Specialised Management Accounting Service Analyst Intern Review

I have really enjoyed my placement at GSK. The environment was perfect and I had the opportunity to work with a great team. There are many other placement students and that combined with colleagues meant there was a great work-life balance, with out of work activities being a regular occurance.

In my role, I felt very valued by colleagues. My role involved performing a lot of processes which they required to complete their own/ was pivotal in the monthly numbers. From the outset I was treated the same as the other employees, which helped with integrating with the team and meant it was very easy to ask questions and futher my learning.

The leadership team were excellent at creating a structured activity list. I believe there was a great balance between being given independence and feeling likeI could ask questions/ for help at any moment at all.

As my role was in financial reporting, there were times which were busy than others, notably during month end and year end. During these times there was a lot to do and deadlines to be met, which was both challenging and enjoyable. Outside of these periods, there is a lot of time to spend on process improvement and it is a great opportunity to get involved with projects outside of finance.

As mentioned previously, from the beginning of my placement, I was given a large amount of responsiblity. I was given ownership of several financial processes and liased with customers from various sites. I was also given a roel to play in the auditing process, with direct contact with the auditors. I believe my placement invovled an excellent level of responsibility, with the possibility of increasing this throughout.

I believe I've gained great levels of organisation skills which will transfer directly to my final year at university, as I feel I will be able to balance the workload more efficiently. I have also been able to communicate to a wide range of people which will definitely help throughout my working career. GSK have given me the core fianncial know-how to build upon in a role in finance, which I will pursue afte runiversity.

The general atmosphere of the office was very bubbly and inclusive, even throughout stressful times in the office, everyone was still smiling and very positive. Bake sales and charity activities were common and added further to the positive atmosphere.

I believe the placement was very well organised. I had an excellent handover period with the previous placememnt student, which made the transition very smooth.

In terms of personal training and devlopment, there are several workshops put on for all the IPs to attend, ranging from presentationskills to CV sessions.

GSK give placement students the opportunity to be fast tracked onto the Grad scheme. I am currently still in the process for this, so cannot comment further.

Excellent on both sides, my team were always doing activities after work. The other students were also very sociable and nights out were very common, there was a lot going on.

London prices, so not too cheap.

There were a lot of pubs and nice places to eat and central London is a tube ride away.

There were several opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work. I was able to represent GSK outside of the office at voluntary opportunities at schools, which was an excellent opportunity. If you are looking to get involved in any activities, it is not hard to do.