Audit Review

I enjoyed the work placement a lot. My colleagues were sociable and I was given work which gave a real reflection of some of things you would do in a longer stint with the company, which made it interesting.

As I was not a qualified accountant, there was always going to be a limit to the work which I could do. However, where possible my colleagues gave me real responsibility and I felt that some of my work contributed to the job.

It was made clear at all times that I could ask any of my colleagues for help, and when I did so there was always someone willing to explain what I was supposed to do. Tasks were usually well explained to me beforehand, but I didn't feel as though people offered help begrudgingly despite being obviously busy themselves.

As you would expect when being unqualified, work came in peaks and troughs. Ultimately there were times where there simply wasn't a lot someone at undergraduate level could do, but usually if I asked someone would find something for me. Having said that, the majority of the time I had something I could work on.

Similarly to the above, there is a natural limit to the amount of responsibility you can have when being unqualified. However, I was probably given the right balance between real work which was required by my superiors, and the safety net of knowing it was likely that someone would be able to check it fairly quickly for any glaring errors.

Given that I study economics and my internship was in Audit, it will be almost no use to me in my final year at university. However, in the long term I did learn some valuable skills. Firstly, despite being fairly computer literate beforehand, I learnt a lot of specific skills (particularly in excel) which would probably help in a number of jobs. Secondly, having obviously had limited opportunities to do so beforehand, I gained an insight into professional working life. Of course, if I choose a career in Audit, then this internship will be even more valuable, as I learnt a lot of specific details about the role.

As far as you can have fun doing professional work, often under time pressured circumstances, I felt that the atmosphere was very good. Being relatively young myself, the majority of my colleagues were recent graduates who therefore shared similar experiences and interests to myself, and so it was easy to get along with them.

I knew where I was supposed to be and when, and no-one seemed surprised to see me, so on that level it was very well organised. Ultimately in Audit before you start a job you can never be sure what situations and therefore work will arise, so to an extent my superiors had to play it by ear, but I was always given something if it arose and was suitable for me.

There was an induction day, although given that I had to travel from Cambridge to Bristol and back for what was about five hours of training, it seemed a little pointless. Also, the induction day had no bearing on my ability to do the job, and was largely networking/ learning the company's background. It seemed fair enough for someone starting the role full time, but given the distance I travelled, I felt as though most of it could have been done electronically. Further, the people I 'networked' with were all doing their internships at other offices, and so were people I didn't, and probably won't, ever see again. My 'on site' induction was more useful, as I learned my way around the company's software and the office etc. Ultimately, most of the training was done informally as and when I needed it by my colleagues, and was very useful.

As I write this I have a final interview booked to decide if I am offered a graduate job with them. It is certainly something I would consider, as the company itself is a very good one to work for and the colleagues I met from the office I worked at were people I could work with again.

I was the only placement student in my office, and therefore cannot comment.

The cost of living and socialising in Cambridge is relatively high, although I already live in the area and so made no difference to me. I believe the company pay regional wages, though, to try and neutralise the geographical variations in cost of living.

Nightlife in Cambridge is typically expensive, but having a fairly large student population there is plenty of choice and cheap nights available.

I was only there for a month, but there seemed to be a number of social events organised, as well as charity events. The company itself also offers lots of clubs and societies, similar to university ones, which staff can get involved in.