Audit Trainee Review

I am an Audit Trainee in the Leeds office at BDO. I am currently in the revision stage of my role, revising for my first three professional exams. This involves study at home as well as study in college. When at the office I am allocated different jobs throughout the year where I am responsible for different sections of the audit

I have learnt technical skills through my professional studies during college, This has helped me perform my job to a higher standard. The job has helped me improve my soft skills, these include confidence when talking to clients and collaborating with my fellow collegues. This will help me as I look forward to my career

I enjoy working on various different clients, this is because I get to experience a number of different businesses in different industries, this helps me widen my knowledge. I also like meeting new people and collaborating with them. Studying whilst working is the most challenging part of my job, this part I do not enjoy

The programme is very well structured. There is a clear schedule showing what jobs you are on and when, this also details when you are on study which helps you plan revision etc. There is regular calls with college who details when and where you are doing your exams and apprenticeship tasks

We are allocated a buddy at the start of the course (unfortunately mine left before I joined so I never met him) the buddy is there to support you at the start of your course. There is also regular catch ups with your manager, they are there to support you on any issues you have and you update them with your progress in the role

We have regular calls with BPP who detail what we need to do to work towards our exams. When in college the tutors are very supportive and will help with any questions/support you need whilst studying. We receive regular emails from college with updates on our progress, this helps

The qualification helps a lot with the technical knowledge, some of the content you learn whilst actually working, but more technical areas are taught during our exams, these help widen your knowledge of the role. The qualification has helped me become more confident with my knowledge and has helped during work

Very social team, we have first friday drinks every first friday of the month, this is where the whole team hires out a bar and we go drinking together. There are also several team run days, for example we went to York Races last year, we also went to watch the darts

Yes

BDO is a very sociable company, all of the employees from trainees to Partners are very friendly and approachable, this helps improve the atmosphere in the office which encourages people to work with a smile on their face. There are great opportunities at BDO, with a lot of movement going forward

Make sure that you apply early, make sure you take time with your application, I found that messaging people on LinkedIn already in the role I wanted and asking them for tips on the application process helped my throughout the process. Take your time, be confident and you will have a great chance