Assurance Associate Review

The exact work varies from day-to-day, but the overall aim of audit is to test the areas within company financial statements. As a staff, this mostly involves setting up the less complex workpapers, performing testing and occasionally speaking to the client management for documentation or further explanation. You work closely with seniors and can often be helping them with workpapers/forms or performing simpler tasks like taking the minutes for a meeting.

I have worked on a variety of clients and have learnt a lot very quickly about how to perform the work and the reasoning behind it. I have developed a lot of confidence on communicating with my team and being sure to ask them and the client my questions. EY also has frequent internal training and events to develop skills and to show how to use new tools.

I am enjoying it a lot because I think the style and challenge of the work suits me and everyone within my teams has been friendly and approachable so I am able to ask for help when I need it. A lot of my experience so far has been virtual but EY are beginning to offer more in person events and my teams have been aiming to meet in office a couple days a week so there is more in person interaction. The beginning of the year is a very busy period so it is definitely very tough and long hours, which can be especially hard when trying to balance that with studying for exams.

The induction in my first year was clear and helpful and there a large range of internal training so you have initial knowledge of how to do audit work, regulatory requirements and how to use the EY tools (and new courses are assigned regularly so you stay up to date). There is a clear map available to show the route of the apprenticeship and what major training you will have completed and which rank you should be each year. You have a counsellor who you should be able to meet with regularly so you can talk about how you are progressing and there are reviews of your progress as an apprentice and as an employee so you can give personal feedback and see what your seniors and managers think about your strengths and weaknesses. The work I have been assigned has been appropriately challenging and everyone has been willing to walk me through the tasks required. Teams work a lot together and talk through issues so it is not too intimidating to go to someone higher to ask for help. I think the biggest issue that I have found is that the exams are very intense so there is a lot to learn and the only time you have to study is before/after work because there is not any study leave outside of your own holiday and time with the training provider, which is particularly hard during busy periods. You can talk to your teams and let them know that you have to prioritize revising so you need to finish work promptly, but there is still work that you need to complete within deadlines.

In terms of day to day work, you do have a lot of contacts and they are accessible through emails or teams and are always willing to help and listen to your problems. I haven't accessed much but there are meetings and they will provide you with links and resources, although it does depend on the person, for example my Counsellor is often busy so I need to approach them to remind them. There is also a lot of internal tools so you can search to try and find the support you need. For college, EY is pretty hands-off from the training and don't give much support. The training provider does give a lot of resources and you can reach out to the tutors with questions or for extra support.

The tutors have been very open and friendly and you have their email so at any point during or after the course you can directly contact them for help and they record every day of an online course so you can go back over it. They have a website where they provide a workbook (which you also receive as a physical copy) and question bank for every course, alongside recorded explanations for chapters and specific questions. There are also mini section quizzes and mock exams. The certificate level ICAEW courses are held over a very short period and some content you have to cover yourself before it begins because they don't have enough time to cover it and/or time to revisit topics someone has struggled with. This is better during the professional level exams because there is more time between the course and the exams so there is a revision course as well, which has been very helpful. For certificate level exams, they don't have any more resources to provide if you fail and didn't get in contact further than for a short revision session.

During my first year, it felt like my day-to-day work was the most important, however, the more exams I do, I have definitely noticed that my training is explaining a lot of terms and processes. I understand a lot more after each one and I can see how things are linked so my work is becoming easier and I can discuss issues with my seniors more clearly and follow their responses.

There are quite a lot of opportunities, there are different groups at work you can join and there are frequent emails inviting us to different activities and to join teams/watch matches. There are lots of volunteering and other charity events. There are also opportunities to help out in local schools (e.g mock interviews), etc. and the apprentice ambassador programme which means you can volunteer to help out at school events and/or other events promoting the apprenticeship. There are social committees which organise different social events for the whole office and you can have team socials to celebrate the close of a project.

Yes

The culture at EY means that you are in teams where people are willing to talk and listen so it is not too intimidating to ask for help. There are lots of opportunities to progress your knowledge and you can see how over time you are being given more complicated tasks. It is definitely hard and you need to be dedicated to manage the work and studying and you need to take a lot of individual responsibility for your learning but I find the work very interesting.

As a new joiner, there is a lot of new information to take in and beginning can be very stressful, but there is support easily accessible and don't be afraid to ask a member of your team or a mentor for help. I would also recommend going into the office and not turning down opportunities to connect with other apprentices and graduates so you have a network or you can feel a bit isolated, especially since most of your teams will be older than you. Also, it is important to manage your work and studying and make sure that your teams and counsellor know when you have training and be sure to speak up if you feel overwhelmed. Make sure to keep tabs on yourself and take breaks and use your free time to step away from work completely and relax.