Q&A.. 2nd Year ACA training contract with "big 4"

Aren't we all just tiny cogs though, no one persons existence can change the course of humanity etc etc......

LOL I know what you mean though, what is your dream job? the reason I'm asking is because I want to determine what kind of person will hate Audit and which won't.

You are making a difference though, if Audit didn't exist Big companies wouldn't have a shred of transparency and almost all firms would be completely irresponsible. Audit doesn't seem like a big deal and its true that it isn't always completely efficient or fool proof but its an essential part of the huge financial system that the west depends on.

Just like the OP I'm also 2/3 of the way through my ACA at a Big Four firm.

I can say that 90% of people mildly to strongly dislike audit. Yet they mostly stick it out and then move on. We have all sorts of different people so its really hard to say who will like it and who won't. But chances are you won't.

I just see it as a means to an end, a way to get a better job later on with the ACA under my belt and a Big 4 on my CV.

Just to know, have you actually ever done audit?

No I'm starting soon and expecting it to be absolutely awful............ surely my point still stands though?

No I'm starting soon and expecting it to be absolutely awful............ surely my point still stands though?

You speak in ideologies

Yes, I just wish I didn't have to be the one doing it

You are free to quit.

Please elaborate?

Think the point Hedgeman is getting at is that this is the stuff you say in an interview in a perfect world where audit is an integral part of the financial stability and confidence in companies. Whilst this is true in theory, when you are spending hours and hours going through some company's bank recs to check they've done them properly, finding some tiny error and then knowing it means nothing because it is below SUM or checking a 600 page long bank statement to check some customer ended up paying them some immaterial amount, it is easy to lose sight of why you are supposedly doing this. When you do find any kind of error, you feel like an idiot asking the client about it as it seems really petty, they don't care, you don't care. Some bits I do find generally interesting eg. accruals, revenue recognition as you do feel like you are learning something about business but all the invoice ticking you do in the early years is beyond tedious and just seems like a pointless waste of your time when it all checks out.

My god, you are like the female version of me because those words you say I agree with so much.

Audit is indeed essentially to a properly functioning economy, I don't think anyone really doubts that. However do you really want to be the guy checking whether the accounting data from the previous fiscal period is more or less correct? Well no because its so boring, it has no impact on the future of the business.

The real groundwork of audit is indeed a lot of ticking and casting. Some bits are decently interesting like valuations of investments or whatever floats your boat but that is just a tiny part of what you do in audit. Mostly its just documentation and documentation. You don't even spend most of your time checking figures and accounts, you spend it going through the audit file making sure everything is documented properly. It is not fun, it is incredibly soul crushingly boring.

But don't take my word for it, take the 90% or so who leave audit within a year of qualifying.

Think the point Hedgeman is getting at is that this is the stuff you say in an interview in a perfect world where audit is an integral part of the financial stability and confidence in companies. Whilst this is true in theory, when you are spending hours and hours going through some company's bank recs to check they've done them properly, finding some tiny error and then knowing it means nothing because it is below SUM or checking a 600 page long bank statement to check some customer ended up paying them some immaterial amount, it is easy to lose sight of why you are supposedly doing this. When you do find any kind of error, you feel like an idiot asking the client about it as it seems really petty, they don't care, you don't care. Some bits I do find generally interesting eg. accruals, revenue recognition as you do feel like you are learning something about business but all the invoice ticking you do in the early years is beyond tedious and just seems like a pointless waste of your time when it all checks out.

"Free" to quit provided you repay all your exam fees, totalling thousands of pounds.

I think the people posting in this thread's point is that Audit is a pretty boring and unrewarding job. They are sticking with the training contracts to get the ACA qualification and then plan to do anything but Audit after they have qualified.

So I thought I could put my experience to good use and answer any questions anyone may have. I am 2/3 of the way through my training contract with a big 4 accountancy firm, studying for the ACA. Feel free to ask me questions and I will try help as best as I can.

is it possible for people with a degree from a mediocre uni who have worked at small firms get in at big 4 someday?

I must be mad because most of this sound okay to me, someones got to do it and as someone with no real skills(like every other graduate) it makes a lot of sense for me to do it. Honestly once I'm qualified I've got a lot of choice about what I want to do and though I doubt audit is my final destination I'm sure I'll be happy that I did it because of the future earnings and career that it helped set up.

I don't know if you're just missing the point of what everyone is saying or not but everyone is agreeing with you on this. You do Audit at the Big 4 to get your ACA and run. If you actually end up loving Audit and staying in it for the next 15 years to make Partner then you're one of a minority and that's fine - if you are willing to make the sacrifices then a career in Audit can be extremely rewarding in the long term.

But as Chapeau Rouge said, the things you are saying sound like you're in an interview. I think she and snakesnake are just trying to make sure you have realistic expectations. If you end up enjoying the work then fine but I think most would agree it's certainly better to at least be aware of the fact that you might find it terrible than to be unexpectedly shocked, disappointed and depressed because you were misled by the Big 4 marketing spiel of important and exciting work and that elusive "work-life balance".

People are just making sure you have realistic expectations and there's no need to defend your decision to choose to be a trainee auditor - lots of people do it for the same reason (the ACA). If you end up despising the job then you're not alone - 90% of your cohort will be in the same position.

I'm in exactly the same position as you (will be starting in a few weeks time). I've personally lowered my expectations of the job to as low of a level as I possibly can and anticipate a grueling 3 years. Hopefully it's a teeny bit better than what I expect so that I'll at least have that to cheer me up!

Just trying to add a little balance to the usually "Audit" is soul crushing attitude.

You probably haven't read most of my post on this website, I know exactly how horrible and disgusting it will be and also realise that there won't be any work life balance. I have some similar experience already of studying 12+ hours a day at a desk for 5-6 weeks. I don't really care about work-life balance as long as I can get 7 hours sleep a day, I'm very indifferent about social life i.e. when I have free time I will happily socialise and when I don't I won't miss it.

As I said there is no need to defend your decision.

I'd recommend you only say positive things about Audit once you actually have some experience of it or a very trustworthy source (i.e a close friend) otherwise you might be just as misleading as the Big 4's own marketing spiel.

Yeah once you complete your ACA there may be opportunities at the big 4