Trainee Associate Review

My role mainly consists of performing work on the financial information of companies in order to provide assurance on the reliability of the information. Additionally I do accounts set up work to prepare for the clients' year end and determine the nature of work needed to be performed in respect of each client, as the inherent risks of each client is different.

I have massively improved my technical capabilities and knowledge of PwC's system, as with each placement the complexity of my tasks increases, in turn meaning my skills increase exponentially, whether it be basic Excel functionality or the more complex usage of Aura Platinum, which is PwC's internal website for testing.

I did not enjoy my placement as much as last year due to the effects of Covid 19, meaning I worked remotely from my room for the entire placement. This ended up becoming quite tedious and isolated, as I was unable to socialise with my peers, however not of this was the fault of PwC as they were still very accommodating considering the circumstances.

In similar regards to last year, I again agree my degree is very well structured, at no point have I found myself feeling lost or unable to receive the help I need, I have been particularly impressed with how PwC have adapted to the strain that Covid has put on the working environment.

Every placement I am allocated a career coach, and this placement mine has been very helpful and has been really useful with all of the admin tasks that I have to do at the end of each placement, whenever I have had any general queries she has always been quick to reply with solutions.

Similar to last question I receive help from my career coach as all I have to do is upload my timesheet and qualified hours, which she helps me with. And then she reviews them to ensure my time has been logged correctly, this is done at the end of placement and is a very efficient process.

In all honesty I have rarely used my knowledge that I have learned in my university degree, my work that I do for PwC is still quite basic as I am new so my knowledge of audit doesn't really come into play a lot as it is more focussed on knowledge of excel and PwC's systems.

PwC usually offer a wide variety extra curricular activities, however due to the effect of Covid, there hasn't been much availability to get involved, so the most they can offer is weekly quizzes between teams and colleagues, which I still feel is a great way to feel involved and part of the team.

Yes

Over my last two placements PwC has been a great and encouraging place to work, with lots of opportunities to progress my career, and with the size of the business there are lots of exciting places to work with interesting and complex clients, and an overall a great working atmosphere to be involved in.

I think it is important to be interested in the business and its environment, in my interview I found that interest and incite to be invaluable when I was asked questions, as it allowed me to feel more comfortable and calm when conversing with my interviewer, which led to an overall better interview process.