Audit Trainee Review

I am an audit trainee which involves working with clients, auditing their financial statements. It means travelling to lots of different places, seeing lots of different businesses and working with lots of different people. As I am in my second year I am now partly responsible for managing juniors in the year below and reporting to more senior members of staff. On a standard day I will be out at a client's site discussing with them their business performance and goals and challenging aspects of their financial statements which we have tested.

Coming from a none-accountancy background I have very quickly learned a lot about many aspects of accounting. This has been through working towards my CFAB qualification with external courses and exams, internal training run by BDO and through learning on the job.

One of my favorite aspects of the job is the variety. I work in a wide variety of locations, with different teams and doing different jobs. No two days are the same.

The work is rewarding and the more you put into it the more you get out of it. If you work hard and are willing to take on responsibility the recognition will follow.

BDO provide training courses when you first start and then throughout your training program to guide you through the job side of things. We then have days in college and self study programs to study for exams. Upon starting at BDO you will be assigned a "counselling manager" who will be your first port of call for any issues you may be having. There are regular and structured reviews to ensure everything is going smoothly. Overall the program is well organised but is also adaptable to work for you.

You will have quarterly update calls with the training provider. These are often of limited use and are very scripted but are useful if you have any questions.

A lot of support can be obtained from BDO if necessary. There are regular and insightful reviews which focus on a huge range of aspects of the job including looking at your aspirations for the future. Your counselling manager is always just a phonecall away if there are any issues and I have found them to be very accommodating and willing to provide support.

The salary is average for the job and you will often find yourself doing the job of a much higher role than yourself which is not reflected in pay. Full travel costs are reimbursed and accommodation is provided for jobs which are a long journey away.

There are national BDO social events such as the annual BDO 5-a-side football tournament. There are also more local events such as Christmas parties as well as plenty of nights out and informal activities such as go-karting.

Yes

Overall the experience you get is a good middle ground between that of a smaller accounting firm and that of one of the 'big 4.' Although you don't work on jobs the size of those taken on by the 'big 4' you still get a good mix of small and large jobs including a number of listed clients.

You get out of it what you put in. Be prepared for hard work and show plenty of enthusiasm. You will then get a lot out of it. The application process is easy to follow and showing a good attitude will count for just as much as good grades. As you will be dealing with people a lot you need to be able to demonstrate good people skills.