Audit - Vacation Programme Review

The internship was for 8 weeks, my time was split between two clients - one for 7 weeks and the other for 1 week. The first 4 weeks were spent at the client site, the hours were demanding but the team was great so the time flew by. We ate out as a group most nights which was great as it meant I could get to know the team better and much quicker than I was just working in the office, as well as eating foods I wouldn't have otherwise tried! I also had to opportunity to attend the half year lunch with the client to celebrate the end of the audit, followed by afternoon drinks.

I study a physical sciences degree so had to prior knowledge that I could bring to the table, so at the start I felt a real hinderance as even for the simplest task I had loads of questions. My graduate buddy made sure that all my questions were answered and encouraged me to ask more. Over time my knowledge grew and I knew exactly what I was doing when set tasks, as such was set increasing complex tasks and felt increasingly valued.

I was assigned a graduate buddy who had been at KPMG for 2 years and was still working towards his ACCA exams. The work I was assigned was mainly from my buddy or work he had been assigned but taught me how to do it to keep me occupied but also give me an insight into the work I would be doing if I joined into a graduate role . I did have work assigned to me from assistant managers also, these tasks were mostly checking through data - this was fairly simple and repetitive and meant that managers could spend their time more effectively.

I spent the first 4 weeks working at the client site where the hours were quite demanding - often working 11-12 hours a day. During this time I was very busy but the work was stimulating and it was good to see a busier period. When back in the office for the final 4 weeks it was a lot slower. I was still kept occupied but the work was much more repetitive and I had to ask for more work quite a lot. However this had to be done without annoying those working - it was a careful balance.

At the start of the internship I was given little responsibility due to my lack of knowledge and understanding to do any demanding tasks, but as time went on with the help and guidance of my buddy and other team members, was set more exciting tasks and given more responsibility. It is exactly as you would expect when you start in a new role, over time you are trusted more.

The training I received was excellent, by the end of the internship I knew what a lot of the terms meant and was able to complete many trainee tasks competently. Although what I learned will not directly relate to my degree, the excel skills and general knowledge are good to have.

The office had a good atmosphere - it was very light and airy, with amazing views of the city. Everyone was friendly and it had a good canteen.

There was an induction day on the first day, where we were told roughly what we would be doing and what would be expected of us. At the start there was a great deal of confusion getting everyone to their departments and the security passes had not been printed yet, but the graduate recruitment team quickly resolved these issues. We were kept up to date with final interviews too which was reassuring as the end of the internship approached.

I felt KPMG invested a lot into me considering I was only there for 8 weeks and not a permanent employee.

At the start of the internship we were told we would have a final partner interview as long as our performance and feedback was good enough. I had my final partner interview about 3 weeks after the internship ended. I have since been offered and accepted a graduate position starting September/October 2015.

At the end of each week I was invited to drinks with colleagues, and at the end of each month on Fridays there were free drinks in the afternoon - a great way to end the week.

The office was in Canary Wharf so socialising was fairly expensive but I commuted from home to help keep costs down.

Loads of bars in Canary Wharf and there is always something going on in London.

There aren't as many as you are led to believe at the start, and many of the activities are done by individuals with little input from KPMG.