Audit Trainee Review

My role varies each week. Most of my time is spent doing work which is substantial to an audit. Most of the work I do includes going out to the client's office with an audit team; this usually comprises of another 1 or two audit trainee like myself and an audit senior (Someone who has already qualified). The work gets split up between us and each person does the relevant section assigned to them. I would usually have tests which include tracing something (usually an invoice) from the client's system to the real invoice kept by the client somewhere. Other work may just involve asking the client questions, why there has been such high movements in certain expenditure etc. Then after being out on site, I would get back to the office and write up anything that needs writing up. The job includes a lot of travelling to a lot of different places which means that the job is always exciting.

I have learnt a lot of skills since being here. I've learnt how to interact with clients and how to ask the right questions. I've learnt how to sift through large amounts of information and just pick out key parts. I've also developed my skill in working under pressure. BDO also have many courses both internally within offices and externally. I recently completed an Excel Intermediate Course in which I learnt a lot of helpful Excel tip. Here at BDO there are a lot of opportunities to do courses and to develop your skills.

I enjoy my programme a lot. There is support from Senior members and everyone is very supportive. When you're out at a client doing an audit you get to work with different people within the firm, some from our offices and also some from other streams like Tax. There's a lot of variety which makes the job dynamic and interesting. The exams are also spread out over the years making the whole experience manageable and not too taxing.

I feel very valued. I have a counselling manager who is happy to speak to me whenever I want and who really cares about my progression within the company. I am granted a lot of responsibility on each job that I'm on and with that I am also given a lot of support which shows that the firm care about me. As they could just give me mundane simplistic tasks or give me challenging tasks with no support. But they get things right, giving me tasks that challenge me whilst also providing enough support to get through them.

It is rather structured. I know when each learning course/exam is taking place, where it's taking place well in advance. The Professional Qualifications team make sure that any support I need and any help I need is given. Most jobs have a budget, showing the expected time for each task which makes it easier for everyone to monitor their progress.

I have only completed one course so far and that Accounting. The Tutor on that course was very cooperative, answering any questions I had in a timely manner after lessons. I also have an Assessor who is assigned to me, he is also happy to answer any questions regarding my apprenticeship if I have any.

I receive a lot of support from my employer. Managers are happy to answer any questions I have. My counselling manager especially is supportive in my development. We hold regular discussions where we just informally chat through how my experience has been up until that point. Audit Seniors are also supportive on each job, patiently guiding me through what I need to do and being happy to answer any questions.

I have sufficient money for all aspects of my life. I am also reimbursed for any expenses I incur in relation to work I do for the firm. I cannot complain at all about my salary.

Yes, there are opportunities to do things outside of work. If you manage your time well then you can have a lot of time to yourself. There are 10 paid days of volunteering for each employee which they can spent when they wish to do volunteering. The office I am in also have a football team which plays every other Monday.

Yes

BDO is a great place to work. You feel valued from day one. The people here genuinely care about the development of each individual, you won't just be another number when you join. The support from everyone just makes the job a lot less stressful. Furthermore, you get a lot of exposure to a lot of different businesses and you get to do some real engaging work. You won't just be scanning documents everyday and counting pennies, you'll be out there doing some real work which will impact the final results of the audit. It's challenging but with the amount of support you get, it's very doable.

With the application process, make sure you do as much practice as you can for the verbal & numerical reasoning tests. Practice is absolutely essential for these and there are many free sources out there. I did it without having to pay for any tests so it is possible. Interviews are also about practice, just practice what you're going to say in front of someone else as this will help you with nerves when the real thing happens. At assessment days, don't be do domineering, everyone there wants the job so give other people a chance to speak. If you are respectful to others they'll be respectful to you also. You do need to get some words in there but just don't butt in. You can be the one that sets out some ground rules if you want to show initiative. If rules like, everyone gets 1 minute to speak are established then everyone gets a chance to speak. If you don't feel up to that you can offer to be the timekeeper. Make sure you also have many examples to use during interviews. It's no good saying, I am really organised, I'm really sporty, etc. Listing qualities doesn't have any merit. But if you can say, I am really organised and give an example of a time which you used your organisation skills, that'll allow the interviewer to see you're not just telling lies. And that's another tip, don't lie, not in your application form, not in your interview, not in your assessment day, be honest. Just go for it, you never know if you're going to get through the whole process and get the job if you don't try!