Corporate assistant - Audit Review

Day to day activities are monotonous and involve heavy amounts of copying and pasting with lack of variety. These tasks become repetitive and are not a true reflection of a challenging, stimulating workload. Occasional stock takes and client site visits spark some sort of variety, however the day to day workload remains the same with copying and pasting being at the forefront of a corporate assistants duties.

I was given very little responsibility throughout my placement. As a corporate assistant there is no autonomy given to trainees to have their own workload to manage or maintain. Tasks are assigned last minute and client bookings are constantly changed, leaving no room for planning or prioritising your own workload. This is not a true reflection of what it is like to be assigned a workload in a corporate environment. Sometimes tasks are assigned from different offices as well as completely different service lines that follow no structure whatsoever.

I have enhanced my excel skills as well as my confidence and communication skills. Engaging with clients and using online platforms to obtain relevant audit documents has allowed me to enhance my verbal and written communication skills.

Guidance and support was provided from the firm at the start. Some staff members were supportive.

Company culture and general atmosphere was fun and inclusive. Lots of socials/events were run throughout the year to provide a nice work life balance.

I did not enjoy my placement. The work was monotonous and became extremely repetitive whereby I was not achieving anything from copying and pasting on a daily basis. This placement is not a true representation of what it is like to work within a corporate environment. Not enough emphasis is placed on the structure of the placement and needs to be looked into to improve the experience for other placement students going forward.

No