Assurance Associate Review

As an associate at EY, my day-to-day tasks vary enormously. I can either be based in the Edinburgh office or can be sent to other locations for client based work. I often interact with senior members of the teams I work on, with very constructive feedback. I also have face to face meetings with clients to ensure I have all the support I need for my work

I have become far more proficient in excel, as well as internal EY tools. I am also studying for my Chartered Accountants qualification at the same time, through ICAS, taking exams approximately every 3-6 months. This is all supported by EY. Since day 1 I have been involved in meeting with clients, as well as engaging with other members of teams I work on.

My expectations were obviously quite high given EY's incredible reputation as a member of the Big 4 firms, but they have been exceeded in every way. Not only are there close bonds inside year groups, with many of the year meeting up socially after work, client teams are mixed ensuring contacts are made between different levels of seniority.

EY seems to be very committed to my progression, supporting my CA exams and offering study leave, as well as paying expenses incurred in carrying out client work. I have been immensely involved in projects, and don't seem to be seen as an inconvenience, which was my worry. There are also tutor meetings in which feedback is given on work, and senior members can share (mostly positive) thoughts on you.

Very well structures. I am aware of which exams I will be sitting, and when these will be, as well as any days for self studying or study leave. My work is also well organised, there is a programme which details the projects I will be working on for approximately the next 12 months which is highly useful for planning purposes. In addition to this, I know when promotions will happen as well as how these are linked to salary increases.

A reasonable amount. I haven't spend exactly much time at ICAS, however whenever I have the tutors have been extremely helpful and seem approachable if you have nay questions or queries. For example, leaving email addresses for if we wish to contact them out of class. They also have an online platform for learning, with discussion boards that are manned by employees on hand to answer questions we have.

I feel like I receive a great deal of support from EY. This is in the form of trust to use self study days to our advantage, as well as flexibility to swap these around in order to ensure we have the right amount of time working on client work as well as balancing this with studying for exams. We can also easily book holidays and arrange time off, and if we have any problems we have an assigned counsellor that we can ask questions.

Living in the centre of Edinburgh, costs are obviously going to be quite high, but I Feel EY does its bit to meet these. This is through both salaries and expenses incurred through any work based trips. This is in the form of bus passes to get to college for icas training, and also for client based work. It offers a competitive mileage rate for driving to client sites which more than covers fuel costs.

There are definitely lots of opportunities, for example we have Christmas parties for the whole office as well as a meal for our service line, which involves taking a day off work. We also have social lives as well, meeting up most weekends with friends and going out to explore all Edinburgh has to offer. There is also a strong CSR emphasis , with each employee being able to take 2 days off in order to engage in CSR initiatives. There isn't much time to do planned activities, but there is a dynamic working initiative which allows you to have a non negotiable event you wish to attend which allows you to leave work in order to attend that.

Yes

EY is a very supportive employer for any school leaver who is committed to getting a headstart on achieving their CA qualification, which can help you progress your career enormously. Not only is this the case, but the people are incredibly pleasant to work with and very friendly

Make sure you have some background knowledge of the big 4 firms and which clients they have as this will greatly make you stand out from other applicants. Also try and attend any networking events that EY will be at as this is a great time to see whether the accountant life is really for you. There are lots of experiences available for EY employees