Summer traineeship Review

I am Part of the BDO School Leaver Summer School. I have been at the Gatwick office for the duration of my two week placement. My day to day role varies on where I am and who my senior is. Some days I am at a client’s office working as part of a team on one specific audit, and others I am in the Gatwick BDO office helping different people with tasks such as cash, fixed assets, minuets and many other things. I have even been lucky enough to spend a day in Business Restructuring, which allowed me to experience different departments of BDO. I work with different people daily which I really enjoy because I hear about so many different peoples experiences of BDO. Overall I have really enjoyed this placement at BDO as the variety of tasks things on a day to day basis has been extremely interesting.

Since being here for just two weeks I have developed many skills on Microsoft word and Edexcel especially. I have also developed my team work and communication skills as I am constantly working with different people. I have also learnt new skill on the BDO Systems that are used for auditing. There are probably many other skills that I have learnt all developed whilst being at BDO as I am learning all the time.

I have really enjoyed my time spent at BDO. I found all the work I have done interesting and this experience has confirmed that I want to pursue a career in accounting, specifically audit. I have also enjoyed the independence I have gained from the placement, but also the support from all members of staff if I have needed it. One thing that I have specifically enjoyed is visiting different client’s offices as it varies your work day as well as varies the different people within BDO that you work with, allowing you to meet new people and learn about their experiences of BDO!

I feel really valued by BDO. Everyone is very friendly and wants to help. Also i feel like people do not treat me like a trainee, I feel appreciated. As a School Leaver people respect you as you could potentially be the new face of BDO in the future as it develops and takes on more apprentices each year. I am always involved in tasks and sometimes even asked my opinion on something even though I am not qualified.

The Summer School Programme is really well Structure at BDO the first day you are inducted into the company at the London office in backers street, where you learn about the company’s values, what they expect of you over the placement and also partake in some team building exercises with other trainees. Then for the rest of the two weeks you are placed in your office. As a part of the audit team I have been out at a client’s office with a team of seniors and juniors which I really enjoyed because it gave you a real insight of what you would do on a day to day basis as part of audit, due to being sat clients more than being in a BDO office. The Gatwick Office have also organised for me to sit in on meetings so that I can experience the planning of different audits.

I received a lot of support from the whole company, even the partners. People are always popping up at my desk asking if I am okay or if I need any help at all. All the employees at BDO are friendly and are always making sure I am happy and comfortable in the workplace. They offer me any help and also ask me questions about the weekend and general chats to make me feel as part of the team too

I have received so much support from all the staff at BDO. If I had a question someone would always be happy to help and try to answer it, and if they couldn’t they would find someone who could answer my question. As mentioned above, they always chat to me and make me feel involved so i can't fault the help and support from the staff and supervisors at BDO.

As I am at a two week summer school I do not have a salary. For attending the summer school, the person gets paid a good amount for attending the two weeks. also if you are in audit, like me, all expenses such as travel to clients and other fees like day trips for work are reimbursed in terms of petrol costs and also on some trips the company reimburses you for lunch as well.

From what I have been told there are loads of opportunities outside of work, from regular socials to sporting fixtures between different offices as well as different companies. BDO also set aside 10 days of charity work per employee each year dedicated to help communities and causes around the world. I was also invited to a staff event outside of work however i was unfortunately unable to attend due to an upcoming holiday.

Yes

BDO is a really friendly company and the school leaver summer school is a fantastic opportunity for anybody to have, plus it looks really good on your CV. Also I believe that School Leaver’s Summer School is a brilliant opportunity that, if successful, can lead to many more opportunities within the School Leaver’s Scheme and possibly help you get a leg-up if you would apply to work for BDO again in the future.

What I would say about the Application process is make sure that you have covered all of the competency questions on the online form, as this makes it look like not only have you researched the company but also what role you are doing within the company, and this makes you look interested. For the online testing I would say practise as much as you can in a timed environment as this will put you in good stead for the tasks set. During the interview and presentation I would encourage you to be yourself. BDO are not looking for identical people who just have the grades and can answer the competency questions, they are also looking into your personality to see if you would fit into their team. I didn’t have to take part in an assessment day; however I did have to do a presentation to my interviewer. Regarding the presentation I would strongly advise you to choose a company that you know a lot about, this will make it easier for you to talk about them and also will make answering the questions on your presentation easier and create a more relaxed environment. When I applied BDO were really helpful and answered all my questions so that I felt fully informed and prepared for my placement.