Core Assurance Internship Review

The internship was was enjoyable from day one when PwC sent all the UK interns to London for a 3 day training course until the last day when we had a farewell get together after presenting group projects to a few partners of the firm. Everything in between was a great experience as well since I was put directly on an audit team on the first day of work, given responsibilities that any graduate would have had, instead of doing admin work alone back in the office. The internship truly did give insight as to what it would be like working for the company if taken on as a graduate the next year, which is why I enjoyed doing the work so much.

Since I was put on audit teams, I got to know those colleagues very well. I even was given the opportunity to join in a night out celebration for audit work completed for a client I was working on that was done the previous year, despite the fact I was not working there then. Everyone I met throughout the internship was very welcoming and did not treat me as just an intern that would be leaving soon and instead treated me like their co-worker.

The managers for each audit team were extremely hands on and helpful to me. The first manager made the effort to chat with me before even starting work on the client, offering his guidance and assistance in anyway possible. The second manager I encountered was an active participant on the audit team and was always willing to answer questions I had and take the time to explain a concept or business practice I may not have been familiar with.

I always had something to do, even when there was an issue with getting work from a client, I had group project work I could do instead.

I feel PwC gave interns a lot of responsibility, more so than I would have expected. As I already have mentioned, the tasks I was given would have been the same if I was a graduate employee. Also, on one audit client, I was given the responsibility to audit an entire fund on my own, which of course I was given much support and guidance on, but the fact that they trusted my abilities enough to have that responsibility was a bit intimidating at first but rewarding at the end.

Since I am an accounting major, the skills and training I received will help me with my final year of study. One class I am taking this year is about financial planning and when he was describing different investment funds and trusts, I understood his explanations right away since I was working on those types of clients and learned a lot about their business despite not working for them directly. The soft skills gained, such as networking, time management, communcation, report writing etc. are obviously helpful for anyone's development and can be used throughout university and life in general. Also, when I start next year as a graduate for PwC, I will be able to fit smoothly into the firm since I was exposed to them already.

I rarely worked in the office since I was put on site working in audit teams at the client's office. When out on site, the people I worked with were around my age, very friendly, and easy to talk to. When I was in the office for a few days during my entire 6 week internship, I was more on my own doing work, which is what most of the other people in the office were doing as well.

I did not have any problems or issues with the organization of the internship.

The flew everyone down to London in order to have 3 days training for the internship. Also, we were part of their internal program to set objectives and goals for ourselves, gain feedback from colleagues, and then assess ourselves on how well we achieved those goals. We also were allotted some company time each week in order to complete a group project that consisted of members from other offices in Scotland as well.

I was informed of my offer for a graduate position during the last week of the internship.

The interns were all placed on different clients, but we did make the effort to meet every once in a while after work. I also did go out on a few occasions with the people I was working with.

I think since I worked in the city, it was a bit expensive. However, I lived in a different town and took the train in everyday for work, so I do not feel I could accurately comment on this question.

Being a city, I am sure the nightlife was good, however I did not experience anything other than some early evening pub and dinner gathersin, so I do not feel I could accurately comment on this question.

I was not aware of any activities outside of work other than those that I or other employees set up on a more casual basis.