Audit Trainee Review

I work as an audit trainee at BDO. On a day to day basis my role largely consists of testing the underlying information behind a clients financial statements. A lot of the role is verifying the data by testing samples to supporting documentation, and ensuring that a client is applying the correct accounting treatments in their accounts. I also get involved in the planning of audits which involves getting a detailed understanding of the clients business, assessing their internal controls and processes they have in place and planning the testing that will be carried out on the audit. A lot of my time is spent out on site at a clients office (probably 70-80% of the year I am out of the office). Having worked at BDO for a number of years, I am now responsible for overseeing more junior members of staff and assisting them with their work.

I have completed my two year apprenticeship and I am now working towards completing the ACA qualification which will enable me to be a fully qualified chartered accountant. There are internal training courses on offer at BDO which are geared towards your job role as an auditor but also excel and presentation courses which can help further develop your skillset. I have worked with various clients over the years which has helped me to adapt my skillset.

The work I do varies significantly from client to client - overall I would say the main challenge is being able to learn how to audit different clients information in the most efficient way. The work itself can be quite straightforward at times, with the main challenge being the workload and ensuring that deadlines are met. The best part of my job is the people I work with. BDO has a very sociable culture and I have met so many great people from working here. The job can be quite stressful at times and long hours/commutes are often required.

I believe that you get out what you put in and the harder you work the more valued as a member of staff you will be (to a certain extent). Given the size of the company it can be quite easy to get lost in the crowd and overlooked.

The overall structure of the school leaver programme that I started on was for a period of 5 years. This was split into a two year apprenticeship and a 3 year ACA training contract. The format has since been refined since I started and I believe a number of improvements have been made. BPP are our training providers and you are allocated a tutor throughout the apprenticeship stage where support is given. We then go to college for the ACA exams and are given time off work for this to study and learn the content.

BPP keep in contact frequently to provide help/support and throughout the apprenticeship your allocated tutor is there to guide you and assess your coursework. I had a good experience with my tutor who always tried to make herself available but I know of other trainees who found theirs difficult to get a hold of.

Everyone is allocated a counselling manager who is your go-to person for any help/guidance. Your counselling manager is involved in your annual appraisal process. Support given depends on your counselling manager and a lot of the time the onus is put on the trainee to seek help and feedback.

A lot of school leavers on the apprenticeship scheme are from London and live at home with family whilst doing this scheme and therefore the salary is adequate enough to meet their costs - however for those privately renting, the starting salary was quite difficult to live off. Once the two year trainee scheme had finished the salary increase was significant and meant that living costs were more manageable. BDO have an overtime/TOIL policy in place which means employees are rewarded for extra time worked which is not the case in many firms.

There are a lot of social events organised by the company and the chance to meet colleagues from other departments. Each department has a quarterly social. There are lots of opportunities for secondments around the firm, to different departments or to different countries.

Yes

If they were sure that this is the field they wanted to go into, then BDO is a good company to work for in comparison to a lot of other accountancy firms out there.

Be yourself and be honest. Don't be afraid to speak up at assessment centres or ask questions.