Associate Review

I worked as an associate on placement, and so on a day to day basis involved joining almost daily team catchup meetings to discuss work I was to perform/work still outstanding, and completing this work during the day. I would undertake calls with clients to gain better understanding of areas and ask queries, and chats with other team members to gain coaching on unfamiliar areas.

I have developed organisation and time management, by considering my start time at the beginning of the day to ensure I would be at the office for enough hours to sufficiently address the jobs/tasks I had outstanding. I have enhanced my relationship building and have developed great rapport with some team members.

The programme is great. The 3 months away from Uni is a great time to mature and see our job in the real world. It's great to apply our accounting knowledge learnt and see what procedures are needed to test certain FSLIs. Living in a new city has also proved a great experience.

Very well structured. The accounting module offers good insight into what we are required to know while on placement, and then moving to work for 3 months is a great time to apply this to actual auditing. The audit module is less applicable to the work I performed during first year, but I imagine will be of more use in later placements.

Lots! There are loads of support networks and allocated people to reach out for different scenarios, such as career coaches, Flying Start champs and buddys. The career coaches are particularly supportive by setting up regular calls, often weekly, to discuss how things are going and offer regular support to you.

Lots! We have had specific tailored training days prior to placement to give us resources and Elearns to test our knowledge and ensure we cover relevant areas that are likely to arise in our placement. We have lots of support from our training provider at University too which proves useful.

Fairly well. Some of the modules from university I have found haven't been as applicable as first thought, but the accounting one has been especially useful. The training days were also very specifically tailored towards the jargon and processes/softwares we use at work and so prepared me really well.

Yes! There has been a regular bowling club each month which has proved to be a way to socialise with people outside the office and build some good relationships with co-workers. Also the team budgets for social activities have proved great fun, and have been a great way to socialise as well as reward hard work and success in our teams together.

Yes

There is a great working environment in the Cambridge Office that I am a part of. The people attracted to this company are welcoming and approachable, and really have a big team-focused attitude which makes working and resolving issues far more interactive and rewarding when done as part of a team.

I didn't do this, but from what I've heard it's worthwhile doing a networking event or having some exposure to some people from the company, whether that's talking at a business event or speaking to someone from the company, as it will give you a great insight into what a great working atmosphere the company has.