Forensic Analyst Review

The 360 Apprenticeship programme at KPMG allows you to rotate around the business. I currently sit within the Forensic department. Usually, we undertake work on a project by project basis, whereby most of these projects will be highly confidential. Forensics at KPMG involve a lot of fraud and misconduct investigations and hence a typical day will be conducting analysis of financial data, participating in interviews with the client as well as preparing reports of evidence and findings.

I have learnt and grasped a huge amount of skills whilst working as an Apprentice at KPMG. In particular, I have developed alot of communication, problem solving and project management skills. The majority of these skills has been picked up when working within different engagements and projects on the job, however I have also developed and learnt new skills through our internal training courses.

I thouroughly have enjoyed my apprenticeship programme so far. Since the programme allows you to rotate around different parts of the business, I have gained a wealth of different experiences and knowledge from working at various engagements and projects undertaking client needs. Furthermore, the working environment at KPMG is excellent as there is a strong togetherness and culture of the exployees who work here.

The programme is structured very well. The programme starts with an insightful and useful induction course followed by alot of training. Furthermore, the programme is structured in a way which provides ample time for exam study/courses as well as for time spent on project and engagement work. There is a mentor system too which allows you to spend time gaining support or guidance.

There is a lot of support at KPMG to assist with any issues or doubts an employee may have. First of all, there are performance managers who are responsible for catching up with their apraisee's and ensuring enough support is there to progress within the firm. Furthermore, there is also a buddy system in place whereby employees are assigned with another employee who may have greater experience to support when any issues arise. This has been extremely useful for me.

There are plenty of support in place by the training provider. Usually, catch up calls with the training provider is set up every 6 weeks to discuss any issues which may disrupt the progression to our qualification. There is always a positive attitude from the training provider when giving us support.

We gain the AAT Level 3 and 4 qualification through the apprenticeship programme and this has been useful and beneficial for the performance of my role in the firm. There has been many sitiations whereby I have used knowledge from the qualification on the job for example, when doing weeky cost and billing reports I would apply the knowledge I had picked up from the Management accounting and costing module within the qualification.

There a plethora of social events and activited out there in KPMG. The apprenticeship team have groups where you can participate in any various activities ranging from sports to voluntary programmes. I recall participating in walking/running challenges with other apprentices as well as presenting to schools in order to provide insight into the work we do at KPMG.

Yes

I would definitely recommend to a friend who is interested in the world of Finance as the firm has numerous opportunities which will help improve your business knowledge and skillsets. Furthermore, there is a strong working environment and work culture which makes working at KPMG a wonderful experience to develop your career.

The advice I would give for individuals applying to KPMG is to show that you will bring yourself to work. Everyone is unique and has their own individual talent to bring into the firm and hence when going through the assessment day or interviews makes sure you be yourself and showcase your own individual qualties which the firm can benefit from you.