Corporate Assistant Review
at Forvis Mazars
Degree Apprenticeship
Accounting
London
Review Submitted: May 2023
Overall Rating
4 /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!
3.5/5
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Overview of Role
4/5
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Skills Development
4/5
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Structure and Support
Overview of Role
Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis:
4/5
Requesting documents from the client and analysing the documents in a variety of ways to identify whether the documents contain any material misstatements. There is a lot of team calls and calls with the client, to query anything that seems out of the ordinary. And a lot of using Excel.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
3/5
At times, especially during January, the job felt quite stressful, with the hard deadlines. However, I have found the job quite enriching with lots of variety every day. There is also lots of opportunity for personal and academic development with the ACA qualification alongside the course. I have quite enjoyed learning the material for my qualification.
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
4/5
I have learnt a lot of analytical skills, especially with use of different formulae in Excel. I have improved my team working skills, as well as my communication skills, when talking to the client team. I have particularly improved my problem solving skills when completing trying to work out how to complete working papers.
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
4/5
It is very well structured, with lots of available support. I wish they provided us with some more time to study, as it can feel very intense learning the content while working, however they have allowed us to take control to an extent for when to take exams, which has helped a lot with the stress.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
4/5
I have a very supportive line manager, who often catches up with me to see how I am doing. Received a lot of support from my job teams too, especially during the busy season. My coworkers have made me feel very welcome too, and there is a nice culture in the firm.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
4/5
BPP have been very supportive. The recorded videos have been extremely useful in learning the content. I have also found the classroom study days very useful. They have a lot of material to help you practice the questions on the online hub, which has helped me get through the exams so far.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
4/5
The qualification so far has been very useful in developing my background knowledge in auditing and many other areas of accounting, such as taxation. It has also helped me develop other important skills for the job, such as time pressure, problem solving skills, and analytics skills, through answering many questions.
Are there extra-curricular activities to get involved in at your work? (For example, any social activities, sports teams, or even professional networking events.)
4/5
Lots of different clubs and societies available to take part in, such as rock climbing, languages and tennis. They also host a number of different socials throughout the year, as well as have the occasional special event that takes place within the office. There haven't been any professional networking events I have been aware of.
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend Forvis Mazars to a friend?
Yes
Why?
Because there has been a high level of support going through the apprenticeship thus far, and I have already developed a number of different skills. The qualification is tough, but there has been a lot of support so far helping me through it. The employees are very friendly and supportive.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to Forvis Mazars?
Know beforehand that at times it is going to feel very tough, and at the start, very overwhelming. You get thrown straight into the deep end with audit work, which will feel challenging at first, but stick with it and you will get through. It is very different to university studying alongside a job too.
