Auditor - Senior Review

Auditing of financial statements for various company. Due to being near the end of my programme, this more involves preparation of complex forms and reviewing any complex risk areas. Coaching is specifically important due to the fact that if it is not done properly, I would have to pick up the work.

As stated before, my coaching skills have increased and client relationship skills are exceptionally important considering I am the lead senior on the job. Considering I am at the client site all of them time, you also have to have problem solving skills considering the manager isn't always there.

Enjoyment of the programme completely depends on who you work with. Luckily I have had a relatively good team. However, I know there are others on my intake who really do not like the programme. I especially would back this up due to the fact you can tell you are underpaid in comparison to the graduates - especially in the third and fourth year which dampens the experience. Raising this to leadership fell on deaf ears for multiple years.

The programme is relatively well structured. As a school leaver, we take 2 exams in a row instead of three. However, it is spread over such a period of time that it is hard to get motivated. Along with this, some college for exams are put before Christmas with exams afterwards (only in the first 6 exams). I would say this was a cost saving scheme by the company and they rely on the fact you use your own holiday to revise, ruining the holiday slightly.

Each employee has a counsellor or family who they can speak to. However, some counsellors are better than others and is pot luck who you can get. HR are relatively competent every time I have spoken to them. However, for the large decisions (ie transferring or leaving), I felt a distinct lack of support throughout the process.

Kaplan were one of the best training providers, however like the above it was completely dependent on the teacher. All the teachers were brilliant except one I had for tax. I revised at home during the latter stages due to the fact I found it easier to learn than sitting in a class. However, overall Kaplan were great - especially for the case study at the end.

I have put the theory of the exam into practice, however Kaplan are more exam focussed as they should be. They separate work from exams and get you through it. I am not going to mark them down on this considering that is what I would have preferred. You have to remember if you fail the exams you get fired anyway.

Yes there are however, you can tell there has been significant budget cutting on socials lately at EY. We had a mid-busy season social last year (as there are very long hours between January and March). However, this year (even though it was the busiest January to March we've all been in), they cancelled it without really telling anyone why.

No

I would have said yes last year. The do get you qualified and you learn a lot. However, it is only at the end you realise that you are underpaid in comparison to your colleagues. On top of this, if you work hard, EY don't give you too much back.

As stated before, don't expect too much back if you put the effort in. You will learn a lot throughout your time but sometime feel a distinct lack of appreciation at the end of the process. This is why a lot of my year leaves and it would be so easy to change that for the firm, however it doesn't seem like they are people focussed at the moment (even though that is what they are known for - note they were great with people in past years and so many improve for next year etc).