EY Reserve List (FS Assurance 2020)

What location are you in?

Hiya, I've also been put on the reserve list for assurance and heard the same as you guys. Does anyone know if they usually have quite a lot of people on it or if they're putting quite a few on due to COVID. Seems like a lot of extra work for themselves to do with all positions already filled, there were a few ac's scheduled for after i'd done mine.

I think its due to the COVID pandemic. It would make no sense for them to have this many people on the reserve list and to still have AC's planned for ahead. I've been speculating that this is maybe them trying to scope out how things are going to play and if so decide whether or not they will hire from the reserve list.

@nealnaik @westrict @H.C62 @SkrillaWave @CC__


After being told that I'd be expected to complete pre-employment screening as a pre-emptive step a few weeks ago, I finally received the link from Sterling (third party) and completed/submitted it a few days ago. They asked for further 'add-on' information yesterday so they operate quite fast, it seems.

I wanted to ask if you guys (tagged, and anyone else reading who is on the reserve list) have also received and completed the pre-employment screening form from Sterling? I'm trying to gauge if virtually everyone from the reserve list has completed the forms or if it is only some of us.

Thanks

I had to complete one as well. They sent me back an email requesting suitable documents for my GCSE results as the ones I possess right now are not the best. It seems strange that they are asking me for proof of my results from something 7 years ago and that they expect me to have these in possession.

Just another update, EY recruitment contacted me directly asking for documents for a DBS check. anyone else?

Same here, submitted them a short while ago.
Thus far, it seems everyone on the reserve list is going through the same steps!

Just some insights regarding FS audit/assurance hiring that likely affects EY as well:

I very recently had a virtual assessment centre with a final stage interview the day after. This was with a top 10 prof. services firm (I don't want to name them until after the interview outcome, cos I'm extra like that!). The correspondence and booking took place within a week from when they contacted me in late June. It was out of the blue because they had previously emailed me in April to tell me the intake was closed for 2020 (even though I was then in the process of booking an AC).

I asked the Director interviewing me what the outlook was for hiring, because my application had previously been halted but now suddenly reinstated. She explained that the firm had realised that they definitely needed grad hires. She stated that FS audit business was up 20% more than pre-coronavirus levels and it works well with remote working as opposed to general audit which may, for example, require visits to double check retail inventory numbers etc.

My interview was for an offer and not for any reserve list, and I was told by my assessment centre assessor that others were also going through the AC and interview process now, and that they are definitely in need of grads. So spaces clearly hadn't been filled - hiring was simply frozen, which the assessor AND Director heavily alluded to. It is, funnily enough, around this same time (past month or so) that EY has been emailing us all for pre-employment and DBS checks.

So what I gather is that the FS audit/assurance sector as a whole is ready to begin hiring again, and we are being screened by EY pre-emptively for that reason. I also have my suspicions that we aren't necessarily on a reserve list, but rather a 'freeze' list owing to EY's (then) uncertainty on whether to fill roles or not. It would be strange otherwise to book valuable partner time for what seems to be vast numbers of reserve list candidates, while also keeping FS Assurance applications open until somewhat recently (I think) and paying at cost for screening and criminality checks for those on the list. This is all obviously just speculation, but still interesting to think about...

Thanks for that information. I had a feeling that as you said its a "freeze" rather than all the applications are full. It would seem pointless to waste this much time and effort for such a role seeing as it is still recently going on in regards to interviews. I can only hope that it is this.

I spoke with the recruitment team whilst doing my background check and asked them what it meant to be on the reserve list. They themselves seemed quite unsure aswell as to the nature of the list. They were also quite focused on being able to do to background and dbs checks asap. So fingers crossed.

Just thought I might add. Given that I (we) got placed on the reserve list prior to our partner interview, it definitely does seem odd. Plus I've been trying to find out as much as I can on what being on the list means and to be honest there isn't much. Alot of the applications I've seen for assurance have been in July so it does add to the case that it isn't actually a reserve list.