KPMG360 Apprentice Review

My current role deals with VAT returns, management accounts and financial statements. I work in a team that provides these services to clients of all sizes. A normal day will include preparing a VAT return - checking invoices are correct and match, and drafting financial statements using specialist software. This includes amending the financial statements on a regular basis based on client feedback and new information.

Because my role involves a great deal of checking and reviewing, I have developed far greater attention to detail during my time here. I often find myself uncovering small discrepancies in invoices that I would never have noticed in the past, without expending any extra effort. Similarly, I've found that I'm prone to making fewer errors now that I review work on a regular basis.

The rotational aspect of KPMG360 was main reason I chose to apply to the programme. I was undecided about which area I wanted to work in, and being able to try multiple departments was very attractive to me. However, due to certain circumstances I have not had the chance to rotate through as many teams as I would like. Though in my time I have found that enjoyment greatly depends on what how suitable you find a team/department. I found the audit rotation to be largely unstructured and unsupported, and did not enjoy it at all. Whereas my time in tax has been working with a small team which I find far better.

Across the three years I have been an apprentice, I have found that the quality of apprentice management has declined as more apprentices come into the firm. The core team of management staff have not been able to keep up the same quality with the increase in volume. New staff that have been recruited to into the management team as old hands have been promoted or left the firm simply do not have the experience and connections of the colleagues they are replacing, and as a result apprentices have found the quality of rotations and support has fallen.

The support from KPMG has been top-notch. My health issues were taken very seriously and the firm provided incredible support and flexibility in giving me time off to recover. I was checked up on often and KPMG assigned me a HR contact who I a still have regular wellbeing catchups with. I am in no doubt that KPMG takes care of their own, and that I can rely on an excellent support that they provide during times of hardship.

Our main interactions with the training provider come during our college sessions where they teach us directly, their online VLE and a quarterly call with a representative assigned to each of us. All of the above are of good quality, and there is further support available in the form of an email contact if we have specific queries relating to topics or specific questions in their learning material.

The topics that we cover in the AAT Level 3 and 4 qualifications often have direct practical use in our day to day work. Often apprentices have found that their role deals directly with a certain topic and they are able to gain further understanding of their job through the learning they undertake in the qualification. Several times I have found myself recalling material from previous exam topics when dealing with a problem at work.

There are multiple social clubs for people to join at KPMG. Some of these are sport related (triathalon, sailing, football etc) and some are faith/cultural groups. KPMG's LGBT society BREATHE is recognised as among one of the best nationally. All are welcome in each group / society regardless of faith or gender. Personally I would like to see more sports clubs, the interest is there though people are often too busy with work to be able to set up and run one themselves.

Yes

KPMG offers unique support for their employees. Having experienced this first hand, I am amazed by the lengths the firm goes to in order to look after its own. While there are concerns with management and rotations, the overall quality of the apprenticeship scheme remains high. It provides an opportunity to gain experience at a globally recognised firm, working with some of the best and brightest colleagues I have ever had.

Work on your communication skills. The assessment centre had two main components. The first was an organisational task where we had to plan an event of our choosing. The second was a face to face interview with a KPMG employee (usually assistant manager level or above). Research the history of the firm and brush up on current financial news/trends.