Audit Trainee Review

Audit trainee working in the Professional Services sector. Work on-site at clients mostly auditing their accounts. It is a very steep learning curve for new joiners such as myself so the role involves learning lots of new accounting skills on the job

Yes I have learned a lot of exam based skills in college at the same time as technical skills. These include excellent use of Microsoft Excel and also Auditing a company's cash, fixed assets, trade debtors and creditors and many more elements of financial accounts

It is a lot of hard work as there is a requirement to work hard during busy seasons so this involves long hours but these are paid as overtime which is unique to big accounting firms, unlike the big 4. Also studying on top of work is difficult sometimes!

It is very well organised. There are frequent graduate training sessions which frequently help add to your skill set. Also there are regular performance reviews which help identify strengths and areas for improvement. This structure helps personal development significantly.

We are given a buddy and a counselling manager and a counselling partner so the support network is great and have plenty of people to talk to if you have any queries or need support

A lot from BPP, they offer 24/7 support over email and have interim progress calls where can discuss anything youd like in regards to the qualification!

Yes as a lot of the tutors are former accountants themselves so they help explain how what we are learning can be applied to a practical situation which i think is excellent.

Yes there are networking events once a quarter in the form of drinks, there are plenty of sports teams - I play for BDO Mixed Hockey, and there are frequent team socials in departments

Yes

The culture emphasises personal development and provides a clear pathway for long term success at the company. They also clearly care for their employers with their overtime policy unlike the big 4. They offer very exciting fast growing clients to work on too.

Be yourself. It is clear there is an emphasis on hiring personalities. The assessment day was very good too and feedback through the whole process was good, unlike other firms. The transparency of the application process alone is a reason why you should want to work at BDO.