Associate Review

My Job title is - associate My role mainly is working in the business services group within Grant Thornton. This means I work on both audits and compilations. My daily tasks depend on where I am for the day, I could be at a clients or in the office, I am also placed with different people for most jobs, this allows me to get different interactions with different sectors of the business. My daily tasks could include admin in replying to emails or preforming work on a client, once a week I also go to college and partake in my AAT qualification.

As well as studying for my AAT qualification, I also undertook the internal training courses down at Bradenham Mannor. I have also learnt new skills on the software we use, I have had help of colleges as well as learning about ISA's and completing some online modules.

I enjoy the work I complete, I like that we're given responsibility from day one and that i'm coached by my colleagues. The team that I work in are really good at helping me and supporting me through jobs. The culture is great we regularly meet up for socials events and I am part of the social committee within my office.

I feel very valued by Grant Thornton as we get recognition through feedback we submit from our in-charges, I regularly receive verbal feedback from colleagues that I'm working with at the time.

The programme is very structured. My programme started with a two day induction which outlined all the details of the business. I also took part in internal training down at Bradenham.

I receive good support from my training provider which is Kaplan. My Kaplan representative set up a meeting when I first started to go through the qualification. She also scheduled a phone call every 3-6 months and she's always available through email.

I receive a lot of support through my employer. My manager will often have a quick chat to see how things are going, we also have regular reviews which I can bring up any problems.

For someone my age I would say the salary is okay, however I think the pay could do with increasing to take away the financial stress of todays costs.

There are many opportunities outside work, I regularly attend social events which can range to anything from a BBQ to the pub. We can join the football team for our office, however I would like to see a few more sports not just football as not everyone likes that. Maybe they should do some regional teams that are less popular.

Yes

Grant Thornton is a very good opportunity and I think the support you get is really good. You're given time of to go to college and all the courses and exams are paid for. I also think that it opens up many opportunities for career development.

My Advice would be to be confident when applying, you have to do an online webcam interview which can seem intimidating, however if you're confident and research the company and it's values you'll be fine. I think the advice for the assessment day is to again be confident and make sure you get to know the people around you, be really interactive and don't be afraid to get something wrong.