Audit Associate Review

On a day-to-day basis, my job involves auditing the financial statements of companies; ones you see on the high street, to online-based companies and more. Each year, every company has to produce financial statements and my job is to check these to ensure the figures in them are 'true and fair'. It involves a lot of communicating with the personnel within the company and building up relationships with them to complete the audit.

There have been so many skills I have developed as well as gained; this includes the ability to talk to clients in a professional setting, time management, team working and how to produce sound documentation. As you have to study for exams during your apprenticeship, it also develops your ability to balance work, study and personal life, which at times can be tough.

I enjoy it very much - we do have our busy periods at EY but what gets you through them is the great people you work with, who support you through everything and give you the best knowledge to succeed in the job. I also like the variety of study and work.

It is very organised - your exams typically are in June and December, so your months of the year busy with study are March to June and then October to December, even though you still work through these periods. The programme typically lasts around 3 and a half years until you are qualified, and is great as you get so much support to pass your exams.

We are allocated a counsellor and buddy when we join. The counsellor is of a manager level or above and the buddy is typically the level above you (second year apprentice/graduate), so they know what you're going through. You tend to be able to go to them about any general question you have, as well as exam advice. Your counsellor supports you throughout - you tend to have quarterly meetings with them (can be more frequent) to discuss how you're getting on. You also have the support of the teams you work with along the way as you build relationships.

My training provider is Kaplan and we attend college in three stages before each exam with a single tutor. You are therefore able to email/chat to this tutor whenever you have issues or are struggling with the exams. There is also an online option to contact a tutor 362 days of the year, even on weekends.

They help me to pass my exams which equally leads onto a huge development on how well I can perform in my role. The accounting exams Kaplan help you to pass, essentially give you the main accounting knowledge you require for your job, so you find the further you get through the apprenticeship, the more job satisfaction your role gives you.

I tend to help out a lot with networking events (albeit online at the moment) to local schools, the new intake and university students. Our office hosts many social activities also including football teams and matches that are organised, chocolate tasting, the Christmas party, and many more. EY also have many UK-wide activities for you to get involved with.

Yes

It is a very inclusive organisation, with the people who work there being very supportive and like-minded. You are not judged for the level of knowledge you have and instead, the process of learning and making mistakes is very much encouraged. You also have support available to locally for you to go to.

Don't be afraid to not know much about your role in your application - I knew nothing before I joined but have gained an insane amount of knowledge in the span of time I've been here. If you're interested in the area of the role and have a lot of enthusiasm, apply!