Staff/Assistant - Audit Review

My job title is 'staff/assistant' and I work in audit. My day to day job varies depending on the day as I work on different clients and often work in different locations for varying amounts of time. The work I do also varies day to day depending on the client but involves auditing financial reports, doing 'tick and ties' and creating workpapers for more simple areas like cash. I work on different teams of different sizes depending on the client with my smallest team being 4 people and the largest 12. I interact with clients as well to gain better understanding of their financial procedures and of their business in general. I have little responsibility on the bigger clients I work on but have more responsibility on smaller clients.

Yes I've learnt lots of skills. I have been to college for a week in September to study for my first (of 15 in total) exam which is Accounting. I had never studied accounting before so this was all new. I also attended a week of training in September for working in the office and what our job would entail. This was helpful although was quite abstract as I'd never been to the office before and didn't really understand everything that was being explained. We also have to complete online courses on a variety of topics (e.g. anti-bribery, security) which have taught me new things. Most of the new skills I have learnt have been on the job including how to interact with others in a professional environment.

I am enjoying work. I do find it quite boring at times and it can be very stressful and long hours (the latest I have worked has been til 10:30pm) however the thing that I enjoy most about work is the people. I like working on different teams and being able to meet lots of new people with a variety of backgrounds and lots of different experiences. I also enjoyed going to college for a week in September before starting in the office as it enabled me to become close friends with other school leavers who I don't get to work with on a day to day basis. I didn't really know what to expect when starting this job but I feel like I am getting to like it more and more as I become more comfortable and confident at work and become better friends with those around me.

EY is a very big firm so before joining, lots of people told me I would just feel like a number but so far I haven't found this to be the case. I have a buddy who is one year above me and a 'counsellor' who is 2 grades above me who I meet with regularly to discuss feedback I have obtained and how I am feeling about work. In the teams I have worked with, everyone has been so helpful and nice to me and mainly really appreciates the work and hours I do which is encouraging and makes me keen to work harder.

The programme is very structured as we have set times for study leave and set times when our exams will be taken. We also have dates when re-sits can be done if we fail any of the exams. We have a system where we can see exactly what clients we are booked to when and when we have study leave for exams. This is helpful as it enables you to plan for months in advance what you will be doing and where you will be working from. However, some people have said that it is possible to shorten the length of the scheme by passing all exams first time however there has been little information (if any) from EY about whether this is actually possible.

My training provider for my 15 accounting exams is Kaplan. We have been to college there for a week in September and received all necessary training materials from them. We will go back there for 2 days in mid May before we sit our first exam at the end of May. We periodically receive emails from the tutor we had there asking how we are getting on with revision which is helpful.

As mentioned above, I have a buddy in the year above me and counsellor who is 2 grades above me. I meet regularly with my counsellor and this provides me with lots of support as I can talk to him about anything to do with work which is really helpful. I also have lots of good friends in my year who provide lots of support as we are all going through the same thing so can talk to each other about our experiences and can relate to everything that we're all going through. In addition to this, on the clients I work on, my team is always really supportive and good at ensuring that I am okay and know what I am doing. There is always someone on the team I feel comfortable going to if I am confused or struggling with something.

We get paid £21,500 a year. I am currently still living at home and commuting to London every day so this salary is sufficient to pay all costs I have. I pay my mum £200 of rent a month and spend a maximum of £360 a month on trains (if I go into London every day). I am also currently able to save money each month which is really important as it means that when I do move out, I will have some money already. I also have been able to afford a trip to Vietnam with friends next week and a trip to Spain in summer with friends so I am happy with the salary I receive.

We have lots of social events with work for each team that we are on. These are good fun and can involve different events such as bowling. For one of my main clients, I have been asked to organise quarterly socials with the second year which is a great opportunity for me to get more involved with the team. In addition to team events, we also organise socials with people in our year. We also have peer group meetings on a quarterly basis where all first and second years can go and talk about thoughts and improvements they may have for work. I have been asked to help run these from September which is a great opportunity and responsibility for me. Outside of work entirely, I enjoy exercising and running and meeting with friends.

Yes

EY is a very good company to work for as it has a prestigious name and is one of the big four accounting firms so I think is a very good start to a career and opens lots of doors in the future. Further to this, I have had good experiences at EY so far and have enjoyed my time here. I think it is a challenging job but most people (including myself) thrive off challenges and the amount you learn in such a short amount of time is insane. I am happy I joined EY as a school leaver as I feel I am really getting ahead of the game as most of my friends have chosen to go to university and won't start a job until 3 years from now when I will be nearly qualified and will have already been working for 3 years.

The application process involves lots of steps but each one is quite straightforward. I had online tests, a telephone interview, an assessment day and a final partner interview. The most important tip is to prepare properly and do research before as this will make you feel less stressed as you know what you are going to say and do.