Flying Start Degree programme - FS1, Manchester Review

Audit of pensions. I work as a performer on EGAs for many clients. This varies day to day but is mainly around checking the contributions, benefits and investments held in pension schemes. A lot of work I have done has been around the investments held in investment managers in schemes, such as confirming securities.

Since this has been my first placement, my knowledge was lacking before I started. Therefore I have developed many skills, such as general knowledge around pensions as well as how to navigate PwC's sites. I now have a deeper understanding of how pensions are audited as opposed to areas of audit I have learnt about at uni such as the sales/ purchases cycle.

I've really enjoyed meeting new people and gaining a greater depth of knowledge. Sometimes it's frustrating when there are new areas that I don't understand yet and so have to ask a lot of questions. I know that with more experience this will reduce as my understanding improves.

The degree programme is extremely well organised, particularly in terms of how many people there are to talk to if there are any issues. The office I think could be improved in terms of resourcing as senior managers and above seem to be working extreme hours, whereas associates have much less to do. Therefore, the work could be distributed more evenly.

The people I have worked with have been extremely supportive, particularly my manager on the jobs. She is always happy to answer questions and willing to help. Emotionally I also received support when my grandad passed so I have been lucky with how my team have been.

There are many 'e learns' to do during training and these are good in summarising the work which we do over placement. I particularly like the tests at the end of the training as these show which areas of knowledge you are lacking. Since most of my work is around pensions, perhaps more focus could have been put on this as the ones around receivables, PPE and payables hasn't been too significant during my placement.

The assertions of audit such as completeness, existence, cut off etc have been prominent in my placement so learning about this during training has been really helpful. All though I haven't been involved in the planning stages, I have a greater understanding of why I am doing what I'm doing and what my teammates are referring to during calls.

Since this placement is online this has been really tricky as I haven't actually met anyone from the office in person.I get on really well with my team and using Google meets has worked well. However, most of the time the only thing that is discussed is work so I don't know my team too personally. There have been socials and game nights which have been good, but it's difficult to make friends over a call when there are so many people.

Yes

Everything is really well organised and they care about your understanding and development as well as just getting the work done. It is a great opportunity to build knowledge about accountancy since everyone is so willing to answer questions. Despite being a low status, I have got to work with many interesting clients, which is an experience hard to come by.

Don't be worried about asking questions as this is better than not asking and making a mistake. Always go to the socials, even if they're virtual. If not, there seems to only be work and talk about work. When friendships become a part of you work it instantly becomes more enjoyable.