Audit trainee Review

I was responsible for completing audit fieldwork alongside large teams for large single entities and groups. Upon reaching year 2 I was also responsible for audit planning and completion as well as completing fieldwork under a manager. this role involved very little accounts prep and I would often only be assigned to one area of the audit due to the large clients

I was able to hugely develop my soft skills as well as my technical skills. Technical skills were improved through completing the ACA accounting qualification and soft skills were developed through writing emails, communicating with clients, working in a team with other individuals and being able to keep time and meet deadlines.

The BDO school leaver programme is sold as a dream. I was working sometimes 60/70 hours a week alongside studying within my first 2 years as a trainee with little regard given to the fact I was studying. If I alerted managers that I was struggling their response would be ‘well everyone before you has done it so get on with it’

Everything is centralised so no decisions can be made locally regarding your exams. I was constantly sent emails and reported for having not registered for an exam when I’d already sat it. The training provider used are unorganised and unhelpful. Internal training is good however expectations are extremely high.

BDO like to tell you that they fully support you and your wellbeing however the reality is far from this. Upon raising concerns regarding my wellbeing I was told that I just needed to get on with it as everyone else had done it before me. Managers are too busy to deal with issues from juniors

The training provider provide tuition/revision for exams as well as progress calls. Within these calls you are assigned a random operative who knows nothing about your progress to date or you as a person. The courses are generally strong but the tutoring can vary from subject to subject. They take about 2 working weeks to reply to any message.

Throughout my training I gained new knowledge around accounting, business, audit and tax. As most of BDO clients report under the IFRS accounting framework, I was able to easily transfer the knowledge I had learnt in college to my everyday role like IFRS 16 leases and IFRS 15 revenue recognition.

There is a social committee but events are organised with short notice so no one really attends. There is opportunity to get involved in ‘champion’ groups eg. promoting digital audit, audit software. These groups are very accessible and most regions have a few representatives. There are sometimes firmwide social events.

No

High amounts of pressure and bad work-life balance. It is massively bound by corporate policies like being fired after failing an exam twice, sitting 3 exams at a time, not being able to take holiday at certain times of the year. There is no company culture and is generally a very negative place to work

Consider if you really want a corporate lifestyle which is bound by policies which cannot be changed locally. Consider if you want a work-life balance and are happy to work long working weeks. As you move on through your career more pressure is added therefore you should also consider this.