Assurance Senior Review

On a day-to-day basis I will be involved in the audit of Banks across the UK. Depending on the time of year this can change, whether it's testing internal controls of the company, or substantively testing the numbers which they are looking to disclose there is always plenty to do. As well as lots of work around understanding the business and how it works

I have learned a lot throughout the process of my time with EY. I've progressed into a role where I manage the time of associates below me as well as managing the demands of managers, senior managers etc. I've also learned a lot about how to use excel and other microsoft applications as well as managing key client relationships and data analysis skills

You have to work hard to get work done and ensure that you pass your exams, there is no hiding that. However the work can be very interesting if you like numbers and you like to keep up with the general state of the economy. The culture is very much one of listening to those at the bottom now and it's always fun to see how much more knowledge you pick up year on year or how your exams relate to the actual work you're doing. I definitely enjoy it on the whole, but there are times I really don't.

When you first join you go first to college for your first exam, which you don't actually sit until 9 months later. The rest of the structure itself is strong. You will be regularly booked in for coaching about the job, the professional examinations team will book you in for your college and allow you to book your exams yourself so that you can be at an exam centre as close to home as possible. You will be assigned a learning coach who will be dedicated to helping you make the most out of your apprenticeship as well as helping you to progress through the course as well as lots of other support generally offered by EY such as a "counsellor" in lieu of a line manager who will help you throughout your entire career with the company.

One of the key things that I appreciate through my time at EY has been the "counsellor" which you are assigned to help you through your career. You are initially assigned one as you start however you can then choose a new one if you find someone else that you'd prefer. They will give you advice about how to move through EY as well as opportunities elsewhere if you desire and really push you to take advantage of everything you can. EY themselves have been very focused on supporting us; whether this be through the exams and learnings teams dedicated to your learning, or through the more general financial wellbeing pages available through the system (which come in really handing when you start thinking about things such as looking to buy a house)

Kaplan really cannot be faulted. They put together a very comprehensive summary of the information we need which has really helped me when it comes round to sitting exams. The tutors are all very responsive in emails and there is a 7 day email address that you can email about subjects you're struggling with and know that you will get a response. The lessons make sense and have helped me to pass every exam so far

There are some crossovers, such as when you have to review specific areas based on specific accounting standards that you have to learn as part of your exams. But for the most part, audit and accounting seem to be quite separate, with the majority of the work being around testing that the numbers are correct, not that the accounting standard has been correctly applied

There's a lot of extra things that you can get on with at EY. Every office has many sports teams, there are endless networking events and team socials to go out with your team and lots of networks to support people. I personally am part of the EY Women's Network which offers a lot of opportunities to attend speeches and dialogues around issues that women, and their allies, may face

Yes

EY is a very strong brand for the CV could be an easy answer here. But it also cares a lot about your career, you'll progress a lot faster in a company like EY than you would at a more traditional industry firm. There are countless internal opportunities and a vast array of exit opportunities if that's what you're interested in. You'll also learn a lot of "soft skills" such as management and teamwork that you might not learn at such a low level elsewhere

Look up EY online, find out what they're trying to do, whether it's NextWave or just big wins they've made in the market it'll help to know what's going on. Be confident in what you're saying, even if it's wrong but you're confident they'll know that you'll be able to learn and work well with a team