Audit Assistant Review

I am an audit assistant in the audit department of Mazars LLp in Nottingham. On a day to day basis I am responsible for providing assistance and knowledge to the audit team to help us complete assignments and meet client deadlines. Daily I am in contact with assistants, managers, seniors and partners as well as spending most of my days at clients, interacting with them. I am responsible for certain areas of the audit pack to complete all testing within that in a given timeframe. Each project lasts usually a week before the next one begins. Most days I'm out on site performing audit testing and interacting with clients.

I have so far passed 2 of my 6 certificate level exams and am studying towards my remaining 4. I attend internal training every couple of months to enable my development in work. I have learnt loads of new skills and knowledge since day 1 and every day I have an opportunity to learn something new. The exams help build your knowledge of accounting and then you have chance to apply that knowledge.

I mostly enjoy the audit work as there are so many different areas you can work on. It is challenging but if you engage your brain you can really get on board with it. The team are great, we always socialise and there's plenty of events every month for us all to attend. The culture in the audit team is great. We all respect each other as colleagues but can also be trusted friends. I had no expectations coming in but I was surprised how easily everyone fits in.

I regularly get appreciation from my managers and seniors through regular appraisal. I feel like a valued member on the team despite having such little knowledge and experience. My managers are never afraid to throw me a difficult task and help me out when I get stuck. There are internal schemes that recognise good work from people on a monthly basis and reward them through gift vouchers

My induction was well co-ordinated and I felt I had everything ready for my first day. The training is regular and well organised and the content is good. I receive support from all my managers as and when I need it. The mentor system is good and my mentor Kizzy is really great. She helps me with all my study and takes me out for lunch meetings. However, the exam provider (BPP) leave a lot to be desired. Their organisation is poor at best and they regularly make mistakes with training materials and exam times.

BPP have a good network of support. The online portal is helpful and the forums have a good debate section for academic help. The materials provided are very good with study notes, study manuals, flash cards and question banks. The downside obviously being their lack of organisation. I also have monthly calls to provide catchup and feedback about how my apprenticeship is going.

I receive ample support from my training provider both for academics and work. I have access to online support and in-house support through phonecalls and email. People's attitude towards helping out the school leavers is positive. Most people above my level have at some point been at my level so have a good understanding of the help I need.

The basic salary covers most of my livings costs and the company pay generous expenses for travel and away jobs. The pay structure for CFAB students at the moment however is not acceptable. CFAB to ACA qualified will take 4 years and thus pay increases year on year should reflect this (qualified salary - starting salary divided by 4) should be your payrise every year. However this is not the case. You are paid as a second year AAT student where the increase is minimal. Thus your payrises are not evenly spread out and you will be underpaid in year 2 and then see a huge jump potentially by year 4.

Mazars have a good presence across the East Midlands and there are always opportunities to attend networking events. There are at least 10 every month including charity and business events. I have been to a careers fair already to promote Mazars programme and it was a great opportunity to speak to like-minded people.

Yes

Overall, Mazars is a great place to work. The work and study is hard but very rewarding and you really get back what you put in. The people make you feel welcome and the active social aspect can be a real boost to what can sometimes seem like struggle. The programme itself has a good structure and organisation and with improvements to BPP and the pay structure (which I believe is under review currently) would make this a truly special opportunity for anyone coming out of sixth form.

My tips to anyone applying to Mazars would be to make sure you know that the school leaver programme is exactly what you want. It can be a real struggle to come home after a long day at work and motivate yourself to sit down and revise. Like I said, you get back what you put in so it can be very very rewarding. Also, ask lots of questions at your interview - the partners are always great in helping to answer your questions. Good luck!