Audit Associate Review

I am an audit associate. On a daily basis I am out on client sites auditing their financial information. I guess one of the good things about this is that you are at a different location every week and get to work on some interesting well known clients. This job is very team based, so if you are not a people person I wouldn't day that this is for you. As I am in my first year I find that the work can be quite boring, i.e. ticking through samples and going through a lot of data. But you learn something knew every day which is great.

EY are very dedicated to training you and building up your skills. There are training courses that you can join every day. As well as this, there are courses every year that are mandatory to your learning. These are quite exciting as EY pay for you to go away in a hotel to attend them. EY also pay for you to complete the ICAEW exams so when you finish the course you are a fully qualified accountant. You also learn new things on a daily basis and build on your responsibilities.

EY is a fantastic company to work for. They really do care about their employees and give you plenty of opportunities to build your career. You get to meet new people every week and make friends. The company culture is great. There are people from different backgrounds and different interests and stories to tell. Personally, I don't enjoy the work all that much. Its particularly hard when you are on a client which is away from your home so you are travelling over an hour. People tend to work late as well (like past 7pm)so you can feel awkward if you want to leave at 5.30. The job does have a sense of pressure hanging over it.

There are lots of awards at EY to value the employees. They also hold great social events and make you feel part of a team. Working at EY you do feel like you are part of a family. When you do a good job you feel like you have done a good job.

The structure of the programme is fantastic. When you first join there is a 3-day introduction were you get to stay in a hotel with plenty of food -all paid for by EY. There are also continuous training opportunities that can be done online. You get on the job training as well as away courses which are made fun as well as informative. You get one-week study leave in blocks were you go to college and study. Shortly afterwards there are ICAEW exams. Support is given to you everyday, whether it is on the job or by your designated counsellor. Your counsellor is there to make sure you are reaching your goals and are getting the best out of your experience.

Our training advisor is well known in the financial industry and their study material is great. On the first day at college you receive excellent books and material. They also show real passion about the subjects and make themselves available even after the course has finished.

EY have a great employee structure. This means that as a first year I get plenty of help from seniors and managers. On every job there is a senior and manager with you to support you. As they have been in your shoes, they are more than willing to help you.

As long as you are working away from your office your travel expenses get paid for which is great. So if you get a train, taxi / bus you will get the money back. If you are on an away job your hotel gets paid for and you also get a meal allowance which is more than enough. The only down side is that you don't get paid for overtime, and overtime is guaranteed in this job. I would say that this is a massive down side to EY as you may even have to work a weekend and you won't get paid for it.

EY hold plenty of events which are usually great. They make an effort when it comes to events and hold them at great places. When you finish an audit the team usually goes out for a meal or drinks or something fun to celebrate. There are many clubs that you can join i.e. football. Personally I prefer to spend my me-time with my family so I don't join in much on these social events but they are great if you like to get involved.

Yes

EY is a big 4 company which means they have a lot of scope to invest in you and build your career. Working for EY is a great opportunity to build your career because they pay for your exams and you learn something new every week. Even if you don't enjoy it, its a fantastic starting point.

Don't apply for audit if your don't enjoy travelling/ meeting new people because you will hate it. Also be aware that it is a demanding job and working late is normal.