Audit/Publice Sector Audit Intern Review

I thoroughly enjoyed my 6 weeks. Grant Thornton put a lot of effort into putting on events for us such as an internship conference in London and getting to spend a couple of days at their training centre in Bradenham which was great. It was great being able to spend time at client sites which gave me a real feel of what it would be like to work there. All of my colleagues were very helpful and supportive even though they were busy themselves.

Everyone was very friendly and most people made an effort to come and say hello so it didn't take long to get to know people. Although as interns we had to have a lot explained to us which took time, once we completed the work it really felt like I was helping out and contributing so I felt valued.

If I had any questions my manager would happily answer them and he gave me a lot of useful information so he couldn't have been any better. While I was working without my manager, the in-charges of the teams that I worked with were also very helpful and were more than happy to explain things to me and were very friendly.

During the first couple of weeks we had training for about half the time so I was obviously busy then but for the rest of those two weeks it was a bit hard to find work to do since we hadn't been assigned any clients for that time. However for the remaining 4 weeks I was very busy and out working with clients almost all the time.

I couldn't have expected to be given much more responsibility as an intern. I worked one-on-one with clients on several occasions so it was great to be trusted to do that. For a lot of the work that I did, once I had it explained to me I was responsible for it. Although it was obviously checked and signed off by a couple of different people once I was done so it was nice being responsible for the work whilst knowing that I had that safety net.

I study physics so a lot of the skills and training I received aren't relevant to my degree but if I decide to pursue a career as an accountant they will be hugely beneficial going into a grad job and give me a great head start. Apart from the more technical skills which I developed, my presentation, team working and communication skills have all improved which is valuable for whatever career I choose.

Friendly and welcoming although the different departments within the office didn't mix quite as much as I thought they would. There were several social events as well which were good to get to know people. A lot of the time we weren't in the office and were working in smaller teams which was also good and I got on with everyone well.

It was well organised although information about events and what we would be doing could maybe have been communicated earlier. However once at the events and training, everything ran very smoothly. The events that they ran were large events with a lot of interns so it was impressive that these ran as well as they did.

We were given lots of training and there was a big focus on personal development. We set personal goals for the internship and reviewed these. The time that we spent at Bradenham was mainly focused on presentation skills which the company won't benefit from over our internship but I think it really shows how focused the company is on personal development.

Very appealing. I wouldn't choose any other firm over Grant Thornton to work for as an accountant. They seem to give a good life balance and really focus on developing their employees. Everyone is very friendly and good to work with which makes the work much more enjoyable. Doing the internship will also make going into a grad job with them much easier and I think it would be an easy transition from university to work having already had this experience.

All the other interns that I met were great and we got spend a fair bit of time getting to know each other during training and through work. We also went for drinks a couple of times after work so it was good socially. All of the interns got on really well so it was a nice group to be with.

It was in a city centre so it's what you'd expect really but not too expensive. The cost of food was pretty average and you'd expect to pay £4-£5 for a pint. Buses were fairly cheap although not as frequent as some cities and the trains were pretty good but a bit more expensive.

Very good, there are lots of good bars and clubs so there are plenty of options. Edinburgh and Glasgow are both known for having a good nightlife so this was as expected. The bars near the office would get very crowded after work though since we were near a lot of other offices.

6 weeks isn't very long so there wasn't much chance for stuff outside of work but there were a few social events which were good to get involved in. The internship was during the firm's busy part of the year so there was probably less activities outside of work than there normally would be.