Corporate Finance Executive Review

Working on Mergers and Acquisitions, providing due diligence on both buy side and sell side. This includes analysis which we do extensively and then producing a final output which is a report to be issued to our client. This is across a number of sectors, as a more junior member of the team we are sector agnostic.

Yes, there are both hard and soft skills that I have learnt during my time with my employer. These include how to analyse a company using technical knowledge I have attained, and turn this into a report in the correct writing style. In addition, there are softer skills such as communication through presenting which are extremely important in my role.

I feel I am lucky in the exposure I get in my department and that I have been able to join corporate finance without having done the conventional three years in audit prior to this. It is extremely client facing and each project is different due to the difference in buy side / sell side and different sectors.

My programme is well structured, however I would caveat that due to not being in audit it does feel we are shoehorned into some of the same requirements. The apprenticeship tasks required by BPP are very audit focussed and rely on being to comment on more audit based responsibilities which my role differs from.

We get a huge amount of support through our qualification and in the day to day role. This may be through college but also a consideration for the requirement to revise outside of work hours. I feel pushed to gain more skills and improve which is hugely important in my development.

As mentioned above, there is a consideration in the team that during the apprenticeship, exams come first. This means during exam season senior team members ensure we are finishing at the correct time and that we have time to study. This is in addition to external college and revision time.

The qualification itself is hugely helpful and is directly attributable to the work I do day to day. There are some modules such as tax which is arguably less relevant but it is still important to understand a wide range of topics. The apprenticeship tasks themselves are largely useless and an admin burden.

Yes, we have regular socials as a team which help with getting to know everyone. In addition to this, there is a football team that I play in and this is funded by department which I hugely enjoy. There are plenty of other opportunities and we are encouraged to attend networking.

Yes

Hugely supportive organisation that prides itself on work-life balance. Having said this, there are huge opportunities to push yourself and develop in the role and the ability to progress quickly. From speaking to counterparts in other organisations, I feel we at BDO are set up to succeed better going forward.

Take all the opportunities you can and give it your all. Understand BDO's values and how the firm is positioned to grow through its strategy. There is great opportunity at BDO across a wide range of departments so find what fits you and go for it, you will not regret it.