Audit Trainee Review

I am an audit trainee, so I am involved with the audit of clients, including going out on site to client offices and performing testing on their financial accounts. This is a crucial part of the audit, as this ensures the integrity of the financial statements which are released into the public domain. I am given tasks in various areas of the financial statements, such as cash, payroll and trade payables. As a result, I often find myself learning knew audit skills on the job, with the support of colleagues. Aside from auditing, there is also a big emphasis on training. This can be mandatory training modules from BDO, or revising for exams towards the ACA qualification. This can also sometimes involve going to college or using revision videos on the internet.

I have learnt an array of auditing skills, as prior to starting the apprenticeship I had no experience in audit. But I have also learnt and developed skills to support my work in audit, such as better use of applications such as Microsoft Excel, which is heavily relied upon. This has been through tutorials provided by BDO and general support from colleagues.

I thoroughly enjoy the BDO school leaver programme as learning on the job as opposed to in a college is fascinating and has allowed me to really start to understand the world of audit. Also, I work in a great team full of great people who have supported me ever since I joined BDO.

The programme is for 4 years, working towards the ACA qualification. The exams are organised in advance by BDO so there is always clarity as to when my exams are and when I can dedicate study time towards them. I have received audit training throughout my time at BDO, firstly in a 5 day residential course before I began working in the office, which gave me a great platform for the job.

I receive lots of support from BDO. Each individual is assigned a Buddy, a Counselling Manager and a Counselling Partner. This means that there is always someone to speak to for different problems or queries you may have. Additionally, colleagues in general are very supportive as they are always open for questions as they understand that you will not know everything when you first join, so are always happy to help.

For some exams, we go to college to be taught by a tutor, who is then always contactable right up to the exam to provide support. BPP also have an online portal, which has an 'achievement ladder' that is a brilliant tool to understanding the content with practice questions and explanations to the answers. There are also a whole host of practice exam questions and video tutorials to consolidate your knowledge.

The ACA underpins what we do in audit. The first exams provide a basis to accountancy, audit, tax and law and this knowledge is then built upon in later exams. For audit, the assurance exams are especially helpful in performing better in my job as they explain what audit is about, the different types of testing that can be performed and how all of this translates into the financial statements.

We have socials throughout the year, although not so much in busy season! The highlight so far has been the London Audit Group Christmas Party, which was a brilliant night. There are also opportunities to join football, netball and hockey teams which compete in professional leagues. There is also an initiative where there are three extra days off work set aside for volunteering should you wish to take up the opportunity.

Yes

Audit is a challenging job, but BDO have made it seem much easier thanks to their commitment to new joiners, whether that be school leavers, graduates or experienced hires. They have provided a great environment for me to learn on the job without placing too much pressure on me, but at the same time they have placed me in important situations which is crucial to my development.

Go for it as it is a great way to enter the accountancy profession in a large firm who will always support you, whether that be through education or having people there to talk to you. It can be hard work at times, but it is also very rewarding and can lead to a great career.