Assurance Senior Review

Involves performing audit field work on financial services clients. This includes audit testing as well as performing interim and planning procedures. As a senior you are also responsible for communicating with the client and managing the junior team members.

I came to the firm with no accounting experience. I have received training across a wide variety of areas as well as studying towards my ACA qualification. There a numerous optional learning opportunities if you would like to develop further, including studying towards an MBA or masters in sustainability free of charge.

The Programme is incredibly tough. Recently there has been a lot of pressure on seniors within audit teams due to the attrition rate of managers within the firm. It can be rewarding but for the most part it is incredibly hard work with lots of manual mundane tasks. There are good people within the firm though.

There are lots of support networks for the Programme but unfortunately making any change/receiving the outcome you would like with changes etc is incredibly difficult as slow. Quite often you get reminded of additional tasks you have to complete at last minute. The programme is too long particularly if you exam qualify within 3 yrs. The firm should sign you off rather than make you wait another 1.5yrs.

It really varies depending on which teams/clients you end up working on. Some engagement teams are well resourced and managers have sufficient time to support and provide guidance. Other teams have not replaced previous team members and the manager has no time. You can be left to yourself on these.

The training provider is responsive when asking tuition questions during your college time. However they have been incredibly inflexible in providing the tuition materials ahead of your college time. This does not allow sufficient time to prepare and is a particular issue when you are busy working in busy season.

The ACA qualification is definitely highly respected within the financial services world and outside of this. The knowledge and skillset gained during the qualification do really assist you with performing your day to day role. Additional training provided by the employer can vary in quality and depends how much you invest into it.

I have been involved in the hockey and rugby teams during quieter times in the year. Unfortunately most of the major events that used to be run pre the pandemic have been cancelled over the past few years and have not yet returned in the form that they used to be.

Yes

EY is a great starting place for a career if you have a goal of working within financial services and desire to complete a qualification during the early years of your career. It is hardwork and you need to be aware of this when applying but it is a highly respected starting point.

I would recommend that any applicant do their research fully on the role that they are applying to within EY. I would also advise not just applying to one firm and having multiple applications as this allows you to gain context to company cultures etc. I would strongly advise attending an EY recruitment event.