Audit Assistant Review

On my summer audit internship I got to experience so many diverse areas of work creating a wider knowledge and understanding of KPMG as a whole. In turn, I feel I now understand the full meaning of audit and other aspects of what KPMG does. Everyone in the Aberdeen office was outstanding. They were super helpful on all levels from E1's to Partners, all willing to spend time and teach you about the business. It is the most welcoming job I have ever had. We had out audit team day out where we went to an outdoor activity centre, I participated in our charity wipeout event for Friends of Anchor and also managed to climb Ben Nevis during my internship. These are definitely some of the top days I've had this year.

Everyone was welcoming and happy to help with any questions. At lunch in the Aberdeen office it's nice to see all departments mixing in the breakout area and really shows the "One Firm" approach that KPMG are proud to promote. I felt the work I was given was useful and in turn sets me up for the future should I be lucky enough to return to the firm as a graduate.

As previously mentioned, it would have been difficult to know the different levels of everyone had I not been told. Everyone was treated as equals. The management were very keen to advise and show support when I was in doubt.

When I was out on a job I was given lots of work a first year would be likely to do such as bank recs, leadsheets, payroll, cash receipts and payments. However, there were a couple of weeks in the middle of my internship where I was left to do bits and bobs and no one had any particular work for me. The response was that it is typically quiet season and sometimes hard to find work for someone without the technical expertise. When I was out on a client I was typically the one chatting to our main contact and getting extra info that we needed.

Sometimes I felt I was maybe given a little too much responsibility and I was in way over my head when trying to explain things to the client. However I usually came back with the answers and supporting documents my team were looking for and I realised I was doing ok. At the end of the day, I realised there is always someone going to check my work before it is fully prepared to be reviewed so I could ask if I was stuck or let them know and they usually said to put it on the file and they would fix it if there was a problem. It was nice to know they had the confidence that I was doing it well enough for it to go straight on file to be reviewed.

As I study an accountancy based degree, the skills, knowledge and understanding to do with business, audit and the other areas in KPMG that we learnt about through presentations have given me a deeper knowledge about the business world. In particular, KPMG is an outstanding company with their structuring and staffing. They really invest in their people and they are strong believers on having to be right to fit in their team. The excel skills I have developed can only get stronger and be very useful for university and hopefully ICAS.

The atmosphere was full of fun with regular Friday treats such as ice creams, cakes etc. Everyone was friendly and welcoming and in all honesty this surprised me at first. I thought it would be completely daunting going into a corporate office and being surrounded by all these hard working business people. However, they were full of smiles and questions, interested to know about you just as much as you were interested to know about them and the role they do in the office. The Aberdeen office is a close knit community with all departments crossing over and socialising together. It creates an incredibly relaxed and easy-working atmosphere. I have liked it so much that I have chosen to apply to the Aberdeen office as I feel this is a rare find!

The internship was very well organised from the moment I arrived. I received regular emails and had the opportunity to chat with people in the office before I started as KPMG came to visit my university throughout term time. The day I started my internship there was someone to show me around and introduce me to the whole office in different departments. They organised different presentations in each department so we could learn about other sectors that KPMG operates in and it was interesting to see on a broader spectrum.

Seeing as my internship was only 2 months, there were no opportunities for training such as ICAS however I did do some online diverse training that everyone in the office had to do. There were the presentations on our lunch breaks to introduce some of the staff to other areas as it was found that many do not know other aspects of the business they work for.

I have my final interview coming up for the firm and will be delighted if they decide to take me on as a graduate. I believe there are huge prospects I can achieve by being with this company and going ahead with them in the form of ICAS and secondment options. They are a true believer of being the best you can be and I support this belief.

The social scene with the colleagues was great. We play sport every week together and we arranged some nights out including dinners, drinks, weekends away and activity days. In all honesty, I'm surprised at how much we've managed to fit into such a short space of time. The fellow placement students tended not to join us but I am glad I decided to go anyway and enjoy the company of others from work.

The cost of living is particularly high in Aberdeen but as I study here for university during term time anyway, I already had accommodation and "my life" here. Therefore, it didn't make much of a difference to me having my internship here. I like socialising here with friends or colleagues and believe it to be a great city with lots of things to do.

I really like the nightlife in Aberdeen. There is something for everyone and every kind of mood you are in. The bars with outside beer gardens are gorgeous on the sunny days and especially seeing as Aberdeen is the driest place in Scotland, they were put to good use! It might take a bit longer to find somewhere you like here but it's really quite nice not having such a big hustle and bustle as you get in the bigger cities such as Edinburgh or Glasgow. What's more, you are right next to the Cairngorms if you fancy a night away in the cabins up there.

It was organised amongst ourselves more than the actual firm I would say but all in all there is always something going on that you can get involved in. In particular, there are many that play sports throughout the week and emails come round the office every day inviting you to come and join in. It shows the welcoming atmosphere of everyone in the office.