Audit Intern Review

I enjoyed it greatly, as the best part about my insight were the people I met at the KPMG office (I was based in Liverpool). I didn't forsee everyone being as helpful,kind and considerate as they all were and I made some lasting friendships with the other 2 interns in the four weeks I was there.

I was often given jobs with a focus on allowing me to get as much exposure as possible across the audit division. This really added value to me, as well as allowing me to feel like a real valued member of the team. I was also given tasks as part of a team project, so there was real purpose behind my work.

Put simply, I received as much guidance as I asked for. As long as I was asking questions, my more experienced colleagues were always willing to answer - and I had many, many questions when at the start of my vacation scheme. So in short, there was no undersupply of support for definite.

I think the greatest skill I developed, which is also quite a generic skill, was working confidently in a team. Not only that, but navigating my way through a corporate environment. This experience has made me much more comfortable with a corporate lifestyle, and I can look forward to my professional service career with more confidence.

Although, there was some structure in that I was rotating between clients (which allowed me to get exposure), there wasn't a properly structured plan for my work across the four weeks. It was more of a case that I was simply given any work that cropped up- a more guided plan would have allowed me to personally develop in more areas.

The atmosphere was very welcoming in general, and everyone on the Liverpool audit team made me feel very welcome. I learned a lot from everyone that I worked with, and each new team gave me a positive experience. The frequent socials also allowed friendships to flourish, and made work more enjoyable.

A lot of effort was put in online courses, to get me up to scratch with firm processes. I was also given electronic equipment from the firm for my work - which also helped massively towards my development, as the laptop were configured perfectly to access whatever KPMG information you needed, using the various tools etc.

It helped massively in understanding what a full time job role would entail, not only through the work I was doing on a daily basis, but also with interacting a great amount with the people I was working with and enquiring about what their tasks were, what deadlines they had and what kind of time pressure they were under.

I understood the culture perfectly for the company office in Liverpool, but of course office culture also varies by location, so I can't say that I understand the overall company culture perfectly. That being said, I observed how all my colleagues acted in the professional environment and was able to gauge what sort of culture the firm upholds.

The reimbursement process was one of the best parts, because it was so easy to do, using the new SAP concur technology that KPMG had invested. It meant that I was always reimbursed on time. Similarly for train travel, I was able to book online using the KPMG travel agents .