RateMyPlacement and RateMyApprenticeship are now Higherin: Learn More

Higherin
PwC

Audit associate trainee Review

at PwC

Work Experience

Accounting

Derby

Review Submitted: June 2021

Overall Rating

4.7 /5

The Overall Rating is the average of all the ratings given in each category. We take those individual ratings and combine them into one final score!

4.6/5 - Overview of the Experience
5/5 - Skills Development
4.5/5 - Company Culture

Overview of the Experience

Please give an overview of what your work experience involved:
4/5
My experience involved communicating with clients to receive deliverables to document for the external audits our team carries out. I completed 7/15 exams for my ICAEW ACA professional qualification. I was in charge of documenting and completing parts of the financial statements, running through walkthroughs and carrying out stock counts.
To what extent did you enjoy your work experience?
4/5
I really enjoyed working with the various teams whilst working from home, the work was varied in terms of the clients I was working on and the work that was to be carried out. During busy season 3 out of 11 months the hours worked were really long but this was reflected in the overtime pay. It was intense but definitely helped me grow.
How well organised was your work experience?
5/5
Very organised, we were treated as graduates and were in the same cohort. We were given similar work if not, the same as graduates and therefore the level of difficulty was on the same level. Regular emails were sent in order to keep us up to date about exams, policies and a live timetable of the year ahead.
How much did your work experience help you in deciding on your future career path?
5/5
Quite a bit, as soon as you start you are put into training for the exams which is encouraging. Having completed 7 out of the 15 exams it has definitely helped me narrow down where I would like to finish the rest of the exams to become qualified. The culture has diven me towards this choice.
Were you paid or reimbursed for this experience?
5/5
Yes the placement was paid for 11 months
During stock counts where you were to drive further than your office miles, you were reimbursed. IT equipment was delivered to you when required.

Skills Development

What training and skills development did you learn from your work experience?
5/5
Communication with different levels of people, confidence in talking to clients. I also learnt how to manage my time well in order to complete tasks promptly and efficiently. I developed my understanding of certain businesses and applied my studies towards my ACA exams in my client work. How to proficiently work excel and other software for data analytics.

Company Culture

How much did you learn about the company culture and what it would be like to work there?
4/5
The company culture is very open, the colleagues are always helpful and love to work collaboratively. There is a culture of providing feedback after each client/work carried out and therefore giving us the ability to act on it and improve immediately. PwC has a relaxed culture and therefore the jobs are not strictly corporate and provides room for people to be their relaxed self
Were there opportunities for networking and meeting other employees?
5/5
Yes because the teams and clients you are placed on are from all over the UK. Sometimes you have a chance to speak to the PwC offices in Poland and India, collaboratively carrying out client work. There was a partners lunch that was offered to the associates where you have the opportunity to meet the partners and directors.

Recommendations and Advice

Would you recommend PwC to a friend?
Yes
Why?
The benefits are competitive and you have choices on the benefits you wish to chose for the year, this can be changed yearly. There is a feedback platform where you can earn points to buy giftcards, feedback can be given by anyone with or without points. There is a culture of constant feedback and therefore there is an opportunity to grow. You can take holidays off in order to study for your exams, tuition for the exams takes place during the working day, PwC pay for this too. If you do not pass exams you have the ability to resit
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to PwC?
Research the culture and current news articles on PwC and their growth. You do not need to have a finance related degree to apply! This is a misconception, it should be made aware training is given on the job and therefore everyone is starting on the same level! Be yourself! PwC is known for its diversity
In This Review
Join Now

Join the Higherin Community

Save Time

Easily add jobs from Higherin or external platforms to keep everything organised.

Personalised Alerts

Get tailored job recommendations and updates straight to your inbox.

Exclusive Features

Access tools like application tracking, deadline reminders, and saved searches.

Stay Ahead

Be the first to know about the latest opportunities and deadlines.

Completely Free

Create an account and unlock powerful features at no cost.