Associate Review

My role was to work at an associate grade doing audit of companies. On a day-to-day basis this involved testing the financial accounts of a company. All work is carried out on a work laptop on software specific for the job. I must also carry out admin tasks daily such as filling in a time sheet.

After working on many clients in the manufacturing industry, I moved on to start auditing financial services companies and learned how audit works in this sector. I also developed my skills and knowledge relating to financial accounting when working on manufacturing clients again. I enhanced other skills such as the ability to communicate with and understand clients.

I enjoy learning lots of new knowledge and skills in different sectors of the business such as pension, insurance and manufacturing/retail clients. Learning on the job is the best and most efficient way to understand the bigger picture of what your work actually contributes. However, this job can involve a lot of travelling to client sites and to other PwC offices which can be tiring if accommodation isn't provided!

The programme has a good structure. I do first semester at university, then come to PwC January through to March for placement, and then after Easter I'm back at uni. Although this means there's a lot to fit in when back at uni so it's very rushed!

PwC offer a lot of support. The staff are all so friendly and keen to help! If there are more sensitive matters that you may need help with, you get a people manager who you can contact any time for any reason! They are very helpful and always want to help you sort any problems out!

n/a - the training provider doesn't contact us directly. They set up the support network so that we can get support easily from either PwC or university whilst on placement. So my answer to question 5 is more relevant here than talking about the training provider of the programme.

There are some modules at university that really help towards my role at PwC. These are mainly audit and financial accounting. These two subjects form the base knowledge needed to be an auditor. I can draw from my knowledge of other subjects learned at uni too but not as much as the main two.

PwC have lots of clubs that you can join. These range from sport teams to charity work teams. Also, when an audit has been completed, the team will then usually have a meal/outside of work activities to celebrate the hard work over the course of the job! This helps build staff morale.

Yes

PwC is an employer that maintains a very friendly and supportive working environment. It also offers many opportunities such as going on secondment to PwC offices in other countries! PwC have also adopted a flexible working scheme which means you can wear comfy clothes in the office and only get smart when going to see a client. It also means that you can work from home if you aren't needed specifically to go to the office.

PwC have high standards when it comes to flexibility and maintaining professional behaviour. When applying to PwC you must be prepared to be sent to different offices/client sites which could involve lots of tiring travel. This is all part of being flexible. You must also have a good work ethic and enthusiasm!