Apprentice Review

I am an apprentice in Audit so my main role consists of providing support to more senior members of staff. So far, the major focus of this has been to do with preparing work papers, bank statement annotations, picking out samples for random testing and then following through with the testing process.

My technical skills have massively increased. I used to be somewhat clueless when it came to technology and apps. The work I have done so far has greatly developed this lacking area of my skillset and I now feel far more comfortable with using application such as excel. In addition to this, my confidence has massively improved from working in an area such as this.

I enjoy my program quite a lot. As of right now, I have yet to feel over-worked or underpaid. I feel as though the support system is great and everyone is always eager to help out whenever I have a question or feel uncertain as to what to do. There is a real sense of community.

The programme is organised reasonably well. We are clear on what to do the majority of the time when it comes to the actual work aspect of the apprenticeship. The only the brings this down is the communication internally within KPMG about specific dates. I feel as though a lot of our mentors don't know a great deal about how to help us with AAT/BPP related issues.

I receive a great deal of support from my employer. They are super helpful when it comes to work related questions and very understanding of how the apprenticeship and learning/educational aspects must take priority. The only thing I feel that could be done better is if there were specific sectors of KPMG where employers are ore knowledgable about the apprenticeship so can answer more niche questions.

We receive a fair deal of support. There are people within the Training Providers organisation who are designed to help us. I have had to reach out to them on several occasions and every time I have they have been extremely helpful and helped solve any queries I have about the work.

The qualification massively helps my role. When working on my first engagement, things began to make a lot more sense once I had completed the first round of training. I was able to put context to areas of my work that had previously left me confused as I didn't understand them.

The socials at my work place are great. Social anxiety aside, everyone is super easy to talk to and very welcoming. There are sports teams and fundraisers constantly - always an opportunity to network and broaden your connections as well as make some great friends. Ideally they will introduce some extra curricular activities that will allow us to mix with a broader spectrum of age groups.

Yes

I would definitely recommend KPMG to a friend. The pay seems fair - not overworked as many other top 4 firms are. The community is great. Everyone is always super polite and super helpful. People are mire than happy to help you resolve any queries. The only issue is the overtime rules and regulations.

Be confident and be yourself. It can be very daunting walking into the big corporate world, especially if it's your first full time job or if you're coming straight into it from an educational background. The key thing to remember is that everyone has been in your shoes before.