Assurance Assosciate Review

I found the placement experience with Grant Thornton to be thoroughly enjoyable. The company has a fantastic mentality and drive towards growth which I feel is clearly reflected in the attitudes of the individuals with whom you interact on a daily basis. The vast majority of peoples I worked with are relatively young, so there is a great mentality and I found it very easy to get along with people.

Grant Thornton is a training-firm, as such has at its core an integral desire to perpetually train and foster new talent. As such I felt highly valued by my colleagues. Everybody, regardless whether they're a first year or a partner is receptive to opinions and feedback. Ideas on business development are genuinely cherished and considered. You will almost immediately be put into a client-facing environment, and given increasing amounts of responsibility throughout the year. The respect and responsibilities which you will be given foster a fantastic environment for personal development.

The management structure is extremely supportive. You are assigned a personal manager who is there to help and guide you with any questions, and ensure you are getting the right amount of training and development. If you feel like you are not being given enough variety, or you want to try a new task or you have suggestions for improving business procedures, your manager is your first port-of-call; and most importantly, your requests/opinions don't fall on deaf ears - the managers are incredibly proactive in chasing-up your requests. My personal experience was fantastic as my manager was simply excellent.

The nature of the department in which I was working, was that a work stream wasn't constant or guaranteed, but instead was periodic and dependant on the clients. Audit is known as having a busy-season between January and March, and in this time you certainly are working constantly. In theory, given the amount of on-going jobs at any one time, there are always things to be done, but at times you might find yourself without a task. The advantage here is that you get a chance to experience work for other departments (something that is actively encouraged within the firm), this gives you very good exposure to what the other branches of the firm do.

You will, almost immediately and throughout the entire course of your placement, be immersed into a client-facing, billable environment. This in and of itself is a great deal of responsibility, as you will be the face of the company when dealing with clients. More than this however, Grant Thornton - as aforementioned- are a training firm, and seek therefore seek to push and grow employees wherever possible. As such the extent of responsibility which you are given is limited only by your own performance. In my experience, if you show that you are reliable and hard-working, you will be given increasingly more responsibility.

My year in audit with Grant Thornton was definitely a helpful learning experience. On the technical side of things I learned an incredible amount about accounting (policies, procedures, laws, accounting methods) - despite not being directly degree-relevant for me, accounting underpins all businesses and a solid foundation understanding will aid any work environment, as well as help you understand how personal finance/mortgages/loans really work. Simultaneously, I developed excellent Excel proficiency (a skill that is directly transferrable to many degrees and eventual work environments). Furthermore, we were given several training courses on core-skills, focused around presentations. On the personal/interpersonal side of things I learned a great deal about managing my own time and being responsible for my work product. Through constant client exposure, I developed good experience in building rapport with clients, as well as learning how to professionally deal with difficult ones.

Very young, very active and very friendly.

There was plenty of work at all times, and there were training courses booked throughout. There was enough work on that you could always have something to do, but at the same time there is enough leniency that if you give advanced notice, it is possible to partake in inter-departmental experience or workshops that you personally feel will aid your placement.

Grant Thornton's investment in training is unparalleled. Not only are you constantly being taught and coached whilst working (in a proactive, not a stifling way), but you are sent on several training courses to the firm's own Bradenham Manor training facility. This in an excellent experience, and certainly one of the highlights of the placement.

Very appealing - the firm is incredibly ambitious and looking to grow in every conceivable sector. As such there will be plenty of room and demand for new talent. I personally was offered the grad scheme, and every placement student is evaluated, and has a chance to get the offer.

Yes, you meet loads of people at your level throughout various workshops and courses, and the placement students have exclusive training workshops, so you get a chance to meet and socialise with plenty of fellow students. In terms of your office social scene, that entirely depends on where you're located, but all offices have a social committee and organise events throughout the year.

Living in Cambridge is not the cheapest area in the UK. Rent prices are quite high, but the housing market is incredibly dynamic with and endless amount of house-share opportunities and a broad price-range. Socialising and going out isn't any more expensive than any other major UK city, plus there's plenty of student bars.

It depends on what you're looking for. There are pubs and restaurants a-plenty, loads of variety and lots of cool places. The clubbing scene is slightly more limited, but with 2 large unis present in Cambridge, there's always something going on

Plenty of opportunities, from weekly badminton and tennis, to a national football tournament with all offices, drinks and dinners frequently organised too. Always something going on, and everyone is welcome.