Assistant Associate Review

I work within the Private Markets Audit department within Deloitte and am responsible for assisting teams complete statutory financial audits throughout the year. This can include completing different forms of testing and planning work depending on the time of year and the nature of client. On a day to day basis I will be speaking with clients to get an understanding of how their business works in order for us to deem an appropriate method of testing. I also communicate with clients and team members throughout the day which can involve sending a fair few e-mails.

Deloitte provide a lot of workshops & seminars for us to improve our skills whilst auditing. Quite a lot of the work I complete involves excel so courses such as Excel Analytics are vital for improving the standard of work that I can complete. Training is also provided for other important professional skills such as money handling, ethics and money laundering. Having regular training throughout the year provides a nice work/education balance. Qualifications have to be completed as part of the apprenticeship for which I attend college generally every 3 months. The information I learn in college allows me to apply what I've learned at work which makes it easier to develop in my role.

I enjoy the opportunity to work in different teams and travel across the world experiencing new things. The college/work balance is nice as it breaks down your year into smaller chunks - almost as if you're working more than you think you are. The work can be quite intense sometimes but if helps you grow as a person.

Deloitte employees are provided an appraiser to set objectives with and discuss how you're getting on. From each different audit engagement you work on, you can request feedback from managers to see what they were happy with and what you can improve on. Deloitte are very approachable and always want to help where they can. Exam pressure can be tough sometimes but they give you all the resources you need to succeed.

The apprenticeship is structured well, as I progress each year more training will be provided with more complex exams. Apprentices are also given more responsibility as they move up year by year.

The resources provided by our training provider are very helpful. Books, online resources, exam style questions are all provided as well as tutor support whenever we need it. Deloitte makes sure we have everything we need in order to succeed.

Managers are always willing to help as they acknowledge that they were once in a similar position. Appraisers and HR are also always on hand to assist with any problems we as apprentices are likely to encounter.

Reasonably well, the cost of travelling can be expensive but as you progress through Deloitte your salary is likely to increase.

Plenty of social activities occur. Deloitte sets up socials and social networking sites which allows people to connect all over the firm.

Yes

The opportunity that is available, it shows that you can succeed without having a degree and will likely end up in a better place at the end of the apprenticeship than someone who has been to university.

It is a great opportunity but it does take a lot of hard work.