Associate Review

I work in Financial Services audit in the Bristol office. I complete a variety of tasks day to day in order to contribute to the team and the audit I am working on. I am responsible for different areas of the audit depending on the size of the assignment other team member etc. Daily I interact with my team and usually the client we are auditing.

I am studying for an ACA which is the qualification I gain from this apprenticeship however I have developed other skills too. I develop my technical knowledge in areas relevant to my work by attending various Internal Training Courses with others in my year group in London. These courses are good as they develop the skills you need for the job rather than just knowledge for the exam. During the course of work you also develop skills naturally for exam interpersonal and excel skills will improve everyday.

The programme is quite good in most areas for example the teams are often good and you do get an oppertunity to work with a wide varity of people which is beneficial as you can learn different things from everyone. The course is different to my expectations as I had no idea expectated working hours. They are far in excess of what I ever assumed could be considered reasonable and it is the company culture that this is expected.

I think the appreciation from managers is usually reasonable obviously depending on which manager you are working with. There is little in terms of internal recognition or external recognition, this may be due to the fact I am not in the London office but recognition is difficult to benchmark as people move from team to team dependant on engagements and may not be on one engagement long enough to make a noticeable impact.

The progamme I am on is reasonably well structed as there are quite a lot of people in my year and previous year groups have also followed the same programme. There are occasionally times when exam training could be slightly better organised or communicated clearer but overall it is good. There is also a system of counsellors for all employees however this is not specific to the appreniceship and everyone at EY has a counsellor. Counsellors are someone who is a rank above you that assists you if you have any issues and helps with your development discussing oppertunities etc with you.

For external exams I have a reasonable amount of support from Kaplan tutors as they are employed for the purpose of exam training. With internal training once face to face the faciliators are very helpful however sometimes the orgnaisation of internal training can be uncessarily convenluted due to the size of the company and sorting travel and obtaining approval for these expenses can waste time.

For external exams I have a reasonable amount of support from Kaplan tutors as they are employed for the purpose of exam training. With internal training once face to face the faciliators are very helpful however sometimes the orgnaisation of internal training can be uncessarily convenluted due to the size of the company and sorting travel and obtaining approval for these expenses can waste time. There is also a system of counsellors for all employees however this is not specific to the appreniceship and everyone at EY has a counsellor. Counsellors are someone who is a rank above you that assists you if you have any issues and helps with your development discussing oppertunities etc with you. This answer is similar to the organisation of my programe and my training provider because it is my employer that organises and structures the training.

I do not feel the salary is entirely fair as Bristol has become a much more expensive area than the salary reviews reflect. Therefore the percentage of the London salary we recieve is lower than is particurly fair. Salary rises throughout the apprenticeship and while by the end living, travel daily and social costs will be met comfortably the first year salary is particuarly low making it very difficult to live by yourself. The salary is never as much as you would expect for the amounnt of work but while it is bad in the first year, not quite okay in the second and third years it should be koay by fourth and fifth years.

There are a few oppertunities outside of work. There are a few networks at EY which you can get involved with. These are wide ranging and do include the typical sports networks. There are also a few work socials throughout there year the main socials being the Christmas party and the summer party however there are a few other events which are funded for examples a social to welcome the new joiners. There are also 2 dys a year which can be used for voluntary acitivities.

Yes

Overall you will have good career prospects upon leaving EY and therefore should be very employable as you will have ACA and good experience.

I would have liked to have been told about the excessive hours I would be excepted to work. The application process itself is long but it is an okay process as long as you remain patient and don't rush any of the tests. The assessment day was interesting as there were oppertunities to talk with people currently working at EY. The onboarding process was okay was you attend a two day event in London on your first two days ith everyone else in your year. There is then also an induction in your local office.