Audit and Assurance - Intern Review

Having the opportunity to work at PwC (London) was fascinating and insightful. Although I did not have much experience within accounting or auditing, the firm integrated interns very well. There was a fantastic 3 day residential induction for the entire set of interns across the UK, working for all lines of service, which allowed us to create a network with, meet with, and connect with people all across the country, and with varying interests. From there, when meeting my assigned team, they were extremely welcoming and understanding. They were all willing to answer any and all questions regarding work, career aspirations, as well as any other questions I may have had. Throughout the internship, I was given work which any new-joining associate would have been assigned, and I felt as though I was treated like a new-joiner rather than just an intern, who would be there only to help out temporarily.

As mentioned above, I was treated like a new-joiner and not a temporary intern. My work was valued, my opinions were heard, and I truly believe that the people at PwC are extremely friendly, understanding and welcoming to all people. Even if I was meeting colleagues for the first (and only) time, they would treat me with respect and be very keen to answer any questions (even if it was their lunch break) that I had.

When given work, my seniors would be extremely willing to explain why a specific task would be performed, what would be required to do, and finally how to do it. Although they would seldom walk me through the process, they would be willing to show me the foundations of how to perform the task, and let me work from there. If I had any queries regarding the work given, all questions would be welcome.

The team I was assigned to had its busy season during the internship period, therefore it was completely understandable that the workload / time invested would be quite heavy, and I was staying relatively late. However, in my final week, after the required work was completed, the workload significantly decreased, and the team environment was more relaxed, and I did not have to stay late (more reflective of a normal internship at this time of year / the workload of audit at the firm).

While some senior associates on the team had ACA exams during part of my internship, I was assigned to carry out their work, and therefore the responsibilities I was given were senior associate-level. Furthermore, I was also given the responsibility to perform some testing, involving sampling, collection of data and documentation.

Although most of the time we were utilising Aura, which is a programme specifically custom-made for PwC, the understanding of audit, accountign and controls to be tested will definitely be useful in my degree (Economics - I have chosen some accounting modules) and in my future career. Furthermore, I have certainly developed my Excel skills, as well as a various range of commonly used programmes.

The general atmosphere in the office was great, PwC - London enforces a hot desk policy (where you can sit anywhere), although my team tended to stick to the same desk (as we were during busy season and wanted to occupy an entire desk), you could still easily walk up to other people and have a quick chat, catch-up etc.

As mentioned previously, there is a residential induction which was insightful, as we took lessons / tutorials tailored to the Line of Service we were in. We were also given the opportunity to have a networking dinner with Partners and Directors of our Line of Service. Furthermore, there were many enjoyable activities during the evenings. Outside of the three-day residential induction, we were also given weekly emails from HR updating us on what needed to be done/completed.

The firm was able to gather managers and senior associates from across the UK, and our line of services (audit - for me), to bring them to the residential induction for a 2.5 day learning course. Furthermore, they invested the time to arrange for many (over 40) partners to arrive for the networking dinner.

Future employment prospects are extremely high, as through working with the firm for three years, as a graduate, new-joiner associate, you would also be able to claim and pass the ACA exam, making you a fully-qualified accountant. Furthermore, as PwC is a large firm, one can easily move around the firm's lines of services.

There are many opportunities to get involved in activities. PwC staff host a plethora of regular clubs / societies such as badminton, tennis, football etc. Furthermore, there are also regular firm-wide events ( sports, networking, social events) hosted throughout the year that anyone can join (budget cost allocated by PwC).