KPMG360 apprentice Review

I work in corporate tax as an apprentice. My daily tasks involve helping out with different clients and jobs that the team needs help on. I am utilised by nearly everyone in my team for work and so I experience a wide range of different work. My daily interactions internally usually are the same and don't vary much as the team isn't too large, however I email all sorts of people in the company (e.g. setting up an account with KPMG Germany). My daily interactions externally are unfortunately almost non-existent. I have yet to interact with a client directly however I have made a few phone calls to HMRC - some may view this as either good or bad depending on whether you want to communicate with clients. This is understandable though as I would expect most of the work I do to be reviewed as I'm relatively new to the firm. I don't have many responsibilities apart from making sure that the work I do is of good quality, ensuring my work efficiency and that deadlines are met. I haven't worked on too many projects yet, although this years apprentices have all been set a project to create a trade stand for a specific sector, which we will then need to display to a group of stakeholders which should be fun. Every day work varies however I find myself working on computations, accounts and drafting emails to clients for other members of the team for the majority of my time.

Yes! KPMG is great for this. I am studying towards my accounting qualification which will end in a few years with the option to continue and become chartered (all paid for by the firm). Even in my limited time doing this course, I have learned a great deal about accounting. Internal training courses are great. KPMG have a whole learning portal whereby you can assign yourself skill building and education sessions which are either run by someone else in the firm online, take place at a training centre or they come in a premade form. These sessions are a great way to make sure that you understand the technicalities of working in such a big firm. So far I have learnt a lot about KPMG processes, applications such as Excel and PowerPoint as well as the basics of accounting.

The work in tax hasn't exactly been thrilling in my time here, but it definitely hasn't been bad or unbearable. I believe it is a personal preference: If you like sitting at your desk all day just methodically getting through tasks in a very relaxed atmosphere then you'd love it! However if you like being out and about and on your feet then perhaps you would prefer audit. My team is great. They've taken me in and treated me equally to a graduate (which I was scared wasn't going to be the case), they're understanding and great teachers so I've been able to settle in well. The company culture is great as KPMG is all about diversity and inclusion. They're current and modern; definitely not old fashioned which suits what I want in an employer perfectly. Personally, KPMG360 has exceeded my expectations. It's a great firm to work for that takes in all sorts of people!

I feel valued! My work is appreciated by my manager and from other people that I do work for. People recognise me for things that I have done in the past so that they know to ask me to do something similar in the future.

Organisation is a tad poor I would say. examples in the past have included: being told my exam is in the morning but is actually in the afternoon, my team not really knowing much about the programme, the project mentioned earlier about the trade stand was explained very confusingly, who to go to talk about certain things can seem confusing, in the first week of induction you are literally bombarded with so much information it's really hard to take it in especially if you will need to dig it up in a few weeks.

Considering most of the teaching is done online, support accessibility with my tutor about problems is great. I can email them and typically receive a response within 24hrs about my query. The attitude towards supporting me is generally positive and makes me feel like I can ask for it whenever.

KPMG provide a load of support if you have any problems. I haven't had much need of it yet but they're very open about wanting to support their employees and there are a bunch of people such as your performance manager who you can go to if you have any problems.

It's fine for me as I live at home however, due to the location I am in, I couldn't live in the city with my salary realistically. Hopefully this will change in the coming years following wage increases etc.

Yes there are a lot! KPMG put on a lot of events that you can attend and other people host events and invite people from KPMG to these events. You also get 6 full days a year that are reserved for volunteering. This can be anything from pro bono work to helping the elderly. I think it's great they have this time for volunteering as it allows me to have different experiences without sacrificing my personal time(which I have very little of!) There are a lot of societies within KPMG that you can join which host social events too.

Yes

It's a great firm, great benefits and so many roles that it could cater for anyone's needs!

The application process is pretty tough so come prepared. Make sure you do loads of research into KPMG so you know your stuff when you come in for an assessment day. Interviews are typical(google info). The on boarding process is very stressful and there's a lot to take in but try to have fun! You're meeting your future colleagues and people that you will want to have networks with in your future career!