Summer School Student Review

As an overall experience, the Summer School scheme allowed me to achieve everything that I had set out to do, including working on specific client work and meeting with a tax partner.

On my third day in the London office I was invited to take part in a CSR day which involved painting a school in Clapham. The fact that I was able to attend this day so early on in my placement and had a chance to meet so many people from my office showed to me that I was valued within the firm. As the placement progressed I was able to build on the relationships I already had from the CSR day which was very beneficial.

At the start of my placement I was allocated a buddy and a counselling manager to help me through my time in the firm. I found my buddy very useful for getting set work from around the office and my counselling manager was also key for ensuring I was able to get the help and support I needed.

Over the two weeks I learnt a huge amount not only about a career in accountancy at BDO, but also specific skills to the job such as how to use software for producing a tax return. These are great skills I will be able to build upon in the future. In addition, the experience of working in a professional environment will be invaluable in any job I may be have in the future.

The placement started fantastically and saw all the participants from around the UK meeting in the Birmingham office for an introduction to the firm and some employability training. The placement then concluded in a similar fashion, with all the participants heading to the London office for group presentations and a group activity at a museum. This structure brought another dimension to the placement as I was able to extended my professional networking to other places in the UK.

I enjoyed the atmosphere in my office because while it was still very professional, it was also relatively relaxed. I never felt under intense pressure and everyone in the office made a real effort to help me fit in.

The firm spent time to teach me how to use CCH software to work on a tax return which showed the firm investing in my training for the benefit of both of us.

Even though I could not experience some parts of the job during my placement as some of the work can only be carried out by qualified accountants, I was still able to get a good feel for what working at BDO would be like.

I was invited to play softball with my some of my colleagues against another firm during my placement which was a great example of the exciting company culture.

The placement was exactly what I had needed to help me decide on my career path as I was able to experience the type of work I would be doing and I was able to experience the environment I would be working in.

The CSR day that I attended was a great chance to meet other members of the firm within my office.

In my two weeks at the firm I was invited to a CSR day and also to a softball match against another firm. To experience both of these in just two weeks shows that the firm has great social opportunities.

At the weekend during my placement there was the BDO national football tournament. I was not able attend due to short notice but it sounded like a fantastic weekend and I would have loved to have been able to attend.

If you are looking to experience what a job in accountancy at an award winning firm would be like, this placement is definitely for you.