Audit Associate Review

I have extremely enjoyed my placement. I have learnt so much about the industry that I work in (Banking and Capital Markets) without having the grueling hours that many bankers work. I have been able to apply what I had previously learnt at university to the work i have been completing, and now have a better understanding of what final year modules I would like to do during my final year. I have made many new friends during the year who I am sure I'll be working with again if offered a graduate position. The work can be daunting at first, especially if like myself you're not used to a corporate environment; but you are given a significant amount of training and support from your colleagues. During busy season (January - April) the hours can be longer than a standard 9-5/6, however everyone is in it together and you are rewarded with team meals and department parties.

I felt that my colleagues valued my contribution to the teams that I worked with. They understand that you have little knowledge to begin with and encourage you to ask questions. I have found that the more questions you ask, the more willing the people you work with will help you out and provides you with their own experiences. As long as you put in the hard work, communicate effectively with clients and produce quality documentation, you are likely to get good feedback which is essential when looking to move up through the firm. The consensus is that the work gets more interesting as you move up through the firm but during the placement year you should just focus on the basics of auditing and documenting work. There is nothing worse than confronting colleagues feeling that you should be given other work to do as it is likely to annoy people and 'close doors' in the future.

As long as you make an effort to ask questions regarding your client, audit procedures, accounting principles and industry knowledge, management and others are bound to give you the information. At the end of the day, they rely on the work that you produce. You also receive a personal counsellor who can guide you when you are having problems (they're also there to help guide your way up the promotion ladder) and a buddy who is a more informal contact who you can talk to. You normally just end up going to the pub with them!

I found myself busy most weeks and had little downtime. This suited me fine as every day I had something to do I was learning new things and working with new people. You find that as a placement student, you work on one client at a time and therefore you don't have to worry about juggling work which is likely to happen as you progress to executive and assistant manager levels. There are times during busy season when you feel like the work is not going to get completed on time, but somehow it always does. It definitely tests your time management skills and your ability to work efficiently. This is something I'll definitely (try) to take back for my final year of university. If there are times when you're not assigned to client work however, you can use this time to catch up of admin tasks such as EY Annual Plans, research into the industry you work in (for instance, banking is forever changing) or even your placement essay if you have one to do.

Your responsibility depends on the size of the teams you're working on. Luckily I had a good mix. For a couple of weeks I would be working very closely with the clients, talking to them on a daily basis understanding the activities which had occurred. During these clients I was responsible for completing a majority of the audit work and producing the final documents which the partner reviews and signs. I also completed the audit of a small section of a large, well-known bank. I was responsible for the adhering to the audit strategy, obtaining all audit evidence and communicating with the client frequently. On this engagement I started to develop my skeptical skills and started challenging the client. I have also been the small cog on a big wheel too, working with teams of up to 40 people. This is when you focus on a specific area of the client and learn items in significant detail but perhaps know nothing about what another placement colleague is working on. You still get a sufficient amount of responsibility as you're still completing the audit work, but getting the work done is a team effort and not just down to a particular person. In my opinion, working with both types of teams was perfect as it gave me an insight into what work I could be doing in the future. Also, if you did find yourself with any downtime, it is recommended to find yourself more work. That way, managers are likely to give you decent work in the future as they're aware that you're proactive.

I received a significant amount of training during my placement year. This included one month attending a professional college studying for the first two ICAS examinations, two weeks of audit specific training and one day of training related to the industry which i worked in (Banking and Capital Markets). This training has helped my performance throughout the year and without it I would have struggled a lot more. The ICAS exams are very intense and cover a wide range of topics, more than you are likely to learn in your first 2 years of university in accounting/finance related modules. These exams have definitely boosted my accounting knowledge and will help considerably in my final year. Other skills which I have improved on include communication skills via liaising with different clients on a daily basis, and time management skills due to tight deadlines and large workloads at year end. These generic skills can easily be transfered to university workloads in final year and communicating in coursework groups and when presenting to others. Not to mention, these skills have given me a platform on which I can develop on when returning to work as a graduate.

I spent about 85% of my placement in clients’ offices which makes the job more interesting. Working with different teams and different clients increases the variety of your work, knowledge and introduces you to many more people. You also have the benefit of understanding how different companies operate compared to others. The majority of clients are friendly but understandably you sometimes get the awkward individual who doesn’t like ‘the auditors’. The team atmosphere is brilliant. Everyone is friendly and there to help, and often likes drinks after work too. When you are in the office, many people catch up with friends and sometimes go for long lunches.

The placement was organised very well. The placement started with an induction week where we found out more about Ernst & Young, completed skills sessions, received laptops and basic IT training, went go-karting and did a volunteering day where we did gardening for a local community. Throughout the year we had a HR representative who organised other social events such as a Christmas party and end of placement boat cruise with black tie dinner. They were also there to ensure we had no problems during the year. Each placement student was also given a counsellor within our departments who acted as a closer point of contact if we had any issues and assisting us when setting development goals. Everyone got on really well during our placement thanks to the social events, and we also took it upon ourselves to meet up with many of the other people in the regional offices.

The firm invested lots in our development including money, time and expertise. EY have already put us through two ICAS examinations and will support you through the remaining examinations if offered a graduate position. EY also sent us on core skills training in a hotel for just under 2 weeks which provided us with the basics of auditing. These core skills sessions continue until manager level and above and thus the firm is always assisting you with your continued professional development. Everyone who I worked with was also very helpful and went out of their way to help improve auditing techniques and industry knowledge. However, the more you seem interested, the more others are happy to help you out. All you have to do is ask! My department has also been finding new ways to train staff by providing department specific training days run by managers and those with industry knowledge which would be beneficial for others to know. We have also had excel training sessions to brush up on our excel skills. Excel really does run the city! Our personal counsellors are also there to provide additional support and you can catch up with your counsellor however often you like. They help with setting your targets and also suggest other initiatives within the firm which you could get involved in, including being part of a campus team or getting involved with a social committee. All of these give you something extra on your internal CV.

It depends what you’re looking for. If you’re looking to qualify and then move on to earn more money straight away then that’s one option. It seems that many people qualify within practice and then move onto industry to earn a bit more money. This is the same with all the big four and other smaller firms. However from talking to people, those who have left then find it harder to progress as quickly and work longer hours; but it depends what industry you’re going into (I’m just basing my opinion on the banking industry). If you do want to stay with the firm then there are lots of opportunities for career progression. As a fair few people leave once they qualify, you get the opportunity to be promoted quickly. You also get the opportunities to do secondments within other departments or to different EY offices in different countries. There are many opportunities available and this is when your counsellor can help you out. In terms of obtaining a graduate position, this is very likely unless you seriously mess up. EY have put so much time into you that it’s beneficial for them if you come back.

Yes. As mentioned, HR organised various parties and meals for us throughout the year. Most of us would all meet up in Birmingham too and crash other peoples’ places. I lived with another placement student from EY and people always stayed at ours when they came to London. I would like to say we had the party house! Also, many people go for drinks after work, especially on a Friday night. Most departments organise social events too from meals and parties to volunteering days. If you like, there is also the opportunity to be a part of the social committees who organise these events. It is always the case as well that at the end of an audit the whole team will go out for a nice meal; and these can be very nice! There is also the possibility of organising other events and most guys would be up for a game of 5 aside. Maybe I should be more fair however and say that it does depend on who you’re working with. Some people have other commitments and don’t take part in many work socials but that will always be the case everywhere. One final thing to mention. The Christmas Party for our financial services sector of the firm. Amazing. It’s just one of the benefits of working for a big company who look after their employees well.

London is obviously more expensive than most places in the UK which is why we met up with many of the other placement students in Birmingham. Rent is fairly expensive but your salary makes up for it. As soon as you get used to the cost of living, you'll be living the lifestyle when you go back home or to university. As long as you're not ridiculous with your spending you can still save some money from the year.

This is London. You can do anything you want to and go wherever you want. Tubes can get you from one side of London to the other in a short time. Hundreds of clubs and bars, but the prices can be dear!

I had the opportunity to be part of the Loughborough campus team and could have also got involved in others too. Within departments you can be involved in the social committee, organise volunteer days and other sports events. At one of the volunteer days which I attended we rebuilt a children's bmx track which was a good break from work. You can also suggest other things within the department too once you've got to know a few people.