Finished 3 year ACA with PwC Audit Dept - ask me anything

I found it fairly easy to be honest, although time-pressured. I answered 16 out of 18 questions.

There's not much you can do really except practice your percentages and ratios and reading tables, graphs and charts. I didn't even do any of that, just the SHL Direct practice test, which is very similar. I was even in a fairly busy part of the library when doing it, but you should probs find a quiet place where you're not going to be disturbed. have pen, paper and calculator if you need one at the ready.

I see. It sounds more like the HMRC one that I did and passed rather than the KPMG one I flopped. Are we talking just one table/ chart per every few questions?

The KPMG one had like 2 different tables/charts for each set of questions which I thought was a bit sly considering how easy all the practice questions are in comparison.

Thanks man.

Reply 141

Brotherhood

16

Original post by original_username

I see. It sounds more like the HMRC one that I did and passed rather than the KPMG one I flopped. Are we talking just one table/ chart per every few questions?

The KPMG one had like 2 different tables/charts for each set of questions which I thought was a bit sly considering how easy all the practice questions are in comparison.

Thanks man.

I can't remember exactly but saw the HMRC one too (a friend). Maybe between that and KPMG in terms of difficulty and tables/charts?

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 142

eternally_law

Great thread op!

A few questions of my own:-

Do you feel someone from tax can move into equity research much like audit colleagues? Or is tax more niche/restrictive?

Also what exit opportunities do you feel are available to tax trainees upon qualification?

Apologies for the slightly off topic questions, I do realise you worked in audit however I would appreciate it if you could share some information regarding your colleagues in the tax department.

I will be starting in tax at a big 4 in September 2011.

Reply 143

saintos

Hi,

just wanted to ask, I am having difficulty where I am now in a top 20 firm and was hoping to change companies to big 4, part way through the training contract...have you ever heard of this and is it possible?

thanks

Reply 144

Brotherhood

16

Original post by saintos

Hi,

just wanted to ask, I am having difficulty where I am now in a top 20 firm and was hoping to change companies to big 4, part way through the training contract...have you ever heard of this and is it possible?

thanks

Highly unlikely I would think, part-way through a training contract. I don't even know if it would be allowed re: the terms of your employment, let alone if you actually had the requirements. I'd imagine you'd at least have to apply for the new intake. Why didn't you apply in the first place?

Reply 145

solo443

Hi guys,
excellent thread this.. new to all this stuff.... Is frontline banking better than auditing?

Reply 146

itzme

14

Original post by Synge

Doh!!

That'll teach me for chasing the muse :wink:

just tryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! No one knows and you have good experience!!! Go for itttttttttttttttttttttttttt :smile:

Reply 147

saintos

Brotherhood Re: Finished 3 year ACA with PwC Audit Dept - ask me anything

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally Posted by saintos
Hi,

just wanted to ask, I am having difficulty where I am now in a top 20 firm and was hoping to change companies to big 4, part way through the training contract...have you ever heard of this and is it possible?

thanks
Highly unlikely I would think, part-way through a training contract. I don't even know if it would be allowed re: the terms of your employment, let alone if you actually had the requirements. I'd imagine you'd at least have to apply for the new intake. Why didn't you apply in the first place?
---------------------------------------

Really, they have extended my probation as i have been ill and are extending until they know the cause...well i did previously but there was a mixup with qualifications so didnt make it in time....

Reply 148

united89

how easy is it to move say from risk assurance to business recovery in a Big 4 firm?

Reply 149

S

13

saintos

Hi,

just wanted to ask, I am having difficulty where I am now in a top 20 firm and was hoping to change companies to big 4, part way through the training contract...have you ever heard of this and is it possible?

thanks

This might be a one-off, but one of my contacts at EY informed me that his firm is hiring people with one year's experience onto ACCA contracts. A quick look on their website's vacancy search confirms this.

However, it looks like there are only opportunities available at a select few offices. You might want to look into this if it floats your boat. Things to think about include 1. whether or not you'd be willing to relocate, and 2. would you be willing to start on the ACCA if you're already part-way through another qualification.

Reply 150

angelmxxx

14

Original post by chris_harvey

Hi all,

I started training for my 3 year ACA in Oct 2007 with PwC London in their Audit Dept and managed to qualify in Oct 2010.

If anyone has any questions feel free to ask me :smile:

Why I am doing this? I guess I might as well put my 3 years to some use! hehe (currently self employed and not using my ACA atm)

Chris

Hi Chris

Just wondering if you could tell me what "business casual" dress actually means for girls? I only met one female associate when I went to the assessment centre so I'm not really sure what the norm is. Is it suit skirts/trousers and shirts without jackets, or more informal than that? Thanks for your help!

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 151

saintos

Original post by S

This might be a one-off, but one of my contacts at EY informed me that his firm is hiring people with one year's experience onto ACCA contracts. A quick look on their website's vacancy search confirms this.

However, it looks like there are only opportunities available at a select few offices. You might want to look into this if it floats your boat. Things to think about include 1. whether or not you'd be willing to relocate, and 2. would you be willing to start on the ACCA if you're already part-way through another qualification.

Thats very kind of you to post that, and I will definitely look at it, gives me a bit of hope...different places suit different people I guess.

Thanks once again!

Reply 152

traxx

Original post by graduate_me

I have accepted an offer for audit in insurance and investment management, but I am having mixed feelings about it now. From your experience, is it possible to move from this department to advisory after the first 1-2 years?

I've heard of people who transferred to advisory after 2 years, probably impossible after 1. I'm in the same boat, Audit from Sep but looking to jump into advisory asap... the more audit forums I read the less enthusiastic I am about the whole scheme. Which firm are you starting at if I may ask?

Reply 153

bilal101

How are the exams split up? i.e how many exams do you do in year 1 etc? do the 15 exams need to be completed over the 3 years?

Thanks

Reply 154

G_Princip

Good evening, what an interesting thread.
Just a couple of quick questions, I have received an offer from a big 4 firm for financial services audit (regional). I currently live about 50 mins away by train from my starting office; is this considered too long of a commute and should I relocate closer? Ive heard that I will spend the vast majority of my time with clients yet obviously I will not have my car with me as I will be taking the train, will this pose a problem?
I am hesitant to up sticks straight away but will be willing to relocate within around 8 weeks from starting if necessary (I see this as an important cooling off period) . It is difficult at the moment as I work full time (for a large bank), and rent with my partner (also in full time employment).

Ironically I live within 10 minutes of another regional office but I did not receive an offer there as I was unable to attend the first interview offered due to work commitments. Does anyone have any experience of switching offices?

Thanks

Reply 155

Jaz Hands

6

Hello! This thread is very informative, so I decided to join lol.

Basically I have just graduated having obtained a first class degree in maths. I really want to go down the ACA route (esp after reading this thread lol). I am going to a PwC Insight Day in November and after that I want to apply to the top 20 accountancy firms. I have no relevant work experience apart from two days of work shadowing the NHS finance department. I have a few questions and any advice would be very much appreciated...

1) What advice would you give so that I can make a good impression on the PwC insight day and then when I apply there, I will have more of a chance of getting in?

2) I am a bit confused of all the different sort of areas, for example I don't want to do auditing as the travelling aspect puts me off. Theres tax and assurance and some other areas, if anyone could just brief me on this?

3) Also it is obvious that working for the Big 4 will make you look good. However, someone advised me to go for the medium sized accountancy firms as the Big 4 are too strict i.e with ACA exams, and they don't give an overview of different departments, they just stick you in auditing for example. Just wanted to know the views of people who have or are working at the top 10 accountancy firms.

4) Also with my background, what chance have I got in getting in PwC?

Many thanks in advance!! :biggrin:

p.s. apologises for the long essay :eek:

lol

Reply 156

Josh Jones

Original post by Jaz Hands

Hello! This thread is very informative, so I decided to join lol.

Basically I have just graduated having obtained a first class degree in maths. I really want to go down the ACA route (esp after reading this thread lol). I am going to a PwC Insight Day in November and after that I want to apply to the top 20 accountancy firms. I have no relevant work experience apart from two days of work shadowing the NHS finance department. I have a few questions and any advice would be very much appreciated...

1) What advice would you give so that I can make a good impression on the PwC insight day and then when I apply there, I will have more of a chance of getting in?

2) I am a bit confused of all the different sort of areas, for example I don't want to do auditing as the travelling aspect puts me off. Theres tax and assurance and some other areas, if anyone could just brief me on this?

3) Also it is obvious that working for the Big 4 will make you look good. However, someone advised me to go for the medium sized accountancy firms as the Big 4 are too strict i.e with ACA exams, and they don't give an overview of different departments, they just stick you in auditing for example. Just wanted to know the views of people who have or are working at the top 10 accountancy firms.

4) Also with my background, what chance have I got in getting in PwC?

Many thanks in advance!! :biggrin:

p.s. apologises for the long essay :eek:

lol

1) The insight day will be for your benefit to learn more about what the firm does and where you think you can fit in. Making a good impression on the insight day will have almost always no bearing on your application. I would recommend taking as much from the insight day as possible, in the sense of being very attentive as they should cover what they are looking for in people and the information they give you will all be useful at some stage in the application process.

2) As I said this will be covered at the insight day, but the 4 main areas are Assurance (which is largely just audit), Tax, Advisory and Consulting. Other more niche areas include actuarial (maybe relevant as you studied maths) and Sustainability and Climate change. Audit will be a lot of traveling to clients and very little office time, the work will be checking over a companies accounts to confirm that they give a fair reflection of the financial state of the company. Tax will involve a lot more office work and reading of tax legislation, then using this knowledge to solve clients problems regarding the most efficient ways to manage their tax bill. This could be personal tax of high wealth individuals, corporate tax or the tax involved in a takeover deal in an M&A deal, etc. Advisory is split into departments; corporate finance, business recovery, forensics, valuations etc. Consulting doesn't require sitting the ACA and is more just general advice specific to the clients needs. I'm sure you can use the internet though to do more research of your own.

3) The big 4 are renowned for their training programs and a big advantage of them is that you can pass an ACA in 3 years, instead of the industry average of 6-7 years. The variety of work is still large as different clients have different accounts and different needs, and by staying in one department you can become more of a specialist at what you do, which makes you more employable as you will have a more unique skill-set. I am not sure how other accountancy firms operate specifically.

4) What is your background?

Reply 157

Jaz Hands

6

Hi Josh, thanks for the info....by question 4 i meant my background as in what i wrote in the intro bit before the questions lol

Reply 158

tracefalcon101

Hello Josh,

I received an offer recently from pwc Assurance (London) and due to start in 2 weeks. I just wanted to know what items 1st year graduates receive eg. laptop mobile phone etc. I will be very grateful if anyone else cld help

thanks

Reply 159

tracefalcon101

Thanks Josh.....

Finished 3 year ACA with PwC Audit Dept - ask me anything

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