Audit Vacation Student Review

I really enjoyed my placement, especially when I was working on client sites. On the days that were properly organised I had a really great time.

I felt extremely valued when I was working on client site due to the pressure of timings. The work needed to all be done within a certain time and I was generally given as much responsibility as the grads. This meant that I was doing actual work that would be used to create a report detailing the opinion of KPMG on a clients accounts.

There were a lot of great members of staff that I worked with who really cared about your learning. There was a lot of pressure on them to get on with their work due to the deadlines but they would always take time out to make sure that I understood what I was doing.

This particular placement didn't really relate to my degree - but that's the beauty of it. You don't have to do an accountancy degree to take this placement. There are lots of people from completely different backgrounds.

The first three weeks was really structured and that's the part that I enjoyed most when I was on client site. Unfortunately, the last week wasn't as structured so I often was asking for work to do - this wasn't all of KPMGs fault because on occasions things do go wrong.

Everyone was extremely nice and helpful and always willing to help if need be. On client site it was really fun because you are just with your team. In the office its a little more quiet and you are generally not sat with your team.

The firm is really focused on training for their staff members. Whether that's official training online (health & safety training is really fun!) or whether its on the job learning. A lot of learning with this role is on the job and especially would be if you became a grad. There is also a lot of technical training too.

I was able to interact with graduates on a daily basis - so I was able to see what their roles were like on a daily basis. Also, in the interview process the recruitment team allow you to speak to other graduates (both on the Launchpad and on an online portal towards your start date).

It really helped me to understand the culture - especially in different places. At first I was only based on client site but they made sure that I also spent some time in my home office which is quite different. so it was nice that they recognised this to ensure I got the full picture.

It was extremely helpful because it made me realise that with any job you cant truly understand if you want to do that long-term until you actually experience it.

The pay is really good for this role! Especially because its only 4 weeks and you are completely unqualified and inexperienced.

The opportunities for networking are always readily available - they even have their own mini social networking site so that you can keep updated! There is also opportunities to join clubs and societies when you join full-time as well as staff drinks etc after work sometimes.

The event opportunities during my placement were virtually non-existent but simply because I was there for such a short period of time. I believe that the grads get a lot of chances to attend events and networking opportunities.

There are so many activities that employees can get involved outside of work - I previously mentioned the different sports and societies and I believe that KPMG gives each club a bit of a grant sort of thing to help them out.

I would really recommend this insight because its really valuable experience to work in such a reputable and professional firm with some lovely people.