Associate Review

EY Business Apprenticeship On a day to day basis, I would travel to a client site in the morning, have a catch up with the rest audit team working on that client, and tasks will be delegated then. This involves a significant amount of client interaction, and you find yourself talking to Financial Controllers of large companies very soon after joining.

During the 5 years, you will have the 13 exams that are involved with the ICAEW's ACA, and will become a Chartered Accountant upon completion of your training contract subject to exam passes. There are many internal training sessions too, aimed at improving skills needed for the job, such as audit knowledge, dealing with clients and confidence with presentation skills. At the start, you do feel like you have been thrown in the deep end, however, this aids high short term development.

I do enjoy the programme as there is a high focus on people in the firm. There are quarterly official office event where you are able to see a large proportion of the office of whom you wouldn't normally see due to all being at different clients. There are also multiple unofficial events taking place regularly, such as football and netball.

I feel valued to an extent, as it is difficult in a large multinational company. There are recognition procedures in place, such as monetary incentives however, these are rare due to the lack of incentives able to be allocated by manager over a year. There is a culture of valuing staff by thanking for good work, however.

The programme is very well organised now it has been running for a few years, with a clear structure of internal trainings and events to fully integrate the new joiners in to the team. There is also a good review structure in place, which is fair and does give genuine development points. Due to the nature of the job, flexibility is required though.

I do receive very good support from my training supplier (Kaplan), as the additional materials provided are clear and easier than the ICAEW materials provided. With issues on certain areas, all tutors actively encourage emails outside of the college tuition period, which they will respond to promptly as well as providing a good level of detail. I do enjoy the training provided.

There are multiple sources of support available at EY, both formal and informal. Due to the allocation of a manager to help you with any issues you face, they are able to point to you in the right direction and contact the correct people on your behalf. Also, the allocation of an informal 'buddy' means they can help you with less important issues.

The salary provided by EY at a school leaver level is competitive in terms of assurance companies, however, in some areas the pay falls behind the other big four companies. Due to the likelihood of a lack of bills due to the age of the applicant, it does comfortably meets travel, living and daily costs. The salary improves greatly after each year of the training contract.

There are many opportunities outside of work. 2 paid days per annum are allocated to charity/community work, as well as there opportunities to be involved in other issues, such as the offices environmental impact, recruitments and sports teams. Many events are organised throughout the year which means you are able to get to know a significant number of people in the whole office, of whom you would not normally work with.

Yes

EY Business Apprenticeship is a great way to get in to the finance world without going to university, as it does not segregate the graduates from the apprentices. It has a competitive salary and promotes internal development of its people which can aid your personal development. It also provides the opportunity to get exposure at large companies, many of which are completely different to each other, which can help you decision as to stay in the accountancy profession, or move in to a specific industry.

The main part of the EY process is to be confident and make sure you do research on the company and the values it possesses. The process starts with online testing, which should not be rushed through, followed by a phone interview which you should be confident and calm. Then the assessment centre should be taken as an opportunity to show off your skill, and the final partner interview should be used to discuss EY on the whole, and show why you would like to work for the company.