Flying Start Degree Programme - 2nd Placement Newcastle Office Review

I work in the audit department of PwC. I work as part of an audit team working on the audits of different clients of the firm. I am a junior member of the team and work on more straightforward areas of the file. Each day varies which makes it very interesting.

I have developed my skills by working on different areas of the audit file. I feel more confident in these areas and have built on my knowledge from my previous placement. I have learned how to work effectively and efficiently as part of a team in order to complete the work in time.

I really enjoyed the programme and think I learned a lot through the process. Despite working from home, PwC were still able to maintain the social aspect of working in the office by having regular video calls to play a quick game or have a break in the working day.

I think it was well organised having the training and admin days at both the start and end of the placement to ease us in. The way the audit teams handled working from home as well was good as we still were able to communicate efficiently with group calls and more senior members of the team were still able to deliver coaching and answer any questions.

I felt very supported by my employer. Whilst working on the audit teams, if I had any questions, I felt comfortable asking for questions and asking for help. More senior members of the team were able to coach me and I felt this was most effectively done through video calls.

I felt very supported by my training provider. Contacts in the university kept in contact through email and we had a video call around the middle of my placement with our Programme Manager to talk through how things were going and if there were any issues that we wanted addressed.

I think the qualification helps in the technical sides of the audit. The exams I have completed and what I have learned from these help when coming across these areas in the audit process. The most beneficial exam is probably the Audit and Assurance exam as the content of this has been relevant in the audit process.

There are many different social activities to get involved in despite still being in the working from home format. There are frequently online quizzes and socials which are very fun as well as games with your audit team. There are also different teams which you can join including the social team, wellbeing team and culture team.

Yes

I would definitely recommend PwC to a friend as it is a very welcoming place to work and everybody is very friendly and happy to help answer any questions or potential issues. As PwC is such a big firm, there are so many opportunities to work in different areas and gain lots of experience.

I would encourage anyone applying to PwC to look into the business and know what the job will entail. Research the company and show how you would have the skills relevant to the job. I would advise them to not feel afraid to reach out and ask questions if they are having issues.