Summer Vacation Scheme - Audit Associate Review

The internship was a really great placement as it allowed me to get a great insight into what working at KPMG would be like, and more specifically, what a generic day in audit consisted of. It was made particularly enjoyable by my colleagues being very welcoming and helping me whenever i needed it. I cant thank KPMG enough for giving me the opportunity to intern with them.

My colleagues were very welcoming from the first day that I arrived. They were more than happy to answer any questions that I had about anything work or personally related. The work I was given was the same work that I would have been doing if I was in a full time permanent role. During networking sessions the senior members of the bank were open and honest. They were not intimidating at all.

My direct manager was sat across from me for the whole 10 weeks and offered me guidance every day. He was very welcoming and made me feel like I could ask him anything that I did not understand. My line manager was also sat very close to me and we had weekly meetings to discuss my progress. These were also useful to discuss things that I could do more of or do differently.

Given the timing of my arrival (end of Q2) it was a very busy period for the team. However the couple of weeks after the end of Q2 were quiet for the whole team not just myself. My manager did try and keep me as busy as possible, whether it would be reading documents that would help me gain a better understanding of the area or arranging for me to go out and spend time with a different team.

As the internship went on and I gained a better understanding of what was happening in my department I was given increasing responsibility. This included meeting with stakeholders and conducting my own pieces of work based on information I was given. By the end of the internship I was managing the same workload that permanent members of staff have at the bank.

Upon arriving at KPMG everyone has to complete online learning modules that are bank wide but also department specific e-learning courses. These were very useful in helping me get up to speed with what was expected of me on a day to day basis. These courses were also relatable to my degree as they were both from a Finance background.

The atmosphere in the office was very relaxed but still professional. If you needed to speak to anyone you could do so without feeling like you were intruding or annoying them. The culture of the firm was one of the best things about my time there. Managers were still sat in the same blocks as their staff and again it was easy to go and talk to them if you needed anything.

The overall internship was well organised by the HR team. We had a 2 day induction at the start of the internship which ended with a big networking dinner which was very well organised. The actual internship was also well organised, we were given a pack on our first day with lots of key dates in them that we needed to keep in handy. My computer and pass access worked fine for the duration of the internship.

I think the greatest investment came from the application process, it was in the end an extremely long process starting in November. The fact that the company put so much time into me in during me into that process really made me feel that they were really checking that I was the right person for the job. There are also a number of online training courses tht you can do when you work at KPMG, all paid for by the company.

Probably one of the best bits about KPMG. It's such a huge firm with offices all over the world and a huge variety of departments, you have the chance to do a variety of jobs in loads of different offices. There is definitely a sense that hard work pays off and if you want to get ahead and are willing to work for it you will. In terms of prospects from the vacation scheme if you secure the scheme and work hard throughout your time with the firm there is no reason you won't get a grad offer, which makes third year a lot less stressful!

There were a number of events organised like bowling and other evening events. It was a joint thing between a number of offices around London. This meant I couldn't really go as I was at a client not especially close and the events were after work so getting there was a bit of hassle. So there were events and stuff to go to which sounded fun but needed a fair bit of travel to do so, which was a bit annoying.

The cost of living was quite high, higher than I was expecting. However this was due to the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival being on at the same time as my internship. This meant that there was a lot more tourists coming to the city and pushing up the prices of accommodation. This is also true of the prices of socialising as pubs and bars pushed up prices due to the increased demand the fringe festival causes.

The nightlife in Edinburgh was great. There was a real mix of things to do at night, be it bars, pubs or clubs. We had a really good group of interns who all socialised a lot with eachother outside of work. Due to the close city centre location it was easy to travel out and back again after a night out. However do note that you cannot buy alcohol in Scotland past 10pm!

There were lots of social events which I really enjoyed. I don't drink and most of the events revolved around alcohol, but I didn't mind this as it was nice to be able to spend time networking with other interns but also other members of my team and the wider community at KPMG.