Financial Controls Analyst Review

I very much enjoyed my time on the Finance stream during my Summer Placement at Centrica. I was given a lot responsibility in the work I was given and I gained a lot of exposure to the area I was working in (Group Risk and Controls).

I felt very valued by team. This was because the project I was working on, my team were working on also and so the we were all doing very similar work. I also attended weekly meetings with my team and I felt like my input during these meetings was valued. Lastly, every employee I spoke to or met with during my tiem at Centrica was happy to answer any questions I had and talk about their experiences.

I feel like I was given the right amount of support by my Line Manager during my placement. I think that during a placement, after receiving guidance or advice from a superior, one should try and complete the task they have been set; this is what I was encouraged to do - my manager told me to try and complete the task he set me and if I came across any difficulties he was more than happy to help me with any queries that I had.

As I was working on a large project, I was busy everyday. The project I was involved in lasted throughout the placement. There were occasions when my workload decreased slightly, however there was always something to be done. Saying that, I was not given an unrealistic amount of work - I was challenged at the right level throughout the placement.

I was given a lot of responsibility on the placement. I took part in a large project that lasted for the whole 10 weeks of the placement and the work I was doing would have been done by a senior member of my team had I not been there, so I was given challenging work.

The skills I have developed are transferrable across any career path. Skills I developed ranged from presenting to people to developing my Microsoft Excel skills. I definitely feel like I have learnt a lot during my placement and have developed my core skillset that I can use in any career path that I follow.

The atmosphere in my office was professional - as the whole team was working on the same project, everyone had their heads down working, however we had regular meetings where we would discuss where we all were with our work, and ate lunch together in the canteen which has a much more casual atmosphere.

I think that the placement was well organised. It started with an induction day where all the interns met each other. We were given an introduction to the company and the stream we had chosen. The rest of placement involved working with our teams, however regular social events were organised and if I ever had a question there was always somebody to ask.

There was a Microsoft Excel training session on offer at the start of the placement which I attended and found very useful - I used Excel everyday during my placement, as did a lot of the other interns. I also received training from my Line Manager in the first two weeks of the placement. There was also a Development Day organised for all of the interns, which onvolved a number of problem-solving and teamwork tasks which was very enjoyable.

Future employment prospects with the company are very appealing - Centrica has one of the best Finance Graduate Schemes on offer as it involves three 1 year placements in 3 different roles, rather than being in the same role for 3 years. This gives you much more exposure to the Finance division as a whole. Also, Centrica offer accountancy qualifications such as ACA and CIMA during their grad scheme, which is very attractive to me personally as I am looking to complete the ACA qualification.

As the majority of interns were staying at Royal Holloway (like myself) the social scene was very good - all the interns were in flats in the same building at the university and so organising a social event or a sports event was very easy.

Accomodation at Royal Holloway was paid for by the company - this is very rare as not many companies offer this. This greatly reduced the cost of living. Most of the bars, pubs and restaurants we went to were in Egham or Windsor, which can be quite expensive.

The Nightlife was average in Windsor; there are a few clubs in Windsor. I persoanlly enjoyed going to bars more, of which there are many on offer in Egham and Windsor.

There was an opportunity to get involved in the Summer Chairty Challenge at Centrica which was very fun. My team organised several fund raising events, and raised a lot of money through volunteering. There was an opportunity to join a 5-a-side football team, however none of my team was part of a football team and so I was not able to join one - I do know several interns who did enjoy taking part in the 5-a-side Centrica League though.