Staff 2 - Wealth and Asset Management Review

My day to day can really vary, which is part of the reason work is never considered "mundane" or boring. For the most part I might be working on different areas that are included within the financial statements for the clients I work on, and completing any necessary testing in relation to these.

I would say that I definitely have. I am approximately 1 year and 7 months in and already have obtained my CFAB qualification (Certificate in Finance, Accounting & Business) and I think I've definitely developed by client interaction skills, alongside more general time management and other skills through the various trainings and webinars at our disposal.

I enjoy the programme much more than I initially thought I would. I get to work on some amazing clients with a great team, and the company culture helps support everyone through the process, taking into consideration different religions, family life etc etc. I'd say it exceeds my expectations of the programme.

Overall, it is very well structured. There are various groups of people that support you throughout and help you with anything that you're finding difficult etc. There are catch-ups within an apprentice cohort as well which I find very useful to touch base with everyone again, as you don't see other apprentices all the time.

There are definitely avenues of support available. Within my team at work, I speak to the senior in the year above me a lot, but also the manager is very supportive and understanding. You can also liase with your counsellor through a call and seek additional levels of support, such as health assessments etc.

I receive a good level of support, however, it is hard to properly learn remotely as it isn't as easy to speak up and go over something again. Kaplan manage to get the books and material over to us in a good time frame, however, I'd prefer revision material to come sooner if possible so I could start looking through it in advance.

What I'm learning through the exams and college time, does definitely add to my knowledge of work that is directly applicable, for example learning about different accounting standard etc, or the basics of what is on the financial statements and how to read these, and how to classify and treat different accounts.

I briefly thought about joining the EY hockey team, however, currently it is not running and also I'm far to busy to set aside the time, but it is something I'll definitely look into in the future. I might try and sign up to a gym when I'm back in London

Yes

Personally, when you compare the route I'm taking to the "standard" route of going to university, building up debt and then slowly paying it off... it's a no-brainer in my eyes. I should be 23/24 as a qualified chartered accountant with a masters level equivalent qualification, and earning a good salary throughout - all big ticks in my book!

Do properly put the effort in, as it is very highly contested. The application process was quite long, but you can tell by how thorough it is, that they only select the people that fit the company, not necessarily only the smartest people, but people with good teamworking and interaction based skills