Internship Review at Grant Thornton

The Role

Role Description

Providing assurance services to private and public clients.

1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Hands on from the outset, with proper responsibility. On my first day after training I had to sit in on a client planning meeting with the Office Managing Partner - the buzz you get off hearing senior management at GT and a client firm talk about their performance was an eye opening experience.

2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Value isn't the issue, it's more that GT colleagues talked me through various tests and told me the rationale behind them. They let me speak to Finance Directors on my own very early on. The responsibility was nice to have.

3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

Everyone was happy to answer any question I had, from senior managers to the more junior members of the audit teams on client sites.

4. How busy were you on a daily basis?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

I was scheduled onto different clients every week. The first week was a bit slow, but that's because they train you on the audit basics and software before you go out onto a client site.

5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Rated 7/10

Responsible for completing two whole sections in audits, cash and PPE.

6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

GT are excellent for training. Bradenham was great and the presentation skills course has had such a big influence on how I carry myself in business and how I engage with colleagues.

The Organisation

7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

Very friendly, very team orientated environment. People seem to bring in cakes and other bits of food everyday. Even the partners are easily accessible and really friendly - I got the impression that they really care about their people and try to develop everyone as much as they can.

8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?

★★★★★★★★★☆

Rated 9/10

Knew from the outset exactly what I'd be doing everyday. Very organised. A testament to how well structured the internship programme is at GT. Bringing all interns nationwide in one place must've been a challenge but it was worth it!

9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

Even though I was there for only 4 weeks, I had a 3 day course at Bradenham and a 2 day introduction to audit and their systems. More training than I received on my year long placement!

10. What were the perks on your work placement?

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Rated 0/10

• Company Parties/Events

11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?

★★★★★★★★★★

Rated 10/10

At the end, every intern has a partner interview. Was very happy to have been offered a job. I felt that the GT team saw my potential and I really liked that. I happily accepted as soon as I got the official paperwork!

Other Information

12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

My office takes on 2 interns in audit at a time. But there were 6 in total for the year. I got on well with all the interns. At Bradenham, I got to meet half of the interns in the UK, again everyone was really nice. On the CSR day, all the UK interns were in one place - brilliant group of people.

13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Rated 6/10

Birmingham isn't that expensive (compared to London anyway).

14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

It's Birmingham... a lot of uni's and a lot of stuff to do.

15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?

★★★★★★★★☆☆

Rated 8/10

CSR day, training, all the social activities the teams have. GT is very aware of its CSR, so they have a lot of initiatives going on to give back to the community.

In addition to these questions, is there any extra information you would like to leave about your experiences on your work placement that other students may be interested in?

GT isn't a big 4 but provides the same services and wins awards for them. It consistently scores well in all league tables and has a high self reported satisfaction rate (Jobcrowd, ratemyplacement, etc). I also felt that as the company grows, I could grow with it. Maybe in 5-10yrs, it'll be the big 5 and not the big 4.

Review 83/86 for Grant Thornton

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