Public Sector Audit SVS Review

I enjoyed my time at KPMG due to the varied work I was given and good work-life balance that I was able to have - in stark difference to some internships in the City! The people were very friendly and the firm professional.

I was given a specific part of each audit to do and this meant that I was not asking for extra work all the time, and could present my work every couple of days, making me feel like a part of the team, which was really appreciated.

Whilst my colleagues were very friendly, I did not have either the 'mentor' or 'buddy' that were promised in the promotional literature. However, other interns in other departments did have so this may be just specific to my department.

I would say that I had a good amount to do - having spoken to other interns at KPMG they said that they were less busy than me. As previously mentioned, I appreciated having a specific section of the audit to complete as this meant that I was able to get on with that work and not have to pester colleagues regularly.

The nature of audit means that everything that anyone does, intern or partner, gets reviewed and amended. In this respect I was given a decent amount of responsibility and it would be irrational to give the intern the ability to sign off millions of pounds of spending!

The general auditing skills and commercial awareness will be of benefit. Additionally, the insights in to the businesses ran by clients proved interesting and will equip me with some useful awareness in the future.

The nature of audit means that staff are rarely in the office, so there was not a particular 'office atmosphere' to speak of. The days that I was in the office I found it a friendly but professional environment.

The actual work once I arrived in my department was very well organised and clearly structured to provide me with a wide range of experiences and a clear insight in to the type of work that they do. However, the central team were not quite as organised (sometimes not replying to emails for instance) and I would have appreciated more information about the placement at an earlier date.

There was not any specialised training or anything like that and it was mostly a case of learning on the job but this was not an issue and was in some ways a benefit. Additionally, I think its apparent that investing lots of time and money in training for a summer intern is not a wise use of cash.

A week or two before the end of the placement the central graduate recruitment team sent round a 'Next Steps' form, in which you specify which office and service line you want to apply to. In the final week of your internship you are then meant to have an interview with a partner or director from that service line and office, (the final stage of the graduate application process), and then if you pass that a job offer will be made.

Yes - most fellow interns were students in or near Leeds and so appreciated the opportunity for socialising given that their term-time friends were home for the summer. We generally went for after-work drinks and/or food about weekly.

Leeds is a very cost-efficient city in which to live and work. Obviously some places are cheaper than others but I would not hesitate to recommend Leeds as a place to live and socialise from a cost perspective.

I would also not hesitate to recommend Leeds as a nightlife destination. There is a wide range of pubs, bars and clubs covering all bases. There is generally always at least a couple of clubs open every night that are offering student-friendly prices, as well as bars and pubs open every night.

In my department there was very little socialising outside the work place. There were events being organised for September and October whilst I was there though. However, this is not the vibrant social scene that I am aware went on in other departments, such as 5-a-side football.