Management Accountant Trainee Review

The current role that I am in is Payroll and Expenses. I have been doing the daily tasks of UK expenses and International expenses. I spend half a day of each, UK expenses our audited via the computer on a system called Concur and International expenses via paper audit and input on the computer on a system called SAP. We are a service so we have a helpdesk which means we have to answer employees queries regarding their expenses via the phone and correctly answer their problem.

I am on day release at Kaplan college studying AAT and then onto CIMA for two years, I started in Nottingham college but being from Birmingham the travel wasn't ideal in the mornings so I moved to Kaplan Birmingham with another apprentice on the same apprenticeship. I thoroughly enjoy my time at college as it is a nice break from work and you get to learn new information which you can use in your future career in finance.

My programme so far has been highly enjoyable, my first week of employment was on a team building week where we got to know everyone on our apprenticeship and this really helped give an insight to the people I will be spending time with as well as the company I will be working for. the current team I am in is probably the best team I could have asked for because everyone is so friendly and relaxed, which suits how I would like to be treated in the workplace. The workload is fine as there is always work to do and I am never sitting around thinking of things to do to fill time, I am always busy which makes the day go quick.

I feel highly valued in my current role as I have only been here 6 months and have been working in basically a 2 man team on all International expenses and at times just on my own ! I feel very valued as my other colleagues have the faith and trust that I can maintain this role while other team members are absent, I am just left to get on with it and feel like I can due to the help/support I was given at the start of my role through training. My department are very customer (employee) focused so we receive feedback on the service we provide, each month my Ops Manager will send out an e-mail stating who has had positive feedback via the survey which makes you feel appreciated even more as everyone can see your name in the e-mail as someone who got positive feedback. I recently got praised in an e-mail to the Head of the FSC by an employee stating how well I helped him in getting everything correct which made me feel valued by Rolls-Royce.

The structure of my programme is excellent, we had a week long induction where we got to know all the other apprentices on our years intake which really helped in breaking the ice and feeling comfortable working for a new company. The training we receive is great as we have reviews to see how we are getting on and if any support is needed. We have review meetings with our ADL either via phone call or face to face depending on the location and if it is suitable to meet up, these meetings are informal and give our ADL an insight of how we are getting on and if anything is needed to assist me. The support we receive really is excellent in helping me through the programme to get the best out of it.

I receive a lot of support from my training provider as we always have reviews on how we are getting on and whether any additional help/support can be provided. If we have a problem there is always someone there to talk to or e-mail and replies are normally quick with a positive attitude of wanting to help you.

From my team leader I receive a lot of support as well, we have 1-2-1's every month which review how I am getting on in my current role as well as how effective I am being, if I am meeting targets, have enough workload etc. These meetings help you raise any concerns you have if you have too much work and feel pressurised to work harder than you physically can or if you need more work because you feel you are sitting around too much. I also receive support from anyone/everyone in the office, the really friendly atmosphere makes it easy for you to speak to anyone if you need help or just in general.

My place of work in based in Derby but I am from Birmingham, so am currently commuting everyday from my house to Derby, I car share with another apprentice from Birmingham that I get on with as we were friends before hand and somehow ended up on the same apprenticeship. I have to cover the costs of fuel everyday but I am still living at home so rent does not come out of my salary just yet. Next year I may consider moving to Derby just for the ease of getting to and from work as the journey from Birmingham every morning is time consuming especially starting at 8 but it has been fine.

Outside of work there are many opportunities, I will receive e-mails about events that are happening outside of work such as quiz nights, fundraising events, social gatherings, Christmas parties etc so you can always expect to have something to do outside of work with your colleagues. There are many sporting activities you can take part in after work like football, netball etc for any gender, there are men here in the office who play netball too ! Being from Birmingham social events are harder to go to for me as I would have to travel from Birmingham to get there and then would have to worry about travelling all the way back but you can arrange to stay at someone's house or stay at a hotel so you don't miss out.

Yes

I would recommend Rolls-Royce to a friend because everyone here at Rolls-Royce are extremely friendly and easy to get on with which makes work life so much easier. You get more than enough money to cover your costs (including rent, travel etc) and enjoy yourself too, which was a big factor in joining Rolls-Royce as joining at 18 means you are still very young and need to enjoy your younger days while you can !

When applying to Rolls-Royce I would definitely recommend making sure you know important information about the company and you haven't just applied because of the big reputation Rolls-Royce has. Someone who can actually talk about RR comes across like they could just fit in, research the company and key facts which you can use during interviews to give the impression you are interested in the way the company is ran and undergoes everyday tasks. With assessment days just stay calm and nervous as everyone else in the room is in the same predicament as you. Rolls-Royce values its employees more than anything else and has strong core values and culture which we use as almost a way of life, when applying for RR research about the company's values and show how you currently/have portrayed those values, giving the impression that you can fit into Rolls-Royce straight away.