Flying start (associate 1) Review

Whilst on placement my daily tasks varied greatly dependent on the client I was working on and the areas for which I had been assigned work. My day-to-day tasks included completed work around various EGAs and also interacting with the client in order to obtain sufficient evidence for our work to be carried out.

I have hugely increased my knowledge of the systems used by PwC, such as Aura, due to the large numbers of areas I have worked in (planning, execution and completion). In addition to this, I have been able to increase my knowledge of the modules I completed in first year at university (such as financial accounting and assurance) and have also increased my knowledge around my current module (audit and assurance) as the practical experience I have gained has given my real life situations of some of the scenarios and issues that were presented to us whilst learning the modules.

Although our university course can be very challenging and I believe there is more pressure on us that normal university courses in the first year, the job opportunity at the end of the programme is fantastic and the fact that we get to increase our knowledge through practical experience on placement and also get paid is amazing!

Everyone at PwC is very welcoming and always happy to help. In addition to this, they do not expect you to know everything about audit and accounting as we are only 19/20 on our first placements which takes a lot of pressure away. In addition to this, whilst on placement we are treated as full time employees and therefore the staff are enthusiastic to get the flying starts involved in many of their activities.

Our course is very organised and the way in which placement is integrated into the programme is very structured. I feel this helps massively as our roles on placement throughout our 4 year course correspond with the areas and tasks we are set whilst on placement.

We receive a lot of support from both our personal tutors and course director whilst at university and also keep in contact whilst on placement which is very useful. In addition to this, both our office people manager and global people manager are extremely helpful over the course of placement and are always happy to help with any questions we ask.

The support whilst on placement at PwC is fantastic. As previously mentioned, both my office people manager and global people manager were very helpful and were always happy to help with any questions I had. In addition to this, the HR team at PwC were able to help me a lot when I had questions regarding booking hotels and the expenses system.

The salary I received whilst on placement and the expenses system that PwC use is fantastic. The salary which we receive as a flying start is brilliant and is much higher than that of normal apprenticeships for people of my age. The expenses system is also very good and ensures that all money paid out is received back from the company in an impressively short period of time.

There are many opportunities outside of work to get involved in the company and it's activities such as charity events and socials. In addition to this, there is a social committee which I got involved in and this allowed me to meet new people and see how socials are organised for many people.

Yes

The staff are extremely friendly, the resources team are always happy to help and will listen to your preferences on the clients and areas you want to work in/on, everyone is very supportive and no-one puts you under pressure to know everything, the salary is very competitive with other employers.

Make sure you are yourself on the application days, don't pretend to be someone you're not. Be confident and answer all questions honestly. Make sure you mention all the good things you have done prior to applying, it's good to boast every now and then! The opportunities at PwC are fantastic and are definitely worth applying for!