Audit Associate Review

The internship surpassed almost all of my expectations. The introduction at Staverton Park was an excellent way to get to know new colleagues, particularly those that I would be working with, as well as a good way to introduce what would be expected of me and the sorts of things that I would be doing. On the job itself I was allocated specific jobs and always had something to do. I was made to feel a valuable member of the team on all of my jobs. The only thing that I felt could have possibly been improved was the lack of social events once we were actually on the job. Given that it was such a short time period that we were there, a few more opportunities to get to know a little more about the firm and the different opportunities available would have been appreciated. That said, when I organised a social event for us myself, the company were very supportive and provided funding for that event.

As stated above, I was made to feel very much like a valued part of all the teams that I worked with and I was treated, by most, with a lot of respect. My colleagues were also quick to praise the good things that I did, and understanding and helpful when there were things that I didn't necessarily know straight away. This put me at ease, particularly given that, as an intern, one of your main apprehensions is that you're going to annoy people by being slow.

This was very varied depending on the job that I was working on. On one of my assignments I was provided a lot of support and direction by the manager. However on another of my jobs it almost felt like the manager was uninterested in speaking with me due to my lack of experience and, instead, focused on speaking with other members of the team. That said, I was given a lot of support and guidance by the junior staff on that job.

I enjoy being busy and it therefore came as a pleasant surprise to me that I always had a lot to do and I was encouraged to work longer hours. This allowed me to get a good feel for the job. At the same time, if I had somewhere that I had to be, the in charges on the job were extremely understanding.

I certainly wouldn't say I was running the show by any stretch of the imagination, however I was told that some of the work I was given was work that would be expected to be completed by senior associates or above, which obviously made me feel like I'd been given a certain degree of responsibility as an intern.

This is a question that I should perhaps answer a little further into my final year studies, however I have already seen some of the things that I learnt on my internship come up in some of my lectures.

I found the atmosphere in the office and on its well balanced - it was quiet when we were busy and had things to do, however there was always time for a chat and a laugh so the days didn't drag.

Personally I found that the internship was extremely well organised and I couldn't really have asked for anything else. However I do know that the other interns were slightly disappointed that they didn't really have much work to do or know where they were meant to be, which impacted on me slightly as they discussed their negative experience with me. This may be something worth addressing in the future.

The training and development at Staverton allowed me to gain a real sense of what we would be like, and the training and development at the mid-point of the internship addressed one of my least favourite parts of business which is presentations. Although there was some crossover between what we were being taught and my degree, I felt overall just the right amount of training and development was included.

The future prospects of working within PwC are what really attracted me to the firm in the first place. The fact that they fund your professional qualification is the initial big one. After that, the breadth of opportunities available whilst working in the firm are phenomenal, the future pay is attractive and the things that you can do outside of work with the firm also strike me as appealing.

This was one of the more surprising aspects of the internship for me - quite how encouraging PwC are for you to socialise as much as you can, and the number of things that are put on by the firm in order to facilitate this.

I have lived in Leeds all my life and the cost of living and socialising is very moderate, particularly when you compare it to somewhere like London.

Sports day was excellent fun and very easy to get involved with. I feel like there may be more opportunities to get involved with other activities outside of work once I rejoin the firm next September.