Audit Associate Review

I am very satisfied with my experience at Moore Stephens. The work that I engaged in over the 12 months was very varied and provided the opportunity of working on many clients across a variety of sectors. This meant I was always doing a different job, and was able to learn new things on each job. The work provided was also challenging and required independent problem solving skills, which kept me engaged on a daily basis.

The Moore Stephens staff made me feel extremely valued throughout my time at the firm. Individuals from partner level down to peers that joined in my intake were all friendly and easy to get along with. My line supervisor always kept in touch and ensured that I was busy and content with my work. The work I was presented with was challenging, and of a high level of responsibility which is not something I expected coming in as an intern. This allowed me to feel highly valued as I knew that managers and seniors regarded my work as important.

The support provided by seniors at Moore Stephens is great. As long as you keep focused, show initiative and ask question; managers and seniors will always be happy to help. As an intern you are not expected to know how to do everything, and so the training and briefings provided are more than efficient. There was never a time throughout my twelve months in which I felt like I couldn't ask for help.

My placement was undertaken in the Corporate Audit department, which is extremely time constrained. This meant that I always had work to be getting on with. With the appropriate planning and organisational skills (within the team, and individually) the work load is more than doable. During busy season I was completely booked up with work to do and was able to complete the jobs in a timely manner. This is largely due to the great support given by seniors on jobs (as mentioned above).

From start to finish I was given tasks of no different responsibility than any other member of my intake. The jobs I were on allowed me to: travel independently to clients to perform activities such as stock takes, lead meetings with the clients based on the work I had been doing, and perform important audit work essential to the audit process. The work that I have undertaken during this placement year has provided me with an invaluable learning experience, which I can build on when taking my career further after University.

As mentioned previously, I was in the Corporate Audit Department, which is extremely relevant to my University degree (Accounting and Finance). I have gained great practical experience to really put my theory knowledge gained throughout my studies into practise. For example I have looked at companies' financial statements in depth and analysed almost every section of them. I have also been able to talk to the clients about their business and learn how they operate day to day. As well as enhancing the knowledge gained from my studies, I have also had the chance to expand into completely new areas; such as interest rate swap valuations on Bloomberg, or specific sector knowledge such as the shipping sector. All of which will be extremely helpful in the future.

The office is a very professional place. It is now an open office with members of staff at all grades (i.e. partners down to juniors) all sharing the same office space. This makes it easy to communicate to your peers. All staff are friendly and know the appropriate balance between professional and social life attitudes. The workforce are just as approachable inside of the office as they are outside. Through communications such as group chats or emails, multiple social opportunities are provided by the firm, such as monthly trade desk meetings, leaving drinks, and annual events such as the Christmas party, or the annual pub quiz. This provides a very fun atmosphere with a great opportunity to network whilst having a good time.

Provided that this was the first year the Corporate Audit placement scheme was run at Moore Stephens it was extremely smooth. I joined Moore Stephens with the new graduate intake and was placed into training with them at the beginning of my placement year. This was a great introduction to the firm as it allowed me to get to know people at the firm which were at a similar level to me, whilst simultaneously ensuring that I was up to date with any relevant training. I was also placed into the shipping trading desk, meaning I was part of a team which I would be engaging with on audit jobs, and socials together throughout the year. Finally, my line supervisor was extremely efficient in ensuring I was always booked on jobs and that my placement was running smoothly.

As mentioned above, I instantly joined the school leavers and graduates in TDP (training development programme), and so the firm trained all of us in accounting and audit to prepare us for our time at the firm. This ensured I had the appropriate knowledge and training to begin. As I was only an intern, unlike the other members of the intake, I did not engage with any work associated with training contracts (such as the ACA qualification) as this is only provided if you join as a school leaver, or a graduate. Moore Stephens has however provided me with a huge development opportunity this year as I have enhanced a great amount of my professional abilities, and have gained knowledge which will ensure I can work at an advantaged level after University when deciding to join as a graduate in a scheme such as the ACA training contract.

Approximately 10 months into my placement, Moore Stephens offered me a job to return after University in the graduate role. Therefore the future employment prospects are excellent. I will be joining the team again after University, with an additional bonus (at my request) of having the chance to take a gap year in between my completion of University and return to the firm. The contract I have accepted is a 3 year ACA training contract, meaning that I will be working at Moore Stephens whilst also undertaking my accounting qualification course (which is provided by the firm).

The social life is great. Events such as after work drinks occur at least weekly and anybody at the firm can attend these drinks. Further to this, trading desk socials are arranged approximately every two months and I have engaged in activities such as the murder mystery challenge, Christmas drinks, and a roof top bar social. These are incredibly fun and allow you to network well on a social level with employees you work with on a day to day basis. Moore Stephens' social committee is particularly impressive as the firm organises annual events such as the Christmas and summer party. I went to both and both were incredible. The Christmas party is unlike anything I have ever been to before.

The cost of socialising was expensive compared to what I have been used to before. However, due to the fact my placement was carried out in Barbican, London the prices were relatively standard compared to anywhere else in London. Again, as the firm is based in London the costs of living are higher than most other places in the UK, however I feel that this is combatted by the opportunities presented from working in London.

Whilst expensive compared to my hometown, the nightlife in London is great. There are a huge range of places to go and there is something different everywhere. For example there are bars where you can play table tennis, there are roof top bars, specific themed bars and many more options. Therefore the range of choices available is unlike any other area, and the entertainment is incredible.

The main opportunities provided are the social activities described previously, however members of Moore Stephens also engage in sport activities such as football, cricket and netball. There are also a large number of networking events provided by the firm which present an opportunities to attend events that may interest you (for example there were some external shipping specific events circulated within the shipping department, that employees could attend).