Assistant Review

I work in International Tax and have a number of different clients and projects that I am involved with at any one time. Day-to-day work involves working on projects through researching, discussions with overseas teams and finalising step plans. I attend client meetings which is great experience and fast paced. There are always changes to tax law being discussed or implemented, so a lot of time is spent understanding these changes and how they may affect our clients. Time is also spent on administrative tasks such as project managing/coordinating overseas teams and keeping track of budgets.

During my time at EY i learned and developed a variet of skills including the following: Research and application skills Tax technical understanding - this involves understanding the law and how parts impact our clients Presenting skills - I recently presented at a client meeting, also there are many opportunities to present for example at internal training sessions Mentoring others and delegating work Ability to work under time pressure I hope that i can put these skills into good use in the future with either working for EY again or within another/similar company.

There is a constant positive atmosphere at EY; the people are friendly and keen to see your development within the firm by taking time to discuss and explain, as well as giving you responsibility to stretch yourself. You are recognised and rewarded at EY, the hours aren't too crazy (9 - 5:30/6) and the work is interesting and constantly evolving. I think there were parts that could have been improved upon but generally i enjoyed my time there and the work they had to offer.

As mentioned, people are keen to see your development within the firm and i would definitely say i am one of them as well. There are regular team meetings to address any concerns and when you join you are assigned a counselling manager who oversees your development as well as a buddy of a similar grade. There are monetary recognition awards and people provide constructive and positive feedback. I think that the employers are very considerate with all of the employees and try to help them as much as possible.

The programme is structured over 5 years with approximately 15 exams (to gain your ACA qualification, the chartered accountant qualification); there is also the option to gain other qualifications for example CTA, chartered tax advisor. The exams are well spread out and much less pressurised than the graduate scheme where although the scheme is 3 years, they do approximately 14/5 exams over the space of 24-6 months. It can be tricky to plan as we are only given a few months notice of when our next college blocks are.

We train for our professional qualifications with Kaplan; the tutors are generally very good and are always open to questions/happy to discuss any areas of uncertainty. There are great resources online including progress tests and online tutorials for difficult topics. Overall i think the general environment and support levels within EY are pretty good, i was unsure what to expect but i think that the standards have been met here for definite.

Very supportive team, there are regular meetings where you can raise and discuss any areas for improvement. During exams people are considerate, not expecting you to work late and encouraging you to focus on your studying. After passing each of my exams an email recognising these achievements has been circulated around the team. As previously mentioned, the environment here at EY was really nice and the standards for support and help were definitely met in my opinion.

I am living at home with no significant costs or restrictions, so the salary works fine for me. There is a significant difference between the school leaver and graduate salary although we are involved in the same level of work. I would like to work for EY full-time if i am able to work my way up and potentially take on managerial roles in the future etc. which i think they can offer. Of course the training and knowledge will be needed for this.

There are a number of networks that you can get involved in, also the EY Foundation charity holds lots of events and challenges. I found these evening really interested and i would have loved the opportunity to go to more but my personal life and holidays also stopped this. the events i did attend though were really fun and i have heard that more events in the next few years will be open to the employees too including local events and fundraising schemes.

Yes

In addition to the above, it's a great place to start working as it's such a positive and supportive environment. In addition to learning a lot about your service line, it's also a gateway to being introduced to a huge range of businesses, understanding what they do and the challenges they face. I think that personally i would like to see what full-time recruitment jobs they have on offer, or get more experience and decide where might be best for me, but i definitely think a school-leaver programme is just right to get a taster and start getting stuck into the work.

Before applying try practicing a few online tests, e.g. the numerical / verbal tests. For the interview have ready examples of when you have demonstrated soft skills, be enthusiastic, friendly and ask questions. Remember to just ask the questions you want to as well and ask yourself too what you want to get from working at EY or having a placement there and try to get the most out of your experience.