Consultant Review

I'm a Consultant in ITRA, Advisory for EY. My job involves assessing the IT systems and applications of our audit clients, to ensure that the financial information held on those systems is not put at risk by faults within a company's IT infrastructure. The role is approximately 50/50 split between working from the office and travelling to client sites, usually in weekly blocks (i.e 1 week in the office followed by the next away on site). As a Consultant I report up to my Senior Consultants and Manager. My responsibilities include documenting workpapers and communicating with clients on a daily basis. The job can be repetitive, with the similar work needing to be carried out for different clients, so you find yourself doing similar things every few weeks, however the variations of client can be interesting. There are also opportunities to experience different projects, although these are usually given to Consultants with a few years experience.

During the first year of my apprenticeship I've started studying for the CFAB, which will eventually lead to me studying for the ACA. This has helped increase my knowledge in accountancy, as in ITRA we do not come across accounting very often. There are lots of mandatory training course held during the year, with some optional ones as well. My skills in communicating with clients have increased exponentially, as we encounter this on a daily basis, whilst my skills within ITRA have also grown. My competency on Excel has grown throughout the role, but this is mostly through self learning rather than being taught. Overall, EY hold a lot of training courses but it is a very learn-on-the-job environment, with scope for mistakes.

I enjoy the team I work with, as almost everyone is friendly and open to questions. The work however is monotonous and rarely excites, with work life offering a sharp contrast to the easy life you have in College. Balancing work and study is a struggle, but can be done. As a 20 year old I have to remind myself though of my long term career goals when I find myself working till 10.30pm at night to finish a project on time. Do I enjoy it? Not really, and ITRA is nothing like I expected it to be. But it will be worth it, probably...

For the first six months of the apprenticeship I felt incredibly valued, and felt like everyone was looking out for me and making sure I was nurtured into becoming a good employee. However, since I've become a part of the furniture so to speak, I've started to feel less appreciated, although regular chats with a designated 'Counsellor' help. Regular feedback from fellow team members help showcase progress, and "Impact" awards are given to employees who perform well, however these seem to be handed out on an inconsistent basis.

In my opinion, the programme has been well structured in most facets. The course started with a week long induction, which allows you to meet fellow new joiners in your team, and provided an early insight into what we'd be doing, even if it was hard to understand at points. The support throughout the programme has been good, with a 'Buddy' and a 'Counsellor' assigned to each new starter. Your buddy helps you get set up and guides you through the first few months of the role, and mine was really helpful, whilst your counsellor is with you your whole time at EY, and you have regular catch ups to discuss your career and anything else you'd like to raise. A lot of training takes place also, however in some areas you are thrown into the deep end, such as client communication. There is no training for leading client meetings which can make it quite a daunting experience when as a school leaver you are tasked with questioning an experienced Technology Director about their IT systems.

We sit all of our exams with ICAEW, and go to college at Kaplan. Kaplan are very good at providing lots of study materials to help pass exams and their tutors are very open and answer all queries. ICAEW have a helpline that can be rung if needed, but the I've never used this, as if I have any problems I will talk through these with my team.

EY itself provides lots of training days for different topics, including a few residentials, and the support is generally good. All course leaders are open and contactable which makes it easy to have questions answered. As I've mentioned before though, there is a lot of on-the-job training which means simple mistakes are regularly made in the first few months, but this is expected by the team.

The salary is ok for a school leaver, but is no better than what I've seen and heard offered for other programmes. As I do not have to pay living costs, I get along quite well with my only expense being travel. I've been able to save well since joining, and I'm able to not worry about money when my friends and I go out, however I would find that substantially more difficult if I was living in Birmingham.

The company puts on events every now and again but if you want to have a social life within EY outside of work then all the input needs to be from yourself. I live approximately 60 miles from Birmingham therefore it is hard for me to take part in team social events, but I have managed to play for the office football team on several occasions. Outside of work I rarely speak to anyone from EY, however I know there are some people in my team that have made great friends within the company and see others all the time. But, if you live further away it is hard. EY also offers two Charity days a year, which allow you to take part in a Charity event through the year. The other wee I took part in the 7k EY Mud Run, which was a really great opportunity and good fun.

Yes

I would recommend EY but only if accountancy is what you are certain you want to do as a career. From what I've seen/heard, EY is the best out of the Big 4 for work/life balance, although work still definitely takes priority. To work for EY, you need to have a good work ethic and being interested in Accountancy would be a great help to this. A lot of fellow Apprentices feel the same way, with many trying to get through the monotony of the first few years so they can rake in the cash when they become Manager and higher.

Firstly, make sure this is what you want to do. EY is a good company to work for but if you don't enjoy the work, it can be very hard to enjoy your life. For the application process, just be yourself. EY looks for individuals during the process, and if you progress to the Partner interview this is basically just an informal chat to make sure you're right for EY. For the assessment days, if you show enthusiasm and professionalism you're onto a winner.