Audit Intern Review

This role on a daily basis consisted of the delivery of external audit services to a variety of clients across the UK. Working out of Edinburgh (Northern Audit), we worked mainly on clients from Manchester and Leeds upwards. You work in different teams from any of the offices and can travel to these offices as well as client sites when necessary. You work with your engagement team and the client throughout each audit, with the division of tasks and responsibilities being how you would expect. The harder and more complex tasks will be addressed by the senior members, though you can be asked to help with these if necessary.

Yes, definitely. Before I joined PwC I genuinely believed my microsoft excel skills were at a decent level, however after working with many people throughout my placement year I have concluded that either my idea of "competent" is either much lower than I initially believed, or everyone else was amazing. I have learned how to use excel much more effectively as well as the use of numerous specific softwares and programmes. My communication skills and confidence have also increased due to the communication and interaction with clients on a regular basis.

I enjoyed the programme, it was very rewarding and professional. It is pretty much what I was expecting, the phrase "thrown in at the deep end" is not quite accurate, however it is made clear from the start that the company expects you to be able to maintain a high degree of professionalism and responsibility from the offset. You need to be able to manage your time and workloads accordingly.

The organisation and structure is clear throughout the programme. The onboarding process was thorough and consisted of multiple stages with communication being upheld relatively well by the recruitment team. The structure consists of a blend of classroom (online) based learning through the professional qualifications, studies and exams. For periods of time, you will not have any client work to do and your focus is solely on the exams.

The employer provides good support throughout. There is a large focus around mental health in this day and age and communication between individuals at every level of seniority is strongly encouraged within teams. Due to the nature of the job, there can be periods of time that are very busy and you may need to sacrifice some personal time in order to meet client demands, but this is expected in this line of work.

The training provider provides good support throughout the training / exams / qualifications. Due to covid, the majority of my studies were online and these were delivered through microsoft teams, which at first I was not a fan of. However, due to the amount of revision and self study required, this turned out to be beneficial because it meant that the travel time required before covid could be used for revision now so less of your day was taken up through this.

The training definitely helps with the day to day activities required within the role. The learning is extremely relevant and so is crucial to undertaking the daily tasks in an effective and efficient manner. I know more about my job now and the theory behind it as a result of the training received.

PwC offers an enormous, and to be quite honest, extremely surprising number of extra curricular activities in addition to the regular daily tasks. There are countless societies and clubs to get involved in, from sports committees, social committees, inclusion and diversity clubs (where different themes are discussed and explored through films etc) along with many networking events.

Yes

All the reasons described above. The overall experience of the placement was positive and it has enabled me to develop massively in a professional and personal level. I will be able to return to my final year of studies at university in a much more professional frame of mind then hopefully return to continue my training contract.

Do your research - reach out to people if you have any questions. Even if this means simply searching up their name or job position on social media such as linkedin. Everyone I have worked with has been extremely friendly and welcoming and more than happy to share their experiences with me.