Associate - Student Placement Review

Perform different tests of details over different financial statement line items to ensure they are accurate. Interact with the client to obtain an understanding of the entity and request the necessary deliverables to undertake our work. I supported on extra projects, such as the team who organised fun activities for the team to keep moral high in lockdown.

I learnt how to efficiently interact with clients in order to communicate effectively what we require to complete our different testing and also to deal with any queries that come up when completing our work. Additionally I have developed my excel skills, particularly the use of pivot tables and other functions to speed up documenting processes

The programme is very enjoyable, I enjoy the client work and the ability to work with different industries but also that I get to work with different engagement teams throughout the firm, sometimes across offices and lines of service. There were not too much extra curricular activities due to lockdown though.

All necessary equipment and resources were sent out on time and the resourcing department within the firm allocates us to different clients. There is scope to request to work on particular clients of interest if that’s something you desire but I found I have had a good experience with a wide variety of clients.

I received extensive support from EY which enabled me to focus on my personal and professional development. Within my placement I was assigned a career coach who informed me on any upcoming opportunities within the firm such as training days. The career coach also allowed me to ask any questions which I did not feel comfortable sharing with my project team.

The support was good. The trainings were virtual only due to lockdown. However, there were lots of resources available to practice and test our knowledge in the learning portal. There is additionally a email helpline you can email with any queries and the response time was very quick

The modules we completed were all very relevant to the role and has enhanced my understanding when partaking clients work. It provided strong underlying knowledge of why we perform particular tests and the importance of being professionally sceptical at all times. The professional level papers felt more relevant than the certificate level papers

Unfortunately due to Covid-19 restrictions I was unable to attend any in person extra-curricular activates during my placement. I have been informed by colleagues that EY would typically run a wide range of activates that employees can participate in. However, I was still able to get involved in some activates such as when I assisted in the running of a virtual recruitment event.

Yes

The firm really looks after it’s employees and there are plenty of opportunities to get involved with. It is a place to work that you can be proud of and I have seen first hand the quality of service the firm provides for its clients everyday. Additionally there are lots of opportunities to take part in training and development to further enhance skills

Work hard and make sure you give yourself plenty of time for the exams. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Research the industry and the sorts of clients available to the different offices to ensure you apply to an office that will suit you.