Assurnace placement Review

by PwC

Best Student Employer

This review was submitted over 4 years ago, so some of the information it contains may no longer be relevant.

Rating

3.8/5
  • The Role
    3.7
  • The Company
    4.3
  • The Culture
    3.5

    The Role

  • 1. To what extent did you enjoy your work placement or internship?
  • In general I found that there was rarely a day when I would dread going to work! Auditing itself can be a tedious task on occasions, but as a 'first year' at PwC, I was rarely working at the same client for more than a couple of weeks, so it wasn't a typical '9-5' same-four-office-walls job. In particular, the variety of clients, team members and locations made the job enjoyable and not mundane or too routine.

    4/5

  • 2. To what extent did you feel valued by your colleagues?
  • In terms of PwC on the whole, I did sometimes feel a bit like another 'resource' rather than an employee - auditors are allocated to jobs but sometimes you may be put on a job last minute or moved from one to another. This allocation took away the feeling of being valued as a capable individual employee. Having said that, once you join a team at the audit client, you are valued by your colleagues (even if you have never met them before!) as you have specific tasks to complete on your own. Therefore, your work is vital for the audit to be completed by the deadline.

    4/5

  • 3. To what extent were you given support and guidance by management/your supervisor(s)?
  • PwC is excellent when it comes to support and guidance - on work and personal matters. You get feedback from the person in charge of each audit you are on which points out your key strengths and weaknesses. Also, you are assigned a Counselling Manager who reviews all of your feedback at the end of the year and helps you set key objectives for the next year. They are there as a point of contact throughout the placement. You also have a buddy assigned to you from the '2nd year' PwC Associates. You generally become good friends with the graduates who join with you and the year group above, so your relationship with your buddy can be quite informal.

    5/5

  • 4. How busy were you on a daily basis?
  • It really depended on the job I was working on and the tasks I was delegated. As a placement student, I was never really so rushed off my feet that I had to work stupidly long hours - although as you progress in the firm I think this may be the tendency! Even if I was pretty busy, I found that I was still able to finish work on time to pursue leisure activities. Generally PwC appreciate that Oct - Feb is 'busy season' and you are expected to ensure you meet the deadlines, but the spring / summer months tend to be more relaxed and sometimes you may even have days when you find yourself to barely anything to do!

    3/5

  • 5. How much responsibility were you given during your placement?
  • There was a limited amount of responsibility I could be allocated as a placement student. PwC is a professional firm and although I took the first set of professional stage ACA exams, it would still take me another couple of years to become a fully qualified Chartered Accountant.

    3/5

  • 6. To what extent did/will the skills you developed, and training you received, assist you in your degree studies and beyond?
  • There were numerous compulsory training courses such as ethics training, independence, money laundering etc which are all necessary for PwC to complete quality services for clients. I joined with 12 graduates (at the Milton Keynes office) and was treated on a par with them. So I undertook the first year of the ACA qualification, which was invaluable in terms of aiding my final year accounting studies and puts me a good way to attaining the Chartered Accountancy status when I graduate.

    5/5

    The Company

  • 7. What was the general atmosphere in your office?
  • Again, this varied! Each day's level of banter depended on who was in the office and what time of year it was. During the busy season, the office tended to be very quiet and everyone was very busy so there wasn't really any banter! But Milton Keynes is the smallest PwC office, so I imagine this may not be the same at other PwC offices. Although, everyone tends to wear suits / smart office dress at all offices (altho it is generally more relaxed then when you are working out at client's).

    4/5

  • 8. How well organised was the overall work placement or internship set up?
  • I think since my placement, PwC have standardised the scheme more - as personally I found that being the only placement student at PwC in the midlands region, the resourcing team weren't always quite sure whether I was a graduate equivalent or a gap student! But other than these admin issues, I would have to say that it was an excellent placement and if I had to do it again, I'd definitely opt to work at PwC!

    5/5

  • 9. In terms of personal training and development, to what extent did the company or firm invest in you?
  • Considering I was only a placement student, PwC paid for me to become a member of the ICAEW and paid for my exams etc knowing that I might not even graduate - and if I do, I might not even decide to go back to PwC! Considering the ACA costs about £30,000 per student in total over 2.5 years, I think they invested quite a lot in me!

    5/5

  • 10. What were the perks on your work placement?
  • Subsidised Canteen

    Subsidised/Company Gym

    National Travel

    Working from home

    3/5

  • 11. How appealing are future employment prospects within the organisation?
  • I have just signed my contract to return to PwC. In two years time, I will have completed my ACA qualification and be able to take advantage of the many career and secondment opportunities PwC have to offer.

    5/5

    The Culture

  • 12. Was there a good social scene amongst any fellow placement students/colleagues?
  • Yeah - I mentioned this in a previous question. Although I was the only placement student at Milton Keynes PwC, I was actually part of the graduate group recruited that year, so as mentioned, we became a group of friends rather than a group of colleagues and often went out (drinking) together and even went on holiday together!

    5/5

  • 13. What was the cost of living and socialising in the area you worked in?
  • I lived at 'home' so the cost of living was excellent for me! However, Milton Keynes can be a little expensive - especially if you buy your lunch there everyday!

    4/5

  • 14. What was the Nightlife like in the area you worked?
  • Generally OK but unfortunately Milton Keynes is slightly underdeveloped when it comes to nightlife! Although there have been rumours of a few new clubs opening there soon, but until then, its Oceana all the way!

    3/5

  • 15. Were there many opportunities to get involved in activities outside of work?
  • Yes there were quite a few...eg Sporting Activities (basketball, netball, cricket, footy and random one off events like dodgeball)

    4/5

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Details

Placement (10 Months+)

East Midlands

August 2011


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