Outsourcing Associate Review

At Moore Stephens I am currently an Associate within the Outsourcing department. My main role is to carry out the bookkeeping for a diverse range of financial services clients, which includes setting up payments and other ad hoc back office tasks for them. Setting up payments and reconciling banks requires having access to client bank accounts, which as a 19 year old can be seen as a huge responsibility. Some of our work requires client visits, something which is completely different to working in our office, so I have learnt a lot about professionalism through this. As of recent, I have been given the chance to make up my first full set of accounts for a client - not bad considering I haven't yet been to college.

My soft skills have increased immensely, as the company values push for social interaction between employees so having some chats in person as opposed to emails have furthered my interpersonal skills a lot. Speaking with clients on the phone and in person has enhanced my skillset too. On a more technical level, especially as I had no prior accounting experience to joining, I've learnt an incredible amount, of which has practical relevance, in a small timeframe - something I don't think, subjectively, can be done from university. I've picked up the ability to be able to use a wide-range of accounting software tools of which are essential to my every day in bookkeeping. Our Trainee Development Programme helped me learn the fundamentals of accounting right from the get-go and this foundation has been critical in me being able to develop my accounting skills.

Having recently passed my 6 month probation, I don't think I could've made a better choice of turning down uni and joining Moore Stephens on a school leaver scheme. As for MS itself, the firm have been a key factor in my enjoyment of the programme and the openness of the team I have been working with to help me fit in, something I really needed as I'd not experienced full-time work prior to joining. Socially, working with numerous trainees there is still a good experience of meeting people and going out for social events. Furthermore, the numbers of experienced employees give a good balance when a more senior head is needed for any support I require.

Ever since my first day at MS I have been treated with respect and not as though I'm just some under-experienced school leaver. Now that I have grasped the concept of bookkeeping I am taking more responsibility within the clients' work to try and get work done efficiently. If I put in the effort to get work finished by a certain deadline, my peers will always be grateful for this.

Right from the off, the path I have taken has been seamless and all courses required for me to on have been booked and blocked in my calendar so that all of my team can see my availability. This enables work to accommodated during periods of study and that I am aware of how I can manage my time accordingly. The Learning and Development team are always on hand for any queries I may have to my exams and studies but similarly my team are also on hand to answer queries with regards to attending college etc. I know exactly who the levels are within my team and this was made clear upon joining the firm as the meeting I had with my line manager involved making sure I understood these individuals and their responsibilities. On my first day, we have a whole day dedicated to understanding how the firm operates.

I haven't actually attended college on a training course but I was provided with an online bookkeeping course within the first couple of weeks of joining and this was incredibly beneficial because I got to stay within the office, and get used to office culture, but pick up the fundamental skills to complete my bookkeeping duties on a day-day basis. Having these materials, as well as question banks and solutions to these questions enabled to grasp a firm understanding of course.

The aforementioned L&D team here at MS have always been available to assist with the problems at hand or any other information required. They are there to liaise with the college with regards to exams and tuition dates but they do this efficiently. My 'pathway' for exams was laid out more or less as soon as I'd started and my AAT membership was sorted. Our Trainee Development Programme assists with furthering my professionalism as we are taught an array of different professional skills, not just about accounting, but brand image and forming career paths too. Every month I have a meeting with my manager to discuss how things have been going, what I could be doing better or if there are another issues I might want to raise to him. Similarly, we have junior forums every month so all of the trainees within my department get together and discuss how well things are going, college and what we'd like to see improve to help at our level - the directors and partner then joins to discuss how we can move forward and rectify.

For my level I feel that the salary is accommodating to my current needs and even though I pay an excessive amount for my travel card it's very worth commuting down here for the experience and so far I haven't had any regrets as the wealth of experience and knowledge I've gained here will surpass the costs of travel - at a school leaver level we have most probably considered uni as an alternative so working and spending a little extra money to travel I think is worth it as opposed to the going to uni and the relating debt. The remuneration package as a whole I think is good because when combining salary with training costs then the amount is very fair. Going out in London for work nights out can be expensive as most things in the capital are, however, the company often pays for nights out after quarterly updates and junior forums as well as year end meals so these events don't often break the bank as much as you'd think. Everyone has an ideal location so working near to strong transport links can be very important, though I didn't actually consider this originally but I was fortunate to have only require 10 minutes to travel from the main train station to the office.

Socially working in London is very good, staff will sometimes go out after work for a drink or two but there are other chances at getting out and about. As mentioned above, the team outings are quite regular and this is a good chance to get to know everyone you work with but in a slightly more informal environment. Moore Stephens offer a firm wide Christmas and Summer party which everything is paid for and again is a good opportunity to mingle with fellow MS employees. There are football teams in departments which play in tournaments after work as well as a 'Staff vs Partners' cricket match that precedes the summer party every year. As a firm, Moore Stephens are big on fundraising for Charities and there are always opportunity to get involved in a wide range of events to generate some money for good causes.

Yes

I'd definitely recommend Moore Stephens to friends because of the well-rounded balance of studying, good social aspect and the opportunity to learn whilst on the job. The staff are very easy to get along with and given that around a third of employees are trainees too, it's quite an easy process to get settled. Having said this, the number of experienced individuals around can pass on impeccable knowledge to entry level employees.

Read up on the company, look at financials, rehearse the types of questions you'd expect to be asked (can gaurantee they will be involved in your interview in some form), if you haven't got a lot of extra-curricular experience then look into CV building tasks that will give you some skills to offset yourself against the competition - this will show versatility to the interviewer. The earlier you apply, the more likely you are to be hired.