PwC Audit Intern Review

Studying accounting at university I really wanted to find an internship which was relevant to my course. I interned within PwC Audit division dealing with FTSE100 clients. I really enjoyed the exposure to clients and participating in site activities throughout the internship.

The team itself were extremely welcoming. A lot were from similar university backgrounds to myself and were still within 1 -5 years of joining the firm so it was great to see how they felt when first joining and learn about their experiences. They really valued my support particularly on audits as they can be extremely time constrained and hectic.

I worked actively with my managers and their team daily. The guidance would begin with early morning briefings on the tasks to be carried out and through the day they would check on how far I would have progressed. If I ever had any difficulty it would be easy to get a hold of them as they would be close by or the nearest associate would also be able to assist, so someone was always accessible.

It varied day to day depending on how far through an audit I would be joining. On days where I was not set any direct task I had lots of course reading and also project work separate to the on the job training as one of the tasks were to work in set groups to present a business case study at the end of the internship.

I was given just the right amount for an intern so that I felt that I was proactively contributing and adding value to the team. I would have the assistance of my manager so knew I would never go terribly wrong. I would say it would be equivalent to that of a 1st year graduate but asking a lot more questions.

The skills really will be beneficial if I were to go into Audit. As it provided a taste of first hand of the work I would be challenged with. In terms of my degree, I think both interpersonal skills and also seeing the methods come to life will be beneficial when I go ahead and do team work exercises and my final exams.

On the internship as I was in audit a lot of the time it was at client sites other than for a week or so for work alongside other interns so I did not get the best feel for the office. However, at client sites it varied on which client you were auditing, so sometimes the office facilities were better than others but what I enjoyed most was getting the opportunity to venture and immerse myself in understanding my different businesses.

The internship was organised from the onset of receiving offers to onboarding and getting into the real work. The only thing which was more down to the interns organisation was the social side. If there were any improvements possibly more opportunities to work in a team with the interns and more case study work to simulate real work would be nice as I felt sometimes very separated from the interns on site audits.

I found the training on the job the biggest element as there is no better learning of the concepts and how to tackle issues. This was complimented by a 2 day lecture environment where an external company came in and basically gave us a quick but detailed lecture on the professional services industry which I found extremely useful and practical for both work and university.

From the internship I was invited to a further partner interview and assessment centre as I wanted to change and experience a new division for a short term internship. I am still awaiting on a response but fingers crossed.

What really worked here is that there were company events interns were invited to during the internship which gave us an opportunity to exchange details and arrange weekly events. From the beginning since the company is based in the city we could meet at a local point and go to popular bars nearby. I think it was great to also mix with new people from different universities it was cool to see how their university experience is going.

The cost of living was not too bad, as originally from London I was able to commute from home with ease despite the tube system being extremely busy and expensive at peak times! The socialising was great, London has so many things to do whether we can go to a live music show any day of the night or out for just a casual drink after work.

The night life is great around the City. However, I really did not have that much opportunity to go out due to work but Fridays would be a good time to go for a dinner with the other Interns or my manager and their team .

From the first week a list of activities and social clubs were given to us by HR. This really made it easy to get in contact with the coordinator and get in as early as possible to have a taste of the activities provided by work. I joined both the football weekly club and also the rock climbing club, I found it amazing that PwC offered these opportunities to employees at a subsidised rate and even to interns!