Audit Associate Review

My role was no different to any of the other audit graduates. I was placed into Financial Services Audit, where I gained experience across the Investment Management, Banking and Insurance sectors. The placement was hugely enjoyable as my tasks were varied and had the opportunity to gain a huge amount of experience. I also completed 5 exams of the ACA qualification, which will stand me in very good stead in the future.

I always felt valued by my colleagues. I was very fortunate to have been involved in great teams who provided support and guidance when necessary. The social aspect of KPMG was also brilliant, with some sort of event taking place most weeks.

The support and guidance during my placement was always excellent. I received formal feedback after every engagement as well as overall feedback after 6 and 12 months.

I have been fairly busy throughout my placement especially during the months of January-April. This is commonly known as 'busy season' when testing for th December year end audits are taking place.

This was one of the great advantages of the placement. I felt like I was given a lot of responsibility especially communicating with clients on a daily basis. However, if I ever struggled with a piece of work, another member of the team was always too happy to help.

Whilst I do not study an accountancy related degree at University, I have learned many skills including, amoung others, time management, project management and communication skills that will aid me in the future. In addition, having completed 5 of the ACA qualification exams during my placement, I have also made the choice to take two Management units next year at University.

The atmosphere was always positive. There is a large intake of graduates at the same time, and social events are often arranged in order to get to know the department better. Even when we were working long hours, there was always a good team spirit as well.

Induction through to scheduling my time was really well organised and also flexible. As well as audit work, there was also planned training and time set aside for college teaching.

There was a week long induction at the start of the placement where we were taught the basics of audit and how KPMG operates. In addition, there was mandatory training about the industries we would be working in, as well as further training in audit. I also spent time in college and took 5 exams of the ACA during the year. I felt that a lot was invested in my personal training and development.

Future employment prospects within the organisation are positive having received good feedback during my time at KPMG.

There were small social events most weeks and large social events every few months. We had a christmas party, an end of busy season party, summary party and there is an away day once a year as well.

London is of course an expense area to live, however I never felt I was short of money to socialise based on the salary received.

London is great.

Lot of opportunities like sports clubs and charitable societies.