Audit Associate Review

My job title is Audit Associate. My day to day greatly varies depending on what client I am working on. For example one day I may be out on site at a motor dealership performing an audit (so performing tests on their numbers and ensuring their accounts appear reasonable) and the next I could be back in the office planning a totally different audit. As I have been working at Grant Thornton for over 2 years now I have great responsibilities - i.e I can be actually in charge of an audit so delegating work to colleagues and then communicating with the manager on the job. If I am in charge I am responsibly for ensuring the work gets done, but also identifying any risks with the business that maybe we should focus on, client relationships and ensuring we are performing the right work.

During my time at Grant Thornton I have gained the AAT level 3 and level 4 qualification and am now working towards becoming chartered through the ICAEW. Not only this but Grant Thornton run a wide variety of courses internally to make you become your best. For example in a few weeks time I will be attending an insightful conversations course where I will improve on how I give feedback and difficult conversations. Working at Grant Thornton has also improved many day to day skills such as time keeping, organisation and people skills.

I really love working at Grant Thornton. The team we have here is incredible with every single person being welcomed to achieve what they want. The company is very supportive around exams, but also ensure you really enjoy the work itself. In our office we are always holding and attending social events such as meals out and quiz nights.

Grant Thornton make me feel very valued. We have an internal recognition system where you get nominated for points and these then turn into money, this is a great way of identifying those who go the extra mile.

The programme I am on is very organised and structured. In my first week I had an office induction, the next day a regional induction and the next two days a national induction in London where we got to meet the whole intake of our year. At present because we do exams alongside work we get block release from work in order to go to college, and around our exams we get a days study leave in order to revise. As mentioned above, all through exams you are supported by your colleagues as well as the partners. We also have quarterly catch up with our managers, this is an opportunity to talk about how you are getting on, and if there is anything you are really enjoying or if there is anything that you want to discuss.

At work we have a line manager each where we have quarterly catch ups, in these meetings the line manager is always very supportive and motivational. When we first begin work at Grant Thornton you are also assigned a buddy who you can go to and ask any questions to before and after your first day.

As mentioned above the support at Grant Thornton is fantastic.

We always receive out of pocket expenses back ie for exams, travel and subscriptions. The salary itself is similar to other accountancy firms in the same area plus a little bit more.

Out of work we have a lot of opportunities including quiz nights, meals out and there is a local committee who organise events for other young professionals which we all get the opportunity to attend. So far I have had the opportunity to attend go karting, archery, Turkish meal, ringos down a ski slope and lot more.

Yes

Genuinely, I wouldn't recommend a better company than Grant Thornton. The team we have in our office is amazing and the company itself could not be a better company to be trained in.

My tips would be definitely to research the company, it doesn't look very good if you turn up and know nothing about us. I would also recommend you have something which makes you stand out from the crowd, ie if you have a weekend job, or you volunteer for a charity that always looks good. My last recommendation would be to make sure you want this job and are committed, it is really obvious if you come to the interview and are not really sure if you want that job.