Associate Review

I am in my second year of the School Leaver scheme and my job title is Associate. I have taken on more responsibility this year and am largely involved in coaching the first years and helping them transition into EY. I am in the Corporate Audit sector and move round to different clients usually every two weeks. Whilst at the client site we interact with the client a lot and will discuss any issues with the client if we come across them. The tasks we are given depend on level and in my second year we start working on more riskier accounts that mean we need to be more professionally sceptical. There is lots of training and this year we are going to Amsterdam for 1 week with other EU offices to have training for moving into our third year.

I have learnt a lot of new skills and developed a lot of skills e.g. communication skills. We sit exams to train to be an accountant and currently I have a CFAB qualification. We had training on how to be confident with the clients and present to clients to help confidence. We also have had several training sessions on how to audit effectively.

I enjoy my programme as it is always different due to the client and teams changing. I enjoy working with lots of different teams and meeting new clients to expand my network. It definitely met my expectations and I would recommend this programme to everyone. The office is very social and there are always social events or month end drinks etc.

I definitely feel valued by EY since moving into my second year. As we are working on bigger areas the manager will directly review our work and they will express appreciation for the work we have done. There is a good internal recognition system where executives/managers can give 'impact awards' to any colleague who has exceeded expectations. This is a £50 voucher that you can choose to spend on a number of things on a website such as high street shops, experience days etc.

The programme is very organised and all offices are together, it is nice to see familiar faces at training events and college. our college time is put in around our busy seasons so that we do not have too much work at one time. also we get study leave before our exams. there is a clear delegation/hierarchy in the sense of who performs what work. this is good because no individual is given work beyond their level and teams are always staffed appropriately.

we go to Kaplan for college and they are very supportive. we can email them whenever we have questions and can arrange a time to meet them. I enjoyed college and the lecturers are good and engaging. they are easily accessible and always happy to help.

we receive a lot of support, all colleagues are nice and every day we receive coaching in any areas. we all also have a counsellor who will help with any problems with have confidentially. our counsellors also support us each year when we are graded and discussed in the review panels. all the managers I have come across and always happy to help and support you

my salary is sufficient and covers all living and social costs. we are also paid travel costs, this is very useful and helps a lot in maintaining by car etc as we do a lot of miles. there can be a lot of travelling with audit, up to an hour and a half each way and there may be a need to stay away in a hotel if the client is far away.

there are several opportunitys outside of work. there is a lot of office events such as a summer event and month end drinks. also there are other activites such as football, netball that anyone can join in the office. the whole office is quite young and social thjerefore there are always nights out happening and also SCASS events. SCASS is a society for training accountants, they put on events such as balls, casino nights and talks from recruitment agencys to help with CVs etc throughout the year.

Yes

everything I have discussed above. it is a friendly social place to work. I always feel supported to help progress and with any issues I may have. Good pay with expenses pay also good. Kaplan (training provider) is very help and I have managed to pass all exams first time.

research into the company and the service line that you are applying for. be open and friendly and the assessment days. try and discuss with the interviewers their experience with the company I would have liked to of been told about the hours that are worked. we work long hours especially during busy season and it can affect social time with people outside of EY at times.