Auditing Intern Review

I enjoyed my placement year at Grant Thornton immensely. I made good deal of progress in my professional development and the skills that I learnt have been invaluable. I was given real responsibility from day one and met a great network of colleagues, who I hope to stay in touch with.

Throughout this placement year at Grant Thornton, I felt extremely well valued by both my team and the firm. Rather than being treated as just an ‘intern’, I was given real responsibility and my team were very appreciative of the work I was completing, which had tangible benefits to the team.

Throughout the placement, I felt extremely well supported, with my team carefully guiding me through the year (whilst also giving me the autonomy to lead on projects). For the first several weeks of the placement, I was guided through the various systems used by my department and appointed with a buddy for support. Throughout the year, my team was very supporting and I was always comfortable asking them questions etc.

I became gradually more and more busy as the placement year went on. For the first several months, I worked my standard 9am – 5pm hours, however as I was given more responsibility and tasks, I would work slightly longer hours to get all my work done, but never anything too extreme and I preferred to be busy!

From day one, I was given responsibility and as previously mentioned, I was never treated as ‘just an intern’, relegated to making tea and photocopying! I was assigned my own projects to work on and I was given the autonomy to lead on these projects, managing the timelines and my workload.

As my university degree is very different to this field of work (I am currently undertaking a History and Politics degree), this placement is of no relevance. However, the skills and knowledge I developed will undoubtedly benefit me in the future as I wish to pursue a career in Auditing and Tax.

There was a great atmosphere in the office and it was an extremely positive environment to be in. Due to the nature of auditing, many people could be away from the office at one time, however it always seemed to be buzzy and there was always someone to have a chat with.

I found this placement programme to be very well structured, with a great level of organisation. There was a comprehensive induction programme at the beginning and we had many training courses arranged for us throughout the year. There was a scheduled mid-placement and end-of-placement review to reflect on our progress throughout the year, which I found very beneficial.

Grant Thornton invested a great deal into our personal development and training. We were provided with training on the IT and departmental systems and there were so many opportunities to develop throughout the year. There were various networking sessions and talks arranged to aid our development and I completed this placement feeling more confident and well-equipped for working life as a result.

Future employment prospects at Grant Thornton are fantastic! If you work hard and demonstrate your worth during the programme, it is likely you will be invited to return as a graduate once you complete your degree. Grant Thornton is a great place to begin your career as there are so many development opportunities.

There was a great social element to this placement and it really enhanced my year spent at Grant Thornton. The firm organised regular social and networking events throughout the year and, in addition to this, the interns would organise many of our own socials after work, often going for drinks or dinner.

Being in London the cost of living was high, however we were adequately remunerated throughout the year and this off-set the high costs.

Being in London, there is a great nightlife!

Yes, lots of different opportunities!