Assurance Summer Intern Review

Considering the internship had to be moved online, the EY team worked really hard to create an informative and fun internship programme. The team were all friendly and kind and checked in very often to ensure everyone was comfortable and happy. The sessions ranged from mindfulness to presentation skills to make sure that we covered a range of different topics and we still got a real feel for what working at EY would be like. It is a shame that we did not get any client interaction, but was to be expected due to current climate.

I felt very valued by everyone at EY. Many different individuals from every stage of the firm took time out to speak with us about their different specialties and always left time for our questions at the end. The student recruitment team all continuously asked for feedback and about how we were feeling which created a sense of value. They also had sessions each morning to introduce us to the day and ended each day with a recollection of how the day had been.

I do not think the team could have provided much more support, except possibly with the case study which was hugely independent and thus quite intimidating for those who do not come from an accounting background.

Coming from a legal degree, this internship will not directly help with my degree as it is a different field. However, the talks on time management, presentation skills and mental wellbeing will indirectly help me when I return to my final year. I feel more in control of my time and thus my achievements. The week long virtual experience with EY has solidified the fact that I will accept my graduate job with them as they are an amazing firm with great values.

I was not massively impressed with the structure of the insight as at times it did feel a bit all over the place with the many links being sent everywhere. I do not think, however, that this was the fault of the team though. It is the first time the team has ran a virtual internship and I sympathise with how quickly they had to sort everything out. I think the internship will become more refined if necessary to do it virtually again.

The atmosphere was lovely from the team, though there was not much opportunity for me to interact with my cohort (except those in my case study group). Again, this is just one of the difficulties of a virtual experience though.

The firm massively showed their commitment to helping their employees develop as people during this week. We had a learning and development session each day of the week ranging from presentation skills, to time management, to building a highly performing team. Highly skilled people from each area of EY took time to speak to us about how we can become more well rounded individuals and the skills we need to be successful not just at this firm but in life generally.

I think the virtual internship did lack somewhat in giving an insight into the day of an auditor. I do appreciate that everyday is different, but by the end of the week, my case study group all agreed that we still did not exactly understand what we would do as auditors. This is quite difficult coming from a non-accounting background. However, aside from this, the internship was great for letting us know what life at the firm would be like outside of the day job. We spoke a lot about EY networks, flexible working, volunteering etc.

Every single person that came to speak to us encompassed the values of EY. They were all people-centric, committed to diversity and open minded. Each person reminded me of why I am so passionate about working for EY and exactly the type of company I want to join following graduation. A day being committed to mental wellbeing and meditation demonstrated that the firm is not just about making money but about making people happy. I did not know I could feel more passionate than I already did about the values of EY, but this week proved I could be.

This week was invaluable in solidifying my decision to join EY after graduation in their assurance service line and qualifying as a chartered accountant.

I am somewhat disappointed with the payment procedure as I observed that other firms were paying their interns for the whole internship was that was initially promised (i.e 6 weeks) even if they could not fulfill this. This would have been massively beneficial to those of us who declined other summer offers due to thinking that we would have enough money from EY. The pay actually being cut to only cover the week does not reflect the best on EY and could have caused some problems for those coming from low-income backgrounds.

Each session was ran by a different person from the firm, who always provided their name and suggested we connect with them on LinkedIn, so in this sense, the opportunity to network was great. Many people across EY also interacted with our LinkedIn posts which allowed us to build our network even further. I have since received some messages from prospective EY applicants asking for tips and hints which has grown another part of my network.

There were not any schedule social event opportunities.

Some opportunities were mentioned but it was not a massive focus of any of the sessions.

I would definitely recommend this opportunity, it has given me a great insight into a great firm.