senior associate Review

The role involves frequent visit to client sites where we attend meetings with the client and perform necessary audit procedures and prepare the relevant documentation. As you progress in your role you also get the opportunity to coach and manage junior members of the team as well as off shore team members.

Having had no accountancy or audit background I have developed a strong knowledge of accounting and auditing standards. In addition to this I have developed my confidence and people skills through regularly being asked to lead meetings with clients and internal senior members of the business. I have also developed good coaching and management skills.

The work and exams are interesting and helps you to develop useful skills. I very much enjoy the people side of my work such as helping to organise and attend the departmental and team socials, coaching and helping junior members of the team and getting involved in team building activities.

The program is organised and structured by two teams, the apprenticeship team and the professional qualifications team. There is no communication between those two teams which has caused a lot of miscommunication and confusion for the apprentices and often not being given the information we need to book our exams or complete our work.

The department, your counsellor and managers are very supportive of the program and always are able to let you out of work on time to revise. There are also many people in the department who are happy to help answer questions about your exams. The tuition provider is also very helpful and supportive and have 24 hour support and "contact a tutor" functions. Unfortunately the PQ team and apprenticeship coaches are not well informed enough to offer support.

The training provider is very supportive with tutors that go above and beyond to offer support outside of tuition hours. There are 24/7 contact a tutor functions including live chats and emailing. These functions are invaluable in the days leading up to exams, I ahve even emailed at 2am the night before an exam and had a reply!

The qualification and the knowledge picked up whilst studying for the exams is directly applicable to the job and has definitely helped me understand my job and the work I do better. However there are also some exams that give us wider skills and expand our opportunities for potential future roles.

Our department has regular social events for the whole department as well as team socials with the people you directly work with. There are many opportunities to get involved in organising these events, there are also many sports teams you can join as well as networks that can be joined such as the womens network, BAME network, religious networks.

Yes

The qualification that we get is very useful and globally recognised. There are many opportunities within the company and many opportunities to work globally. I have really enjoyed the social and people side of the job, have made some great friends for life and built a good network in my time. The only draw back is the lack of organisation and communication from the apprenticeship and PQ team.

For the application process the best tip I can give is to show confidence and people skills as this is the most important skill for joining, the knowledge will be learnt on the job. During the first days of college and the onboarding process talk to the people joining with you, go for lunch or drinks with them and build a strong support group for your exams. During your time make sure you email the apprenticeship team or PQ team well in advance of exams or booking windows in order to ensure you have all the information you need, don't rely on them to give it to you!