Audit associate Review

On a day to day basis I assist in the audit of financial statements of a range of companies. This includes interim and year end work such as rolling forward the audit file, testing of balances, test of controls, enquires with management. I also keep up to date trackers of work performed and what is still outstanding

Since starting the apprenticeship I have considerably improved my time management skills as having to juggle work and college at the same time can be challenge. I also learnt how to prioritise work which is important during busy season to get higher risk areas reviewed early on in case of any issues.

I do enjoy the programme. It has given me a chance at a career without having the need to go to university. It has allowed me to build my skills which help me in both my work and studies. I do however wish I had more opportunity to go into other areas of the firm such as consulting.

The programme is well structured so that our exams and college days tend to fall outside of our busy seasons which is very helpful. It could be better organised as sometimes we find out the details of our college course quite late which is hard to manage with work expectations

My employer gives me all the time off necessary to complete the apprenticeship in order to meet the governments 20% threshold. They also have dedicated teams for the apprenticeship and for the professional exams who are helpful in answering any questions we may have. There is also a range of personal support given for health and mental health

We receive support from our training provider in the form of in person college days, ocr live days and also from having a hub in which has recording of each topic of every course we are taking. They also have a set team for our company to answer any questions and to keep track of our progress by monitoring our completion of set steps

The qualification helps me to perform better in my role as it allows me to understand why we are performing the audit in the way we are and why we have assessed and area of the audit as being high risk and the procedures we have to follow to gain comfort over it in order to conclude effectively.

At my work there are numerous extra-curricular activities to get involved in such as professional networking events, becoming a buddy for a new joiner, sports teams or becoming a member of a social committee to name a few. However, if there is not one you are interested in there is an opportunity to create your own if there is enough interest for it

Yes

It is a great place to work. I have worked in 4 different teams and on numerous engagement in my 2.5 years at KPMG and for the most part I have enjoyed working in each team and have managed to create bonds with people which help make working that bit more fun

If you are applying for an apprenticeship straight from school you need to understand that if you go into audit there are busy seasons which can be tough but create a good rapport with your team and reach out if your struggling. It is better to speak up straight away if your unsure that to sit there confused and not get anything done. It is harder with working from home but if you have that connection with the team they will be there to help you.