Audit Associate Review

I really enjoyed my work placement with Grant Thornton. I was based in the Leeds office and felt welcomed into the office when I first began. From the start of my placement I was given challenging jobs and was made to feel part of the team.

My colleagues in the office made me feel like a valuable part of the team. They ensured that they gave me timely feedback and made me feel welcome into the office. I also was able to build friendships with a number of my colleagues.

My supervisor was very helpful during my placement year. She met with me monthly to see how I was finding the job and ensured that I felt comfortable in the role. I was also put on training courses when I first began to make sure I understood the role. In my placement year I was able to do some ACA exams, when I had exams I felt supported by the management at the firm and was given necessary help and support to pass these exams.

I was always kept busy during my placement, due to my placement being auditing there was not much time spent in the office, instead a lot of time was spent out at clients. As an audit would normally last 2-3 weeks, the weeks when out at clients were fast paced and had a lot of things to. I never felt 'bored' on my placement.

I was given a lot of responsibility on my placement. On some jobs I undertook I spent days at the clients on my own, which made me feel that I was trusted to be professional with the clients. Towards the end of my placement, I was given full areas of jobs to do as well, this meant I had to take full ownership of my work.

I definitely learnt a lot in the time I spent on my placement. A lot of these skills I will be able to apply in the future, especially those from doing the ACA exams and the skill of working in a team. From working with many different teams over the year I was able to build my interpersonal skills and I felt that this was down to Grant Thornton's atmosphere and training.

The atmosphere in the office was generally quiet within the audit section. As auditing involves a lot of visiting external clients there is not normally many people in the office. All the people that work at Grant Thornton are friendly and when people are in the office there is a good atmosphere.

The work placement was set up well, I knew what was expected of me during the year and where I needed to be at all times.

Grant Thornton invest a lot of time and money training their placement students and graduates. During the 12 months I was able to do the first year of my training for the ACA. In doing this Grant Thornton paid for my exams and gave me time off for college.

At the end of my placement I was offered a graduate contract, which I accepted. I look forward to return in 12 months time.

There was a good social scene at work. During the year Grant Thornton put on drinks events, barbecues and a ball to ensure that people from within the office got to know each other. They also put on a 5-a-side tournament every year involving all the offices. This year the tournament was in Liverpool which meant that everyone playing in the tournament in the office, got the chance to go on a subsidised trip to Liverpool. There was also a good general social scene within the office, with many nights out and drinks after work.

Leeds, isn't particularly a cheap place for living if you live in the city centre. However I lived in Kirkstall/Burley whilst on my placement, which was close enough to get to work, whilst being cheaper than living in the city centre. Socialising isn't too expensive in Leeds.

Leeds nightlife is great, there are plenty of bars, pubs and clubs.

Grant Thornton had a netball team, football team, cricket team and rugby club. This was open to all staff members at GT. There is also a networking committee who arrange networking events with other accountant & trainee lawyers.