Audit trainee Review

You begin as a junior member of an audit team. This involves spending lots of time on client site so you will not always be based in the office and you will work alongside studying for exams. You are learning on the job so expect to learn a lot very quickly from more senior trainees and other members of your team.

I have both learnt new skills and developed existing ones. Excel is heavily used so being excel savvy is really helpful but if you aren't, then you will learn quickly. I knew absolutely nothing about accounting and audit before I started but I have learnt so much both through on the job learning and through the content for the exams. On the job learning has been severely compromised by working from home and the company's decision to close part of our office going forwards.

I don't enjoy the programme. It is a 3 year training contract which I will finish because I don't want it incomplete on my CV but I do not find the day job engaging, the studying is very stressful and incredibly demanding, the pay is terrible and the company expects an awful lot from you, including overtime and weekends on particular clients/very busy times of year.

The programme is well structured in that it is clear when you will sit your exams but the institutions involved are not great. The ICAEW has been really disappointing in organising exams during Covid with IT systems not up to the job, and BPP seems reluctant to get us back to face to face teaching which would be really helpful to us as students.

This is mixed. BDO pays for college, recap and revision for exams, although for some modules we do not get put through college and have to self-teach the materials which is a challenge. however, we are often put under pressure to work long hours/overtime/weekends when we need to study, despite a narrative about prioritising exams.

I feel support is lacking when we are not in college. Supposedly there are tutor forums we can use on the online platform but they are so unclear and difficult to use that I have never felt that they would help. however, the individual tutors in college are great and very supportive.

The qualification teaches you the theory behind what you are doing everyday at work which is helpful. However, we get taught the international accounting standard at college but most of the companies we audit at work use the UK GAAP accounting standard so this is very frustrating as there are differences.

There are extra-curricular activities. The Bristol office is a small and inclusive environment which is lovely. Bristol audit has a House system (a bit like Harry Potter) so there is a winning house every Christmas and activities throughout the year to get house points. There are all sorts of other social and charity events going on too.

No

I think the narrative put out by the senior staff and partners is very different to the reality which is frustrating. Especially over the past year and the challenges of Covid and working from home there is lots of chat about looking after yourself and your mental health but there seems to be no give in the system to allow for the challenges of being a trainee in an environment where it is much harder to learn.

Be yourself, be honest and think really long and hard about if it's what you want to do because it is a lot of hard work and additional studying if your heart isn't in it. I keep being told it will open lots of doors and fingers crossed that's the case as I'm questioning whether it's worth it.