Assurance Review

During the Business Insight Week we were all assigned a buddy in a specific line of service who we shadowed for 3 of the 5 days. My buddy worked in assurance so my role was to help him out with some of his auditing work for a variety of clients. This involved visiting client sites and a lot of work in Excel!

My main skill I feel I have developed is my ability to network and interact professionally with people in the workplace without feeling embarrassed or shy. Throughout the week I met a lot of people all in different positions from different lines of service and it was crucial to be confident to build relationships with everyone.

The week was thoroughly enjoyable, mainly because everything was so well organised. I never felt lost or like a 'spare part' in the office. I have met so many intelligent, interesting people who were all so encouraging and enthusiastic about working for PwC.

I feel very valued by PwC, the people were very welcoming and I felt like they appreciated our ideas and presence in the workplace. My buddy was very approachable and this meant I wasn't afraid to ask him lots of questions, so I got a lot more out of the week. PwC also let us work on a live client project in teams on our final day!

As I previously mentioned, the major strength of this programme is that everything is well-organised, so the week ran very smoothly. The first initiation was well structured, we had a clear itinerary, we got to meet lots of other people and were set up on our laptops for the week. In the three days work shadowing my buddy was great, I never felt overwhelmed by the work he set me and he explained each task very clearly to me. The final day again was extremely well organised! We were clearly assigned the tasks for the client project and each step of the project was easy to follow.

I received adequate support from the training provider. In general, people were always willing to help and advise me throughout the week.

Great support. I never felt alone or unable to ask how to complete a task in the office. My buddy was quick to help me as were other people in the office. [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyApprenticeship Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions] who ran the induction day were also very approachable and helpful with any concerns we had with the coming week.

Extremely well! I would have paid PwC to do this scheme it was so worthwhile! Like with most work experience, I was expecting not to be paid for the week because the company is giving me their time for my benefit. However, the difference with PwC is that they want students to do work experience and to get involved early in the business world, which is an invaluable experience and so they actually pay you for the 5 days work experience- which I was very surprised but pleased about! Costs to travel to anywhere that was not your assigned office for the week was also covered and I was treated to 3 lunches in my 5 days there.

On my first day in the office shadowing my buddy there was a leaving party happening that evening for Maya who had just finished her placement year. Everyone was so friendly in the office and they invited myself and [This section of the comment has been removed by a member of the RateMyApprenticeship Team because it did not meet our site terms and conditions]-another student of the business insight week- to come to the party. My buddy and his coworkers all seemed very friendly, so I would have to say that the social side of working for PwC seems good.

Yes

The impression I got of PwC from the week is that it is a very inclusive company. Everyone seems to fit in and feel valued in their role, which is difficult for such a large organisation to achieve. I know many of my friends would have also enjoyed the Business Insight Week and working for PwC as much as I did.

Do not rely on your school knowledge of maths/economics/busniess studies to get you a place at PwC! PwC wants people with business and global acumen who have a real interest in the financial world. If you get an interview make sure you properly research what Pwc does and stay up to date with the finance world in the news!