Senior Associate Review

My role involves auditing clients in the financial services industry, more specifically banks. On a day to day basis it involves several meetings with my team and some times with clients, depending on what phase of the audit we are. It also involves balancing my own work and work others might assign to me during the day.

During the last 3 years, I have developed both soft and technical skills. For example I have learned how to manage my time, prioritise work, be skeptical, open to challenge and be able to challenge in a constructive way. On the other hand I improved my audit skills, leading client calls and excel skills.

The program is challenging and has it's ups and downs. Definitely the biggest challenge is managing working and studying at the same time which requires good planning and sacrificing your free time and weekends. Overall, I enjoyed the program but I believe a few things could have been done more efficient.

The program is very organised and structured with multiple people and departments working to facilitate the smooth operation of the program. There is a clear timeline of things that needs to get done to progress and meet the next milestone. Overall is a very organised and structured program where each candidate is able to know what is the next step and how to achieve it.

There was constant support by the PwC employees who facilitate the program and they are very responsive to every question or issue that arises. They are also very proactive in sending emails and reminders of key things that need to be done by students. There are also internal training programs that the employer provided which compliment the overall apprentice training.

Training provider was also able to provide very good support, for example the tutors are very knowledgeable and always try to help students with any questions they have. They also provide very good guidance on how to study and approach different type of questions which is very helpful during the actual exam,

I feel that the qualification has provided me with the theoretical and technical skills that when it comes to my actual role, despite not applying everything that I was taught, certain things that relate to my role, I was able to apply and some times refer back to my notes for guidance.

There are multiple social groups that someone can join. I joined when covid started where a lot of social groups decreased there activity and was more difficult for me to get involved. The good thing is that there is a very diverse culture where you can find people with different interest and thus multiple social groups exist within the firm that people could join.

Yes

Certainly is challenging working at PwC since the expectations are very high, but if you are able to adapt and be open to learn and challenge yourself, PwC will offer you the skills and know how, to improve and excel at your role. Working at PwC has a steep learning curve but rewarding in terms of knowledge gained.

Prepare before the interview by doing online research and try to connect with people who work or worked in PwC. By connecting with them you could have the opportunity to ask questions about the role and further understand the culture and what PwC looks for in terms of character and values which is the main criteria for recruitment.