

I was very honoured to be accepted for the insight day and felt that I had a great time and had many of my questions answered and I got to meet many interesting people. It was also clear to see the amount of time and effort the speakers had put into their slideshows and presentation. I believe given the amount of time available that BDO had invested a lot into insight day and providing us with an enjoyable day.

I hope to enter into the audit division and the insight day catered for my needs by having an energetic speaker from audit. She was able to answer many of my questions regarding the lifestyle and routine of working in audit as well as some of the opportunities available to people working in audit. It was also interesting to hear the opinion of someone who had previously worked in audit and later decided leave.

I believe the insight day was great for learning more about BDO and the different roles at BDO. I also could see how professional, kind, and energetic the people at BDO were and how happy they were to answer any of my questions. I believe that this is a reflection of BDO itself.

My plans for my future were to enter into a financial services firm in the audit division. However after coming to the insight day I had my future desires tested as many speakers had told me about the reality of working in audit and how many people only stay in audit long enough to qualify as a chartered accountant after which they leave to embark on a different career.

I was not paid or reimbursed for travelling to the event however I live in Birmingham and did not have a problem with attending with regards to transport or accomodation.

During the lunch we got to meet many other people in the firm who did not give a presentation. The only problem here is that there was nobody in audit who was there during the lunch.

I was able to meet many different people both from BDO and people who were hoping to gain a place in one of BDO's graduate programmes.

I learnt that we could take part in secondments and work with clients from abroad.

I would definitely recommend this insight day to other people and wish I had taken part in it whilst at University.