A year and a half into audit at PwC, ask me anything

Happy to answer any questions about working life, the application process I went through or anything else. I work in audit but have decent knowledge of other areas as well.

Happy to answer any questions about working life, the application process I went through or anything else. I work in audit but have decent knowledge of other areas as well.

Happy to answer any questions about working life, the application process I went through or anything else. I work in audit but have decent knowledge of other areas as well.

Happy to answer any questions about working life, the application process I went through or anything else. I work in audit but have decent knowledge of other areas as well.

What were the first three months like (assuming you were a September starter)? Were you able to fully integrate into the working life or did it feel a little disrupted what with going to college and studying for the heavy December exam period?
- Yeah I was a September started. It was a bit disruptive but you get to know your intake really well through going to college with them. Also, more senior staff are very receptive to the fact that you have exams so they let you leave on time to revise and know that your mind isn't 100% on work.

.... The opportunity to learn about clients and how their businesses run continues to be interesting and useful so I'll probably stay until that stops and by then hopefully I'll have a good idea what else is on offer internally and externally that might interest me.

Happy to answer any questions about working life, the application process I went through or anything else. I work in audit but have decent knowledge of other areas as well.

Know this might be difficult to judge, but what would you say is the difference in working hours, training and travel opportunities across Audit vs Consultancy vs Technology?
Do you have contact with people from areas other than audit (such as e.g. consultancy) and how easy is it to move internally form one area to another?

Do you find yourself to be travelling a lot? If so, within the UK or internationally?

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Is leaving directly after finishing a training contract frowned upon? For example would it affect a reference needed for a new job

Did you join on the graduate program?
Yep

Where did you go uni?
I prefer not to be specific on this one, but I would say most grads are Russell Group, some Oxbridge and some neither.

What's the salary like? (you don't need to be specific if you don't want to) Do you find your salary covers your costs and that you can afford a good lifestyle with it? Are you in London?
I think it's close to 30 for new joiners (London; less in regions). It increases every year and post qualification will be somewhere in the 40s basic. Pay is very similar across the firms, but many have benefits and bonus on top of the basic. Rent is by far the biggest expense in London, but I could afford a good lifestyle in my subjective opinion. Post qualification you can definitely have a good lifestyle.

What are your hours like?
It used to be around 50h per week in audit, sometimes more, sometimes less. But I know people who got away with 35 and people who seemed to work around the clock; it just depends on your job, team, etc.

How is your social life?
Depends on workload, but generally it's quite good, and especially in London which has big graduate intakes.

How long are you expected to take to get the ACA/ACCA qualification?
3 years to time qualify for the ACA, but most people will have completed all their exams within 1.5 - 2 years if they have first time passes

Do you work alongside people who started as school leavers? What advantages and disadvantages do you feel you have over them?
I didn't personally, but I know people who do. I suppose some advantages could be age, experience and confidence. I guess their advantage is lack of debt, early entry into the career. Personally I wouldn't treat a school leaver any different from a grad - each individual has their unique strengths, and I believe qualities like talent, attitude and personality are far more important than whatever degree someone has or has not done.

Thanks and sorry for the large amount of questions (and i might add more lol)
Not at all, do keep asking

Could you briefly explain your application process? How were the interviews?
Do you know anything about pwc corporate finance? how is it different in terms of application/responsibilities?

Thanks!

I can answer some of your questions (London, big4, ex-audit)


In my experience audit has the longest hours of those. I have contacts across several departments, which can be very useful. It is near impossible to move during your training contract, but reasonably easy once qualified.


On the technical side, I did some modelling work, but I would argue that developing my leadership / soft skills has been more stimulating, and increasingly so as you progress through the grades.

Work life balance was non-existent for a while when i was in audit (particularly on big jobs), but there were other jobs where i would manage my own time completely and could work from home some days.

Happy can mean a lot of things. I'm generally optimistic and enjoy going to work.


A fair amount of travel within the UK. I've never been sent abroad but have plenty of colleagues who have been all over the world; it's mainly just down to luck, or language skills in some cases.


Not at all, it's perfectly normal. In my experience most people leave audit within a year of qualifying (including internal transfers)

My answers in bold below:



The application process will be on their website. I personally don't like competency based questions, but I found the overall process very objective. I enjoyed the partner interview the most as the partner was very relaxed and natural. I think CF is extremely difficult to get into; they have a lot of applications and not a lot of places.

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