Auditor Review

I lead teams conducting financial audits of external companies for one of the Big 4 audit firms. In a regional office I get experience over a number of different businesses and industries, and apply company methodology to gain assurance over the reasonableness of financial statements through a series of standardised tests. This involved significant interaction with senior staff at clients

My soft skills have increased substantially in this role through frequent interaction with senior members of client staff, giving me significant improvements in my communication and my confidence skills. In the role I am also put through my ICAS examinations to become a chartered accountant, as well as undergoing a significant amount of internal training courses focusing on more practical development of skills.

I often find the work we do to be quite dull, and suffer from a lack of motivation. There are good opportunities to progress within the firm, however if this doesn't interest you then it is easy to suffer from a lack of motivation. There are however opportunities to transfer to different departments. The workload can be quite tough, and long hours are sometimes expected. The people I work with are generally good and the senior staff are supportive.

I feel I'm undervalued by EY in my role, especially in relation to other departments within the business that offer higher pay and much higher bonuses. Bonuses in particularly are not deemed to be particularly good, which leads to a sense of feeling undervalued. Managers and partners are generally polite and thank you for work performed, and there are sometimes team dinners etc to recognise hard work.

The programme is well structured and having been running for a few years now, they have track experience of putting people through the programme, which is generally the exact same year on year. ICAS blocks of release are well structured throughout the programme well in advance as are internal training courses. I have support through a senior member of staff for any counselling issues and upon joining in 2014 I was assigned a buddy to help me bed into the firm.

ICAS tutors are available via email and will make time to try and support you if you pop into their office. I found most tutors to be very approachable and as the qualifications are difficult they are used to spending a lot of time supporting students and will be understanding and ready to dedicate support.

As discussed above, I was assigned a counsellor to discuss any ongoing issues and a buddy upon joining the firm to make sure I joined correctly. I can go to my counsellor for any issues that I want to raise. In general work, I feel sometimes a lack of support can be provided as managers expect staff to do a lot of work using their own judgement, and this can often be subjective and require a lot of judgement. This leads to a lot of responsibility under difficult circumstances. Support for sitting exams can vary, as they are generally supportive but for resitting some people have very poor levels of support and are then fired for failing.

The salary is adequate and meets all my costs, however it is less than other departments within the same firm. Salary rises every year with the biggest jumps in the last year of the five year programme and once you qualify at the end of the five years. Some people may struggle to meet their costs on the first year salary as this is relatively low.

There are a number of extra curricular activities to get involved in, such as the social committee, student recruitment and charity initiatives such as those organised by the EY foundation. EY foundation initiatives can offer impressive experiences such as mountain climbs and desert treks across the world. EY also offer to CSR days to be used on volunteering of your choice. There is also a department newsletter which is sent out monthly.

Yes

Good company to work for although the hours can be poor. EY is a huge company and although the few years of your training contract might not be the best the opportunities later in your career are worth it.

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