Audit Associate Review

I am an audit associate within the Bristol office. Day to day involves visiting client sites, which can be based around the whole of the South West. The day to day job involves gaining assurance over accounts which form a companies financial statements.

I have learnt so much in my first year already. Including gaining confidence to speak with client contacts, from the payables clerk to the FD. Excel skills are quickly learnt also as you will spend the majority of your day on excel workbooks. Knowledge of audit has improved massively, from not knowing what it is, to playing a part in the audit opinion. You will learn so much from the programme

I enjoy the job in terms of the working teams, young professional environment and it is a great company to work for, without doubt. Although, beware you will be expected to work long days. A 14 hour day would not be unfamiliar in audit especially on busier year ends, this means you may have to sacrifice personal commitments and weekends in some weeks. Although, this is a trend across all professional services roles. There are lots of social events which happen at EY, football team, drinks are quite often. You will get to know lots of people in different teams which helps through the tough periods.

Fairly well. You are assigned a counsellor who will be a few positions above you. As well as an EY buddy who will be the year above, to help with day to day issues. EY is a large company, but you dont feel overwhelemed in the Bristol office and everyone can be heard and known. On away jobs you get a good allowance/hotels which make being away from home good.

There is lots of support if you push for it. Remember that passing exams is as important, if not more important to you than the work. So this needs priortised when you need to revise, to ensure you are stopping work at a suitable time (Say 5:30/6). Training periods are booked well in advance which you can see on your calender system. There is a good hierarchy on jobs, where you will be working with a ladder of experience which is good for development.

Kaplan are open to any emails/calls about content. You have access to an online portal which should have all you need such as mock exams. Most exams are now self study online, rather than with a tutor face to face. Although this was an EY initiative,

If you ask the right people, any issues you have will for sure get resolved. We have family days where people can voice issues as a peer group and often these are heard.

Starting salary for an apprentice in Bristol is £16,500 roughly. This will increase c.£3k after the first year. I have moved out of home and can just manage but it is good to ensure you have some savings to fall back on as although you will expense to EY things such as fuel and meals on away jobs, cash flow can be an issue. I have managed to get a student bank account with interest free overdraft which helps just in case. In terms of hours you work vs pay, this is definetly too low. But once you qualify this isn't a problem.

Lots of opportunties as mentioned above. EY is a massive network with lots going on.

No

Depends on the friend. For me it was the right decision as I wanted to be trained earlier and it is a great career to get into. Although, it may not suit many as you do have to adapt quickly to time pressured deadlines and it is a world away from your friends in their first year at uni. But for many this apprenticeship would be ideal. Make sure to do your research and know what you want from it.

Be confident, and research your service line you are applying for. Be a good listener in the assessment day and ask good questions. Everyone in my assessment centre who applied for Bristol got in, so not sure how tough it is, especially with no entry requirements, but make sure to do your research online to get an advantage.