Legal Entity Accountant Review

Working at Caterpillar was enjoyable but stressful at times. Largely due to covering a member of staff who left and the work became tedious. However the office is a great place to be and full of friendly helpful staff and I enjoyed it for this reason.

This placement role is a true job role, with real responsibilities and accountability. Therefore during my time I felt valued by my colleagues during placement.

All the managers I had met during my placement were very approachable and insightful. I found that during desk reviews with my own manager I could be open and honest about anything that may be troubling me and they would offer guidance and help.

The job role is cyclical, with monthly tasks that tend to be concentrated mostly during the first and second week of the month due to closing the previous month’s books. This allowed for process improvement during the final week of each month. However once covering the staff members leave I became very busy throughout the entire month.

The responsibility given is substantial. The placement role is a real job role, posting journals and analysing data of figures in the millions. Then having the opportunity to present this to the managers in meetings.

The development of intrapersonal skills is phenomimal, thinking back to when I first started I found tasks such as presenting to audiences a daughnting task. Thanks to working at Caterpillar I have been given the opportunity to present in a friendly and encouraging environement. It has given me a different mind set for when I return to university and I am far more motivated to developing my career as a result.

The atmosphere in the office has been great throughout placement. Lots of conversation and funny friendly people. There is a weekly 'What’s going on' presentation performed by anyone who signs up to do so. The presentation gives us the latest information on the business relating to people, quality, velocity and cost. The presentation is performed in a comedic way and is always a good laugh on a Friday afternoon. This is also a really good opportunity for people to develop presenting skills and confidence.

There was a bit of complication at the start during the first day as we had to go to a separate part of the site for our induction. This is however going to be resolved after feedback from placements this year. Other than that the placement role was structured quite well, with an initial task list and process notes to go from, as well as a handover period from the previous year’s placements. There were also several training opportunities in computer systems and health and safety.

The company showed a great deal of investment in personal development that I did not expect. We had training on computer programs such as Microsoft excel, access etc. We also had safety training which involved learning CPR and having a valid certificate of CPR training. We also had a fire safety training day, which allowed us to put out real fires with different types of fire extinguishers. Teaching us what extinguisher should be used for certain fires. There is also Personal Development Program that allows the employees to set goals and then they can work towards these goals and review them with managers.

The company Caterpillar is a global company and would offer many different job roles. I would recommend Caterpillar to anyone as the corporate environment is very friendly and also offers many benefits.

There was a social committee that would organise events on a monthly basis such as golf, nights out, bowling etc. however this did fade out towards the end of placement but I think this was due to turnover of a number of staff members towards the end. This social committee is also being formed for the next year.

I had to live by myself due to being very rushed from finishing university exams and starting placement. This caused my rental to be £490 not inducing bills each month which did make me suffer. However, I would recommend that you share a house with the other placement students to reduce the cost leaving you with a nice amount of money to save up, or spend. The company share scheme is a great opportunity to make savings, and gain the tax benefit.

I had only went out once so I cannot say, however comparing to university or my home town Liverpool it does not compare.

There are many social committees however I did not choose to attend any as I have my own extracurricular activities.