- Associate in London LA Review

As an external auditor I work with clients to ensure their financial statements are a true and fair representation of their financial position according to the relevant laws, rules and regulations. This gives users of the financial statement ,such as investors, comfort over these figures and can also help their public/ media image. On a day to day basis, I test assigned FSLIs by collecting relevant evidence from the client, raising queries and reporting material misstatements so that we can give a final audit opinion when the testing is complete.

I developed many skills including my technical skills, Relationship and communication skills, global and business acumen. In comparison to when I started in September, I can see my knowledge has improved vastly. One of my first tasks was to do a file review. This was particularly challenging as hadn’t performed any testing for his entity, but mostly because I struggled to navigate through the aura file to find the EGA’s and files in question. After this experience I put procedures in place to ensure this did not happen again such as reviewing aura file before rolling on to the job, familiarising myself with the ‘Planning’ EGA’s to ensure I had a full understanding of the entity and taking time to understand the other tools in Aura to help me become a more efficient and productive member of the team. I am n0w able to understand the structure of an entity easily just from understanding how the aura file is structured. This has allowed me to have a deeper understanding of the importance of my testing and has allowed to further my leaning. Since, I have learnt that some Aura files have the TB’s saved on file. I’m am now able to view this and pull it into EGAs which has improved my efficiency, making my work flow better. On one engagement I was in charge of sending AR confirmations. My team trusted me to be solely responsible of to send these using the PwC confirms system that no one in the team was familiar with yet. I took on this responsibility and this new opportunity to learn a new technical skill. I grasped the use of it well and observed how this tool can be very useful for documentation and make sure that my work was to a high standard.

I enjoyed working at PwC. I felt supported even though working from home because my team was always available ands willing to help. I personally enjoyed working from home as I could ask questions via a chat meaning I could send a couple at once, and people could reply when they were free. I did however miss the social side of placement but there were other fun ways to meet up with people such as 'coffee with a stranger' where I got to meet a senior associate, a manager, a senior manager and a partner who I'm still in contact with which is a great example of how pwc is trying to bridge the gap in this digital era.

I think the organisation was great. I enjoyed each job I worked on and received regular feedback which was supportive, complementary and informative at the same time. Most of my coaches supported my personal development by giving me tips and advice. Any issues with resourcing I came across were easy to resolve with just a phone call. I always had work to do and my team would organise work if i had too much or to little very swiftly.

I received good support from PwC. for example i had a coach to go to for all my testing issues, a manager to raise further issues to. My incharge helped me with my testing and some resourcing issues I had and supported me when My work got closer to the deadline. I had the Flying Start team to help me when Covid-19 got bad in my area and i worried if this would impact my work, therefore I felt no matter what i needed to ask, or what i was worried about I always had someone to turn to for support.

With everything being online this year we missed out on having face to face lectures. All resources were uploaded to our student forum which is therefore very accessible and easy to use and I do believe the best was done to ensure we had all the materials to learn and pass our exam. There is generally a good attitude towards helping us students and I believe its been made as enjoyable as it can be.

What I learn through my accredited examinations helps me on a day-to-day basis in my role as it directly uses this material (for example learning abou thpw to treat FSLI's in accordance to the relevant regulations, the testing that must be performed and the risks we must look out for) meaning I put the theory that I learn into practice. not only does this made me a better Auditor, it ensures i fully understand the material im learning which i believe helps me perform better in my examinations. I feel this has helped me to develop a strong understanding of my job role and industry much earlier if I had done a standard degree.

There were Company events such as our vertuat christmas party which was a fun way to bring people together and still do something fun with the audit unit. there were social events you could sign up to such as 'coffee with a stranger' whic brought people from different job levels together for an hour to have a chat and socialise with people we normally wouldn't have which for an associate was very beneficial to my social life at PwC.

Yes

I believe that we are very reworded for the hard work we put in. When the job gets tough you're still supported and looked after, the coaching skill are great and the feedback system works in your favour to help you improve and become better at your jobe. I feel there's always great opportunities to advance and widen your skill set and i've personally felt that everyone i've come into contact with has been friendly and supportive.

Be straightforward and honest, with yourself and others. this means communicating clearly as this is key to helping any team run smoothly. be honest with yourself and your coach when you don't understand things, this is ok, asking questions will only help your personal development and help you learn new skills. Ive also learnt to not allow myself to get stressed. the work can get tough sometimes but you only need to ask for support or help and you get it which is great to feel like your never alone no matter what the problem.