Flying Start 2 Review

At PwC, I worked as an auditor. This involves inspecting a client's accounts and offering an opinion on these. My day-to-day tasks would vary depending on which client i was working on. But there would be meetings with the team internally, to discuss any issues or question and to give updates on progress. Also, I would have meetings with the client, to request information for us to look at or ask any questions.

I have studied further towards the ACA qualification provided by the Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales (ICAEW), and by the end of this year will have completed 12/15 exams. While at PwC, I felt i developed my personal and professional skills, being more confident in meetings and conversations with the client.

I enjoy the programme, the university side is great - the course is quite close compared to other courses. The placement is enjoyable too, the culture at PwC is very good, the support network is great. All the teams I worked with were very supportive and always helped me. There were long hours at times but these were expected.

The programme is well structured. In December we have a weeks training provided by PwC. Thi gives us all the knowledge we should need for our placements. Then we have holiday over christmas and begin placement at the start of January. We then have two induction days where we meet our career coaches and set our goals. We then have to contact our in-charges on our booked jobs.

PwC offer lots of support. We are assigned career coaches and buddies when we join the firm - these are our go tos for any question we might have or to raise any issues. For any issues encountered when working with a client - the manager on that client is the person to go to.

As we are on a 3 month placement, most of our exams and learning is done at university. However, we will have to sit some exams while working full-time when we graduate. PwC give a couple of weeks at college before each exam and then some time off for the exams and revision.

The ACA qualification provides all the accounting knowledge needed and any specific things can be learnt on the job. Also the qualification includes a module on audit - this provides a basis to the job we perform while on our placements, helping us to have a basic understanding before we get to PwC.

At the office, there was a board for opportunities to get involved with extracurricular activities. However this has not been option during COVID. However, there has been regular socials and quizzes held online via google meet. This enabled us to have a break for work and enjoy ourselves. Some of these events even came with a budget to get a takeaway.

Yes

PwC is a great place to work, all of the staff are very welcoming and open to me asking questions. The opportunities provided by PwC are great, I have been able to work on a variety of clients, some larger and some smaller throughout different industries. This enables me to learn much quicker.

I applied to newcastle Uni for this sponsored degree through UCAS , i would encourage applicants to have some kind work experience at an accountants - I did a week at a local firm. I then had an interview and group assessment at Newcastle. The interview was around 45 minutes and the group assessment around an hour. We found out whether we were successful on the same day.