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Higherin

Assurance Intern Review

at EY

Internship (1 Month+)

Accounting

Reading

Review Submitted: July 2022

Overall Rating

4.9 /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 - Overview of Role
4.8/5 - Skills Development
5/5 - Support and Guidance
5/5 - Company Culture
5/5 - Overall Experience
5/5 - Future Career Prospects

Overview of Role

Please give an overview of your role and what this involves on a day-to-day basis.
My internship was 5 weeks but I worked on 4 different clients so my role was very varied on a daily and weekly basis. A lot of my time was spent preparing documents for an audit which meant updating them from the prior year to the current year. I also did things such as conducting background checks but also got to do more audit-related things creating lead schedules, and calculating year-on-year account differences existence testing.
Were you given much responsibility during your placement / internship?
It varied depending on who I was working for. For one client I was given a job that is usually done by partially qualified or newly qualified accountant - it turned out to be too technical to do but I got a great insight into more high-level accounting work. My colleagues made a conscious effort to give me as challenging work as they felt I could handle but also gave me some more simple tasks too.
Please rate how meaningful the work you were doing was
4/5

Skills Development

Have you learnt any new skills, or developed your existing skills?
I've improved my Microsoft Excel skills substantially, learning how to use a wider variety of formulas but also the shortcuts that save a lot of time. I also developed lots of soft skills for the workplace such as communication skills, teamwork, organisation and time-management. In addition I also developed my problem-solving skills. Pre-existing skills that I've been able to develop are keeping calm in stressful or frustrating situations, relying on myself to come up with solutions.
How would you rate the training provided during your experience?
4/5
How would you rate your development of industry-specific skills during the experience?
5/5
How would you rate your development of personal / soft skills during the experience?
5/5
Please rate how these skills have helped you in your career development
5/5

Support and Guidance

How much support and guidance did you receive during your placement / internship?
You get as much support and guidance as you ask for but it's also important to try and do it yourself to ask for help. I was very conscious that I didn't want to ask for help and then realise that I could have done it quite easily. But everyone was very accommodating and always happy to help. If I didn't understand something immediately they didn't mind going over it again with me.
How would you rate the support and guidance from your line manager?
5/5
How would you rate the support and guidance from the wider team?
5/5

Company Culture

What was the company culture and general atmosphere like?
I can't speak highly enough about the EY culture. It has been such an enjoyable place to work. A lot of companies say on their websites that what separates them is their culture. Only having worked at EY do I understand what they mean. It was a very friendly environment and I always felt involved and included. I was offered to go out for drinks with some of the trainee accountants a few times and although there is a hierarchy in terms of job title it is very difficult to tell in the office who is at what level because of the workplace culture. I mean this in a good way! Everyone is friendly and talks to everyone.
How would you rate the inclusiveness of the culture?
5/5
How would you rate the social opportunities?
5/5
How would you rate the diversity initiatives?
5/5
How would you rate the charity, sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives?
5/5

Overall Experience

To what extent did you enjoy your placement / internship?
Overall I have really enjoyed my internship. The teams I worked in were all very friendly and I found that the work was something where the more you understood what you were doing and why you were doing it it became more enjoyable because you had a better overall understanding of the work. I would say that it met my expectations - I've done audit shadowing before so I had an idea of what it would be like. However the culture was more friendly than I was expecting. I would very much like to go back to EY in the future.
Please rate your level of enjoyment on your placement / internship
5/5
Please rate how your experience met your expectations
5/5

Future Career Prospects

Please rate the future employment prospects at EY
5/5

Recommendations & Advice

Would you recommend EY to a friend?
Yes
What advice would you give to others applying to EY
It's cliche but read the website! In my assessment centre we were discussing something to do with sustainability. Reading through the EY website beforehand I had come across the topics on the website and this made me feel more comfortable. Obviously this was lucky but understanding as much as you can about the company, it's culture, how it organises its service lines etc... can be very helpful. One thing I would liked to have known is that if you get an offer, it is in your service line, for the office you worked in so I would consider whether you would like to work in the service line you are applying for and in that location in the future.
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