Associate Review

Working in the assurance department, my main role is to assist on year end audits for clients, making up part of the engagement team. I have also supervised year end stock counts as part of my role. Therefore, most of my work is client facing but some work is office based.

During placement, I have mainly developed my levels of communication and technical capabilities. My communication has improved through working in teams as part of jobs and having to interact with clients in order to get the job done, whilst using client accounting software such as SAP and our accounting software Aura my technical capabilities have improved.

One main enjoyment that I get from my programme is that every day is different; I am constantly given a variety of tasks and have worked in a number of different teams, in a variety of locations, so I have had the chance to meet a lot of new people.

My programme is well structured as it balances University life with work life as placement is split across 3 years rather than just a year in industry that is normal with most courses of this type. We also get similar holidays to at university, not having to work through Summer.

All the support you need. Whilst my employer is keen to encourage you to get on with tasks individually and try to learn from practical experience, support is always on hand whether thats in person or online through hangouts or email. Overall everyone is always happy to help at the firm

You receive a lot of support. You are provided with revision material including powerpoint slides and study manuals, as well as a question bank to practise past paper questions. The practical experience on placement can also help with certain exams. Help is always on hand as well if youre struggling with a particular topic.

My qualification will help me perform better in my role as it will provide the relevant theory and practical experience to do well in it. By doing exams at university you get exemptions from qualification exams whilst the practical work experience helps you to become time qualified, helping you to become a chartered accountant quicker.

Yes, all three are available to get involved in at my work. The audit team is divided into three social groups and much of these social events occur is social groups. For example, there are group quizzes, baking competitions, away days, meals and trips out and sports such as 5 a side football.

Yes

I would advise a friend to join PwC to work, as the work is different every day, working with a variety of different people in different places. You will also learn a lot of useful skills on the job which will be transferable into anything that you want to do in life.

I would say that during the application process, to focus on soft skills as much, maybe even more than academic skills, as I felt that my assessment day focused more more on this. For example, my assessment day included a group exercise which tested teamwork and a competency based interview so it is important to prepare for these