Audit Intern Review

It was a great insight being in a mid-tier firm which meant higher client exposure and more client interaction.

Every one of my colleagues in the Financial services team where I was based was really helpful and supportive during my time. They were more than happy to take the time to explain things to me or answer any questions I had.

You were not simply left alone to do jobs initially, managers or supervisors made sure we understood what we would be doing and if we had any queries we could always go back to them to ask for some clarity or support. Feedback from managers at the end of the internship was also a key development point.

I was generally busy during my placement especially when I was on client sites. It was quite fast-paced and I had to pick things up quite quickly to ensure that my work or parts of the audit were completed on time. All interns were also tasked with the Micro-Tyco challenge for the WildHearts foundation to raise as much money over 4 weeks from £1 as possible. This also kept me busy trying to fundraise and come up with ideas.

Considering the internship was only 6 weeks long, I was given real sections of audits to complete which gave me great client experience. I was on a client site for 2 weeks during my internship which meant I got to visit some interesting places. My work was reviewed to ensure it was accurate however my colleagues trusted a lot of my work and I was treated like a graduate.

The internship allowed me to network on multiple occasions with partners and people within all levels of the management structure. This allowed to further my understanding of the ACA qualification, opportunities at BDO and how the exam structure works. Furthermore having a routine will hopefully allow me to be more organised and structured with my studies going in to my final year of university.

The general atmosphere was that everyone in my department knew each other at some level. The managers sat in an open section and usually the graduates and interns sat in another part which meant that the atmosphere was always lively yet productive.

The internship was well organised as we had been assigned a buddy and a counselling manager during our internship to deal with any queries we had. We were also taken for meals by our buddies and counselling managers so that we could get to know each other better. An appraisal process was used to assess our performance over the 6 week period.

There were multiple opportunities for online training and the first week of our internship was training in Birmingham where all the interns got together.

I believe the department I was in which was Financial Services is a growing department and I also believe that BDO's coverage is growing making employment prospects enticing.

There was a good social scene with meet ups at the beginning and end of our placements. There is also monthly office drinks in my department which is a great way to meet new people.

London is expensive compared to other places in the UK as can be expected.

London has a fantastic nightlife, but comes at a premium. There are plenty of bars/clubs and pubs to socialise at.

The Micro-tyco challenge to fundraise outside of our roles was a great way to do something different and to show our entrepreneurial skills.