A Day in the Life of

During my time at school, I was fortunate enough to have work experience at an Investment Bank which gave me a small insight into the financial services industry. From this point onwards, I knew that I wanted to work in the financial sector and rather than go to university, this scheme offered me the opportunity to work towards a relevant professional qualification while gaining on-the-job experience.

I have now started my second year on the EY School Leaver Programme, working in Banking and Capital Markets which is a specialist business unit within the Financial Services (FS) Assurance Department. The Assurance practice encompasses a range of different services, the most common of which is a financial audit. In brief, this involves reviewing a company’s financial statements to ensure that the figures recorded are accurate and compliant with accounting standards.

Through working in EY’s Banking and Capital Markets Department, I have worked on a variety of clients ranging from a multinational investment bank to a brokerage firm with less than 150 employees. This diversity presents challenges but also offers different opportunities to learn and is something which I enjoy.

Working in Assurance, I spend the majority of my time working as part of an audit team which is usually based at the client’s offices. One of the most enjoyable aspects of working in Assurance is the variety that it brings and for this reason it is difficult to describe a ‘typical’ working day. I spend a large proportion of my time interacting with both client employees as well as EY colleagues.

To be successful on the School Leaver Programme, I think it is important to show enthusiasm and a willingness to learn and take on new challenges. Being able to communicate effectively is also essential, especially working in Assurance as a large proportion of the time is spent interacting with both colleagues and client employees.