Finance Analyst Review
at AstraZeneca
Degree Apprenticeship
Finance
Cambridge
Review Submitted: February 2025
Overall Rating
3.9 /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!
4/5
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Overview of Role
4/5
-
Skills Development
3.6/5
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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
- Forecasting Budgets - predicting future costs and Full Time Employee rates
- Creating invoices - using finance systems to create invoices
- Month End reporting - Identifying what the costs are each month, analysing deviations to budgets and report back to leaders.
- Raising Journal Entries
- Identify & Implement continuous improvement opportunities - e.g. utilising IT tools to automate & simplify process
- Engaging with customers to solve problems - e.g. sharing financial data with the customer, the customer believes there's a problem with the data. I reach out to further understand the problem and recognise that the customer thought the data was in a different currency.
- Communicating with colleagues internally to solve problems - e.g. correcting an invoice.
- Learning about the business and real life implications of events.
- Creating invoices - using finance systems to create invoices
- Month End reporting - Identifying what the costs are each month, analysing deviations to budgets and report back to leaders.
- Raising Journal Entries
- Identify & Implement continuous improvement opportunities - e.g. utilising IT tools to automate & simplify process
- Engaging with customers to solve problems - e.g. sharing financial data with the customer, the customer believes there's a problem with the data. I reach out to further understand the problem and recognise that the customer thought the data was in a different currency.
- Communicating with colleagues internally to solve problems - e.g. correcting an invoice.
- Learning about the business and real life implications of events.
To what extent do you enjoy your programme?
4/5
I enjoy participating in the programme with other apprentices as it provides an effective support network to talk to problems and challenges with. Also, I enjoy having a supportive manager who pushes me to develop my skills while supporting the team. The programme can be hard in managing multiple work projects as well as keeping up to date with exams. However, I think the hard work is worth it!
Skills Development
Have you learnt any new skills or developed existing skills?
4/5
I have developed skills in:
- Power BI - learning how to create reports
- Excel - learning new formulas and shortcuts
- Leadership - managing priorities
- Communication - being concise
- Problem solving - understanding the best way to approach and create a solution to a problem
- Networking - Spending time getting to know colleagues on a personal level, which helps build knowledge on who would be useful to ask for help for what.
- Power BI - learning how to create reports
- Excel - learning new formulas and shortcuts
- Leadership - managing priorities
- Communication - being concise
- Problem solving - understanding the best way to approach and create a solution to a problem
- Networking - Spending time getting to know colleagues on a personal level, which helps build knowledge on who would be useful to ask for help for what.
Structure and Support
How well organised/structured is your programme?
4/5
The programmes organisation could do with some improvement...
The programme currently works by a finance apprentice manager managing all the finance apprentices. There is a good foundation to what the programme should be like - where each finance apprentice gets to spend a year with a team, then rotates into a different team year. However, in real life it can be hard finding teams to hold the apprentices and create a handover plan of when to switch from 1 team to the other.
The programme currently works by a finance apprentice manager managing all the finance apprentices. There is a good foundation to what the programme should be like - where each finance apprentice gets to spend a year with a team, then rotates into a different team year. However, in real life it can be hard finding teams to hold the apprentices and create a handover plan of when to switch from 1 team to the other.
How much support do you receive from your employer?
4/5
I receive a lot of support from my employer. I have 30 min catch-ups with my manager every week, and 1 hour group catch-ups each month with my apprentice manager. In these catch-ups I am able to go through topics such as what I am finding challenging and ways I could develop. I also have a mentor who provides support to me by offering advice and someone who will listen.
I failed an exam recently, and my employer provided lots of support to me via reaching out to my college provider and exam body to help me get extra support.
I failed an exam recently, and my employer provided lots of support to me via reaching out to my college provider and exam body to help me get extra support.
How much support do you receive from your training provider when working towards your qualifications?
4/5
I receive a lot of support from my training provider.
When I have upcoming exams, I sometimes will reach out to my tutors for help and they are always willing to have a 30 min catch-up on a topic and send over additional resources to help me.
From a well-being perspective, I have a catch-up with my skills coach every couple months where I am able to speak up if I mentally struggling. My training provider also has mental health officers who I can reach out to.
When I have upcoming exams, I sometimes will reach out to my tutors for help and they are always willing to have a 30 min catch-up on a topic and send over additional resources to help me.
From a well-being perspective, I have a catch-up with my skills coach every couple months where I am able to speak up if I mentally struggling. My training provider also has mental health officers who I can reach out to.
How well do you feel that your qualification (through your training provider) helps you to perform better in your role?
2/5
There is limited direct knowledge transfer from what I learn during my qualification and my day to day job...
What I learn at college gives me more of a foundation, whereas at work, my workload relates to more advanced stuff. E.g. At college I learn about different budgeting methods and the pros and cons to each method, whereas at work I complete the budget to the method required.
What I learn at college gives me more of a foundation, whereas at work, my workload relates to more advanced stuff. E.g. At college I learn about different budgeting methods and the pros and cons to each method, whereas at work I complete the budget to the method required.
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
There are lots of extra-curricular activities to get involved in at work...this includes: Social activities, professional networking events, and some sports teams.
Recommendations & Advice
Would you recommend AstraZeneca to a friend?
Yes
Why?
The big apprentice community.
What tips or advice would you give to others applying to AstraZeneca?
Review AstraZeneca's Values and Behaviours and understand how they align to yours.
