Audit Associate Review

Audit Associate. General audit tasks such as walkthroughs, test of controls, substantive testing and analytics. Various internal interactions with small client based teams and firm wide training. Daily external interactions with the client related to the audit. Responsibilities are any tasks contributing to the audit that the team deem feasible. Worked on a multitude of multinational companies and many government entities.

Qualifications worked towards include the ACA and CIPFA. Many internal/external training courses from general audit training, to software training (such as excel) and specific audit training. Exam training aswell to prepare for professional exams. All accounting/ audit related skills learnt and constantly refined, whilst soft skills such as communication and business writing developed.

The programme is extremely engaging and challenging - I doubt there are many other work environments that are such a steep learning curb. Although I do feel that the school leaver programme is too demanding, as there is no differentiation between the graduate programme workwise when it comes to resourcing and tasks. Which is frustrating as pay differs greatly between the two programmes and graduates in a sense are slightly more prepared when it comes to soft skills.

As with all large organisations, I do feel that sometimes small personal achievements are lost in the sheer volume of successes. But that is the nature of these things - with there being many benefits an organisation the size of EY brings.

The programme appears well organised. EY provide much internal support throughout the programme with many inductions/ trainings outlining the bigger picture and where everyone fits in. On a smaller scale, EY has an extensive HR team and as expected, each audit is professionally managed to an extremely high standard. All tasks are expertly delegated. Mentoring is very strong and thorough too.

I found that the training is completed in a very short time frame - hence tutor support is not as effective as it could be. As such, support is only available in this small time frame (where many people would like support).

EY supports you very well for the work. The hierarchy of the team ensures this. Especially in GPS, I find you are given enough mentoring with the tasks. However it is expected that you learn fast and do not make too many mistakes.

The salary package meets work costs well via the expense system. However, as school leaver pay is 75% of graduate pay when the same amount of hours, work and level of work is completed (resourcing does not differentiate between the two), the pay is inadequate. Living costs are not supported by the salary, as living in near the office is pre-requisite for work (when you are young and do not have a car) - as such, without financial support from my family, I'd be unable to do the job.

EY has an extensive range of activities from social events, sport teams, charities etc. There is something for every area - the only problem is finding the time!

Yes

Although it challenging and time consuming, the school leaver programme has many personal benefits. It develops many skills, provides you with high regarded professional qualifications and is a

Be the best version of yourself, be prepared for a lot of hard work and approach everything with genuine enthusiasm.