Summer School Intern Review

I was part of the London Audit Group within BDO, more specifically in the PSTMT sector. Day to day my role can vary a fair amount. I started off just doing general office work, filing and checking documents. For the second week I was assigned to a client. So for the second week I was at the client offices as part of an audit team. This involved obtaining evidence for the audit, so talking to the client and gathering/checking information.

I have developed some communications skills through interacting with the client and other employees within BDO. Also due the large amount of spreadsheets, I have become a lot more competent with the use of Excel.

As an overall scheme I achieved the objectives I set out prior to the placement. I got an insight into the day to day work for an auditor and had the opportunity to talk to a range of people including partners and managers. Also I had the opportunity to go out to a client and learn how auditiing works on-site. Also given responsibilities during the audit really helped me enjoy the experience. However some of the jobs required were fairly monotonous which is something that I expected because as part of the summer school programme the roles you can take on is quite limited.

During my time I had various roles and had the opportunity to talk to various people. Eveyrone I talked to were willing to hep and very friendly as they inderstood what it was like to be into accountancy with no experience or training. Also many of them were willing to explain the reasons and workings behind the work I was doing, and even though it was not needed for me to complete my work, it was definately something i appreciatted as it helped me understand the roles better.

The programme wasn't terribly well structured. Most of the time there wasn't any set in stone work for me. Instead it was more like people trying to find anything for me to do whereever they can. Also even though I didnt experience this myself some others as part of the summer school programme had to actually seek out work for them to do by asking around.

During the second day there is an induction. During which you get a small amount of training on working at the firm, which is a small but useful amount. Other than that the majority of the support comes from other employees who are there and willing to help.

Whilst at the placement you get assigned a manger and buddy during your time there who are both very willing to help you over your two weeks. Unfortunately I never had the opportunity to meet my buddy but my manager was a very friendly and approachable person who was very willing to help. Also other employees you are working with are happy to answer any questions and help in any way they can.

I have agreed to get all my travel expenses reimbursed and being paid a small amount for my two weeks. As travel gets fairly expensive over the two weeks to have it reimbursed was helpful. Alos to get paid on top of that is a great perk as well.

I did not have the opportunity to talk to anyone about the opportunities outside of work. However every month they do have a company drinks event which is a great opportunity to meet other people within the firm

Yes

If you are considering to go into accountancy the summer school programme is a great way to get an insight into what it actually involves and have some first hand experience in the field. Also it is a great way to decide if you want to commit to the school leaver programme and to see whether accountancy or the firm is the right fit for you.

When applying the application process will involve some competancy questions ,verbal test and numerical test. When it comes to interviews te best advice to give is to just relax and be yourself as my interview was formal but not tough. Also t read up about BDO (especially their values) as you will most likely be asked about them.