Assurance Associate Review

My role in assurance in Government Public Sector sees me undertaking testing of client accounts. This could be through expenditure testing, income etc. On a day-to-day basis I will usually have discussions with both clients and the work in which I am performing in order to obtain evidence and complete the work.

I have gained a variety of skills so far on my apprenticeship. This has been things as simple as learning to work efficiently remotely and also learning how to use new systems which make the testing of accounts much easier.

I really enjoy the programme. The exam side of it is difficult however it isn't constant which gives breaks between doing them. The team I work with are really supportive and have made that movement from school into work an easy transition. The support I personally have received from the company in regards to arrangements I have needed has been even better than what I expected. The work is enjoyable as in my department there is a variety of areas to work in.

I think it's quite well organised. Obviously starting the programme from home has meant everything in terms of induction, training, learning and working has had to be remote. I think the learning and studying aspect has been quite hard because of this as it is a lot harder to ask questions. I haven't particularly enjoyed the 'college' aspect because of this The support from the councillor system and the buddy system as well as that from other team members in terms of offering help and advice has been really good. The hierarchy is nice in the sense that you can ask second years, seniors and then progress onto higher up if needed which means you get a really good scope on ways to do things. My team regularly has meetings to catch up which keeps the ease of asking things in place.

I have been very fortunate that my team and those who i have spoken to out of it have been very supportive. It's extremely easy to ask someone for help or express any concerns you have. Even before actually starting the support was huge (I have a disability so have to have things in place). Everyone made sure to show that they wanted to make the situation the easiest they possibly could for me.

due to the pandemic training in terms of qualifications has been remote. I think in general the range of resources available are very accessible and the tutors are all really helpful. I personally do not like remote learning as I don't feel it helps you get the same level of understanding as if it was in person. I think partly this is because of the fact you can only ask questions over a chat box during the lessons which makes it quite hard to express what you are trying to ask. I think because of learning from home i am not necessarily enjoying it as much as I had hoped however it is a situation that can't currently be avoided.

I think this is a hard question to answer as so far i have only sat one aspect of the qualification being certificate accounting. This has given me some levels of understanding in terms of the documentation in which i look at during my day-to-day work and I imagine this will develop further as i sit more modules.

my team has a social call every friday as well as having a big social when we first started.

Yes

My experience has been really positive especially in the current climate.

My best advice would be to make sure that you research what the qualification process will be like and if you think it will suit you.