Financial Services - Audit Review

I've absolutely no regrets in joining Deloitte for my placement year, it's a fantastic firm with many opportunities to travel (once you're qualified). Even on my placement year in Financial Services Audit, I wasn't ever given any less responsibility than a graduate student which really gives you an insight on what life is like working in this role after uni. I would be very keen to return to this firm but not in the audit role.

I think one of the benefits of working on extensive projects in a pretty explicit team means that you really get to know your colleagues. Provided you make the effort to ask for help and be extroverted early on, they really appreciate this and I was surprised about how well I actually got on with my colleagues.

As much as the onus and responsibility is on you to make sure your work is done on time, the managers & AMs are fantastic in giving you the support on a task that you're unfamiliar with. Obviously you get to grips with things quickly as you go, but the support is always there as long as you're proactive about it.

During "busy season", extremely busy. Hours really depend on the client but I was on two of the worst jobs in my busy season, in terms of hours. Saying that, during the summer months the hours were super chill! Just be aware on audits that the year-end periods are going to be busy, and half-year is far more quiet.

A lot of responsibility was given to me, which was a blessing and a curse! Again, it gives you more scope to actually learn from your experience, which is what the placement year is really all about. Admittedly it was more stressful than other placements, but I cannot fault the amount of faith that my managers gave me to not just be the coffee boy!

This has undoubtedly been the most valuable year of my life in terms of my career prospects. The skills you develop here set you up to smash your final year at uni, whilst potentially securing a grad job at one of the biggest firms in the world. Being out of my comfort zone has done wonders for my confidence when looking at life after university!

General atmosphere in the office was decent. As an auditor everyone's generally left to their own work, but all of my seniors had an "open door" policy where a quick skype message is all it takes to fit in a chat if I came across something where I needed help.

Really well organised. The placement year is set to test you but also set you up for a grad position. The hierarchy in staff on your engagement team definitely helps in knowing who best to ask based on the importance and difficulty of the subject. In short, the audit team ran like clockwork.

For my first couple of months I was in college with the other grads, sitting ACA-level exams that were internally marked by Deloitte in my case. This was all paid for by the firm, and really good preparation for what the exams are actually like once I graduate! The formal training sessions are useful too in getting to know the software before being sent out to client site.

It's standard practice to have an "exit interview" with the Partner/Director of the firm the week or so, and by that point you tend to get the vibe of whether or not you'll secure the job before you even sit the interview. I was fortunate enough to have been offered a grad job the following week!

When we were out of busy season, the social scene was very good. End of season parties, social events, dinners out, drinks (all of which paid for) on top of your meals out when you're on client site too (which are again expensed), it's a great excuse to get to know people on your team and around the office.

The cost of living in Bristol is slightly higher than some of the other Southern offices at Deloitte (i.e. Reading, Cardiff), but as the only Audit Placement Student I did have to opt for a studio flat in the centre for the sake of practicality. Generally it's like any city, living & social costs aren't too shabby.

Having two universities in Bristol, which in itself is a big city in the South West, means that the nightlife is great as a placement student! Living in the centre makes life a lot easier in that sense, but the late late busses mean that you can stay out until 8am if you fancy!

Having previously mentioned this, the opportunity to have my own free time in this role really depends on what time of year we're talking about. However, when outside of busy season I was able to train with the local athletics club (Bristol & West AC) which is a great excuse to get to know other social circles and keep the training going.