Assistant Associate Review

My role on a day-to-day basis involves working as part as the audit team to test the financial balances of companies and pension schemes. My job title is an assistant associate and I have worked on multiple pension scheme audits in which I hold a lot of responsibility to complete planning and reporting sections as well as many sections of the testing. I have also worked as part of a team on a number of corporate clients with a large amount of client interaction and independence to complete given tasks and balances.

The majority of the sills that I use in my day-to-day job are new skills that I have learnt throughout my training and from working with my colleagues. These skills include working with EMS and AS2, understanding the testing and learning the appropriate questions to ask the client and obtain the required information. I have also developed skills such as interacting with the client.

I completely enjoy my programme. So far, I have no examples of anything that would make me believe that this isn't an enjoyable programme.

I feel that I am appreciated by the majority of managers within the office. I have always been included in all parts of the project that I wish to be involved in and my opinion is valued. I have received feedback from most of my jobs which details my involvement and recognises my effort. I have also received a limelight and positive feedback from the client.

The programme is extremely well structured and organised. I attend college at quiet times at work so that has been structured successfully so that I am not overloaded with work and revision. I am constantly in regular contact with my appraiser, mentor and buddy who have all bee a great help in adjusting to the work and are more than accepting of any questions or issues. I have attended numerous training courses to consolidate and develop my skills in the work place which have been well organised in advance.

Support from the training provider is excellent. The tutors that I have had so far have all been extremely good at their job and are willing to go that extra mile to support me, even after the course has been completed. I enjoyed college and although the courses are intense, I feel that the tutors are able to easily adapt to the students to ensure we fully understand all of the content and also what is required to pass the exam.

Support from the employer can sometimes be a little hard to obtain. I have had a few queries regarding exam times or course attendance and it takes a few e-mails and phone calls to obtain an answer or any assistance. I think it may benefit by increasing the staff available either at the office, or the head of the programme as there are a lot of students requiring support and limited staff members. When the assistance has been received however, it has always been useful and directly appropriate to the query.

My salary normally is adequate for my daily living costs. There are some months that are difficult with the cost of travel but usually this can be expensed so it tends not to be a huge problem.

There are numerous company events that we have attended during the year, as well as a volunteering day in the local community. There are many individuals that organise sports and leisure activities for the office which are always well accepted.

Yes

There is a strong support network to support us throughout the programme. It is a friendly and positive firm that are open to our views and opinions and value us as training staff. I have worked on jobs, completing testing from the beginning as this is the best way to learn. Deloitte is a prestigious name to lead this training contract, and so far, I have not had any issues with the programme or the company at all.

I recommend that others take time and effort to put as much in to the process as possible. It is an extremely successful programme and is a great start to your career and I would not take any opportunity for granted. However, I would only recommend the programme to students that are mature and hardworking, as the scheme is difficult,can be long hours and a lot of responsibility. All of these are benefits in improving your learning and understanding of the job and the qualification, but they can be difficult if you are not willing to commit to the job.