Audit Apprentice Review

My role is an accountancy apprentice. It is in audit (type of accountancy). It involves checking companies accounts to ensure everything is accurate and correct for potential investors. The day to day role varies depending on which stage of the audit we are at, but involves a lot of excel work and teams meetings so that we are all up to date on the tasks that need completing that day.

I have learnt many new skills since starting KPMG such as using excel, powerpoint and word. Before starting I had little knowledge on this but now I am able to complete most of my work using these 3 systems. Also, I have developed my communication and teamworking skills due to all the teams meetings we have and working mainly in groups to complete sections of the audit.

I enjoy my programme a lot. I love the blend of college with work and the amount of support available to us at all times is really good. I have also made really good friends and we often have work socials which is a great way to meet and interact with more people.

It is mostly very well organised, we know exactly when college and exams are and the mix of college and work is really efficient. Sometimes BPP has a few issues when it comes to communicating various things to students but on the whole there is always someone to answer any questions.

The support is very good, there are lots of people to go to for any issues such as your buddy, PM or PL. This makes me feel really supported and I know where to go if I need help with something. We have a list of contacts that we can turn to for various issues.

BPP offer a lot of support too, however I feel that it is difficult to access and the BPP Hub can be confusing at times when trying to find someone to contact. Our tutor during college was very helpful and happy to answer any questions which helped me to feel supported more during exams.

I think that the exams link very well with the job role and definitely helps me to perform my work better and understand the reasoning behind the things I am doing at work more. I think that as I have more exams I will have more knowledge towards some audit tasks I am working on at the moment.

There are lots of socials to get involved with at work, such as apprenticeship socials or E grade socials. We also have massive office socials which is a great opportunity to meet with a range of people at different grades. There is also plenty of opportunity to join sports groups.

Yes

Because I enjoy the blend of learning whilst working and I think this is the most effective way to learn and the most motivating as rather than paying for a degree you are being paid to get a degree and get hands on experience in the role you want to do. I also love the firm's values and I feel supported and happy at work.

I would advice them to learn all of KPMG's core values which will benefit them in their interviews, I would also advice them to research as much as possible about the firm before the final interview so that they have lots to talk about (especially learn about the audit tech such as KcW). I believe having some key skills in Microsoft will also be extremely useful before starting at KPMG.