Financial Services Advisory Intern Review

The placement had highs and lows. In busy periods where the majority of work was in the form of producing Excel tables for 10+ hours a day it was not enjoyable, yet the firm appreciated this and therefore in the quieter periods would reward people with away days and a more relaxed workload.

All colleagues I encountered were excellent at making me feel welcome on their team, giving me useful advice and always being easy to talk to and ask questions of. They made it clear that I should always be willing to ask for advice

Supervisors on teams always, ensured that I was given work of value to do. Most balanced well meaning I never felt either left entirely unsupervised nor like I was constantly being monitored.

Hours varied but sometimes was exceptionally busy and sometimes it was a bit quiet. On away jobs sometimes after a day of working at the client site from 8AM there was the expectation that after dinner you go to the hotel common room to continue working in the evening most nights which left very little relaxation time.

I was given various critical tasks to do as part of my involvement. I would be given specific sections of the audit work to completely entirely myself and often it may not be reviewed until several weeks later so it was vital to get it right first time.

Most of the work was on software unique to the firm. This is not valuable anywhere else. However the data analytics course work that I had done will be useful and the soft skills I have found useful.

Very good office atmosphere, often able to greet and quickly chat to any colleague you recognise. Occasionally excess food from meetings and cake from birthdays was shared around the office.

EY have a very detailed plan for placement students which means that you learn a lot and teams for clients often really want to have you on board. The college learning and induction week at the start help you find your feet and understand principles before you start working.

They provided a month of college tuition and two of the ICAS exams which cost the firm a large amount of money. Also with an induction week and an introduction to audit week they spend a significant amount of time checking that you understand what to do.

They offer a lot of internship students a graduate job at the end, the chances are very high

With the initial induction weeks you get to know the other placement students really well and so often we would try and all catch up over lunch when in the office.

Central London so expensive but you can find a place with a reasonable price.

Central London - good but the price of nightlife may put you off

There are a few department societies and sport societies but sometimes they are keen for only more permanent staff to get involved.