Audit Associate Review

I am currently an Audit assistant, working within different teams for different clients within Financial Services Banking. My day-to-day includes working within various sections of the audit, understanding and testing the processes of the client's systems. This involves working closely with the client to obtain relevant information needed, arranging calls and hosting walkthroughs, as well as documenting procedures and forming conclusions. I am given a variety of tasks within the team which makes everyday different.

I have learnt so much whilst working at KPMG. My apprenticeship is rotational, meaning I get to look at different aspects of accounting. As well as financial services audit, I have been in tax placements, specifically Employment Tax and Global Mobility Services. This has enabled me to gain a wide undertsanding of the firm and will help me decide later on, which area I would like to specialise in. The skills I have learnt on these placements have been endless, mainly focusing on: IT skills, teamwork, communication, corporate understanding and organisation skills.

Although sometimes the hours worked can be long within Audit busy seasons (Dec - April mainly), the work I am allocated is interesting, and being part of a lively, hard-working team has been rewarding. It is good to be given responsibility over certain work aspects, which makes me feel like a valued team member. I have learnt so much over the year and a half I have worked at KPMG. The company culture is excellent, as the firm is predominantly young professionals who are passionate, hard-working and have similar aspirations to their colleagues.

Due to Covid, there had been some disruption to my scheme when it came to rotation placements, but the experience I have had has been smooth and well-organised. Although you can't choose which area of the firm to work in, the varied placements give us a great wider understanding of the firm as a whole. The Level 7 qualification is done over 6 years which is quite a long time, as some of us weren't given the choice to complete it over 5 years, which would be better. However, the structure with work and exams is nicely balanced and there is a lot of both internal and external support.

There are a lot of support systems within KPMG and a lot of different personnel we are able to reach out to. This includes a performance manager, a performance leader, line managers, apprenticeship team, well-being teams and older peers/buddies. We are given a lot of information of who we can reach out to if we are struggling with anything. There is also a lot of support from our course providers who are very helpful around our exam times.

As mentioned, BPP are very supportive within the apprenticeship scheme. They hold quarterly calls with us individually to check in, and around exams, they get in contact with us to ensure we are okay and if we need any extra support. The BPP Hub is a really useful resource where we can complete online tests and assessments which prepare us well for exams. The AAT mock exams are also very helpful. The study information provided to us is clear and concise, helping us through our exams in the best way possible.

The exams we study for are applicable to different teams and different stages within audits/tax placement. Our studies have been really helpful for some work tasks, for example, I had to complete ratio analysis within financial statements for a client which directly links to the Level 4 AAT FSLC exam. In some specialised teams, the content we learn in exams is more brief but this is as expected.

Currently, extra curriculars are very limited. However there are some virtual events we can get involved in, e.g. online gym classes, book club and morning yoga. There are also various networks to be part of, e.g. Women in Banking, the Muslim Network, Lean in Circles etc. These are now held virtually.

Yes

An amazing experience to learn so many skills which can be built and developed throughout your entire career. KPMG is a prestigous firm who offer great support and help to their colleagues and working in a variety of different departments can help me make decisions on what I want to do later on in life.

Just to be yourself, be confident and come to the interviews with an open mind. The people in your team or who you are surrounded by, our so important as teamwork is one of the most predominant skills to use on a day to day basis as this is how you will complete your client work, whichever department you're in. Listen to others, value people's opinion, make sure everyone is included and bring forward your own ideas.