Flying Start Degree Programme - Associate at PwC Cambridge Review

I work within the Audit sector in the PwC Cambridge office. This involves regular contact with audit clients to examine their financial information and perform testing over areas of the financial statements to ensure that the data provided is true and accurate. I work within several different teams and rotate to work on different audit clients frequently, often travelling to various towns and cities to visit the client.

As the role is largely based on working in teams, I have certainly developed my team working skills and ability to communicate clearly with others to keep them regularly updated on my progress. I am also required to use a range of IT equipment both internally as well as using client databases, enabling me to improve my IT capabilities and ability to interpret a wide range of information.

I believe this programme enables one to develop a variety of skills which are essential to the working environment. I would recommend this programme to anybody who wants to attend university but also wishes to gain first hand experience working within the accounting sector as this really helped me gain a true opinion on what the job entails. However, this programme requires a lot of hard work and audit hours are often long. I find the job can also be very repetitive and sometimes stressful so I would thoroughly encourage students to research the role extensively before joining the programme.

The programme is well organised with a strong support team keeping me frequently updated with future tasks. I was made well aware before I started the programme what was expected of me and the structure of the university programme alongside the periods where I would be attending work experience at PwC.

There is a strong support network at PwC. Upon joining the firm, I was assigned a career coach who I am encouraged to have regular meetings with to discuss any queries as well as my progression throughout my placement. I was also assigned a buddy which I found really helpful, particularly during my first placement where everything was new to me.

I receive plenty of support from my university during the training programme - I was assigned a personal tutor upon joining the university who I can discuss any issues with and arrange termly meetings with to discuss my progression throughout the programme. I also receive consistent emails from the ICAEW providing plenty of studying tips and regular updates on the accounting role.

My programme has given me a true experience of what is required of me as an auditor in the modern profession. However, as I work within a sector which is constantly changing, it is worth mentioning that I often felt the arrangement of placements (eg. working 3 months once a year then returning a year later) meant that I had forgotten some elements of the role after being away from the firm for a while. I think it would be more beneficial to complete the placement in one year long duration as I feel I would learn more from this and recall the key things which I had forgotten.

PwC is a very social environment, there is a social committee who arrange a variety of office wide socials which are different in nature to suit everybody. They offer plenty of opportunities to interact with other team members and get to know people on a more personal basis, both inside and outside of the office.

Yes

As mentioned previously, this is a very social environment and there is a lot of flexibility, allowing you the opportunity to work with several different people and travel to various locations around the country. However, I would ensure that students thoroughly research what the audit role entails before joining the programme as it is often repetitive and requires a lot of hard work.

Ensure that you really look into the role before joining the firm and research thoroughly what it is you want to do. This role can be very demanding so I would ensure that this is really what you want to do before joining the firm. However, it is a great experience and will help you to develop valuable skills.