Audit Senior Associate Review

Auditor of company financial statements within the Banking and capital markets sector, meaning I audit the numbers (e.g. profits, fixed assets) of large banks. Day to day this involves control testing, re-performing income calculations, holding meetings with my clients and making sure my clients are following the relevant industry regulations

Learnt many skills which I have built on over the years. On my first day, I held a 3 hour meeting with a client - this was daunting, but I learnt how things with clients operate, how to obtain information quickly, how to ask the right questions. Communication is one of the most important skills I've learnt, along with team work, problem solving and critical thinking.

Sometimes it is hard to see the bigger picture - I am doing an important job and my work plays a key role in audit sign offs, but over the years, tasks can get repetitive and the enjoyment is lost. The social side is brilliant, but you'll pay that back in long hours during the busy time of year

Even being at a large company like EY, I could not have expected a better induction to the firm. We are put into training straight away, where you learn all the fundamental skills for the first year on the job. Regular training each year depending on which level you are about to move up to is also mandatory

On day one, we receive a 'buddy' who was in the same position, one year prior. They are they to support at first although this relationship doesn't last much longer than a few months. Each member of staff at all levels has a counsellor, who in my opinion have been really supportive during tougher times. Each apprentice has a coach who also supports us during the journey

I have received lots of help across the years, although I love the independent learning available through the online My Kaplan learning system - from past papers to instructional videos. This has been useful to revisit particularly before sitting a resit exam. There are also useful webinars on different ways of working and how to get the best out of ourselves.

The qualification massively helps with performing better in my role, but the job itself and actual work experience also really helps with content in the exam. In my case, with the Audit and Assurance related ICAEW exams in particular. The job gets extremely technical a few years in and the exam knowledge really helps with that.

Personally, I have not taken part in many extra curricular activities as I would find doing these, on top of my work, study and personal life, too much to juggle. But I am aware of the many teams EY have and plan on playing casual badminton once a week. Each audit team usually has drinks/food socials, paid for, every few months which always feels rewarding for the hard work we put in.

Yes

Although it is not my forever job, as I plan to go into a more relaxed work environment, I would recommend starting ones career at EY because the skills and lessons learnt will set you up for a life time. The exams are tough but this job really does open a world of opportunities and I've seen this first hand with my peers and their career changes.

Do plenty of research before interviews and assessment centers - learn about new EY initiatives, things we are implementing to be a more innovative and efficient firm, EY created products. Learn about the role you are applying for and know both the good and bad side of the role. And be yourself in one to one interviews.