Associate Review

Daily work involves performing Audits of companies' financial statements. It Involves working in engagement teams of between 2-15 people to split the audit up and assign each team member specific FSLIs to audit. Alongside performing audits, you also undertake training for ICAEW ACA exams. These consist of 15 exams. You sit the first 6 certificate level exams and 2 professional level exams in your first year of the degree programme and then the other 4 professional level exams and the 3 advanced level exams in the following 1.5 years.

- Time management: By having to study for and sit your ICAEW ACA exams alongside working full time you develop immense time management skills which improves your overall employability and also character building. - Teamwork: by constantly working in audit engagement teams you learn to rely on your team members and build trust and relationships with other. A true team spirit is created in every audit. - Core accounting principles: as you study for your ACA exams you learn technical knowledge of accounting and the core accounting principles which build the foundations to your career

The programme is definitely challenging and it is not for the faint hearted. however, you get out of it what you put in. If you study for all of your exams and really love the audit work you do, then this programme can take you very far. It can open so many career doors for you and significantly improve your overall employability. The programme is also very rewarding and helps you to build and grow as a person.

The programme is extremely well organised. All of your college time and examinations are all booked in prior to you even joining the firm. After you pass your certificate level exams which happens relatively quickly, you tend to spend 3 months revising and studying for exams and then sit the exam, followed by 3 months of purely client work etc. The system PwC use use internally to assign you work is also very effective and well structured so you know exactly what you are working on and when.

The internal support network is amazing at PwC. Upon joining the firm you are assigned a Buddy who can answer any informal questions and queries you may have, and they continue to be a friendly touch point throughout the programme. You are also assigned a career coach for more formal matters and concerns and they support you throughout your time at the firm. You also are enrolled into a 'team' which will meet weekly to discuss any issues or contributions you may have.

The training provider used is Kaplan. They are very professional and provide all of the help and support you need to enable you to excel in your qualifications. They not only provide classroom based learning, but also provide remote learning as well as an online active chat service and call back service to answer any personal queries you may have about your studies. The support and training from Kaplan was so incredible that it enabled me to actually score full marks on one of my ACA Professional level exams, meaning I was awarded an ICAEW prize on the order of merit. This would never have been possible without Kaplan and PwC's help and support.

The training you receive from Kaplan for the ICAEW exams is imperative for your work in the audit profession. learning the core accounting principles and the technical accounting knowledge is vital in order to excel in auditing. By learning accounting to a high standard not only does this help you understand how accounting in companies works it also enables you to analyse the effectiveness of accounting, which is a key skill for performing an audit.

PwC offer a range of extra curricular activities to get involved in. These range from mentoring opportunities at local universities to students who are wanting to apply to a job in accounting or the Big 4, to more physical activities such as weekly football. There is also events committees to join where you can help in arranging annual events such as balls and christmas parties, and there is also committees you can join such as the social committee which do fun things every month such as Bowling or laser tag.

Yes

PwC has helped me to grow in ways I could never have imagined and helped me to become a well rounded employable person. However, more than anything they have taught me to also be kind, caring and inclusive in everything you do. I have definitely changed as a person whilst working for PwC and their working culture of inclusivity is what has enabled this development. Becoming ACA qualified at one of the leading professional services firms is also an amazing step on the career ladder and opens many career doors for you. Whether you know that audit is exactly what you want to do, or you leave University not having a clue what career you want to do, PwC is a great starting point.

Be yourself in everything that you do. PwC are looking for hard working genuine people who are willing to go above and beyond for yourself, for others and for the firm. Also, be prepared for the large amount of stress and pressure of taking the ACA exams whilst working a full time job. It is very strenuous and hard work, but if you have the determination and drive to want to succeed you will do and it is definitely worth it.