Audit Associate Review

Auditing the accounts of medium to large companies. Areas of accounts are divided up to test by the auditors and coaches allocated to juniors on the apprenticeship. Heavy use of Excel and often working in small teams. A lot of access to the finance department of the audited companies and responsibility from within the first year. Also apprentices complete a qualification as well as internal training.

There is direct learning in the form of coaching, internal training and exam preparation as well as a lot of indirect learning from experiences while working with people and on clients such as: - Use of Excel - Understanding of finance departments and audits - General understanding of business - Teamworking - Networking - Time Management - Communication internally and externally - A new version of exam technique - Dealing with internal resourcing and professional qualifications teams

It can be tough, but overall you are working towards an end goal and the amount of enjoyment depends on the people you work with and the connections you make. There is a lot of support available but also a lot expected on your own. There is a lot of flexibility available once trust has built up with seniors, and watch for competing interests for you time (usually exams vs audit work).

Well structured, ICAS are reasonably clear in its structure for the qualification and EY is clear about the apprenticeship pathway. However the communication between the EY ICAS professional qualifications team and ICAS or other parts of EY leaves a lot to be desired. Individual teams can be well or less organised but on the whole it is well organised/structured.

It depends on the type of support needed but EY have really improved their support offerings recently with comprehensive healthcare (including physio and counselling) and a mental health allowance introduced in the last year. Coaching depends on the individual teams you are assigned to and the counsellor you are allocated.

BPP are good at offering support, however the windows of training for the qualification are very short and to fully utilise the support work needs to be completed in advance. Class sizes can get up to 40 people, which makes it impossible to go at the right pace in class and can lead to self study being more effective.

The qualification itself is the most important aspect of the apprenticeship and it covers quite a wide range of topics. A few of these are directly relevant to work and a lot of the rest of the content covered becomes relevant later on. Sometimes the work performed helps apprentices perform better in the qualification.

Yes, and if there isn't it can be easy to set one up if there is the interest. The office will support these to an extent but also there are groups and events set-up and organised external to work by apprentices. The quarterly family days and almost monthly socials are well attended and appreciated as well.

Yes

Those who are looking for the qualification hopefully know what they are getting into and the benefits of it. EY provides a level of support to those gaining the qualification and also a lot of other opportunities for experience and professional connections. While there is a lot expected of apprentices, there are benefits to being in the Big4 environment.

To reach out to someone doing the qualification from the office for a more detailed overview of what life is like in the office and who the people are. They can be found at recruitment events, through networks or on Linked-In. Also they can give tips about the application process as well and the expectations on new staff.