Graduate Blog

Louise - Assurance

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I am currently in the Dublin office at the moment on training. Every year we go to training to prepare us for the next level of responsibility and audit work which we will have to perform during the upcoming year. The training lasts for two weeks and it is a nice change from the usual day to day. The trainers are from PwC and have worked on the various areas that they are training us on, so there is a lot of practical knowledge to be gained.

PwC put us up in apartments near Spencer Dock when we have to travel up for training or work. This makes things a lot easier as we don’t have to try and organise accommodation as well as having to travel up and get our work completed. Often times there are a few of us travelling up from the south east and as we usually stay in the same area it can be a bit of fun without the pressures of tough jobs. It can also be a good chance to catch up with people from other PwC offices.

However it’s important that you get your work completed before attending training as it can be a lot of hassle trying to tidy things up whilst up here. Also it creates a lot of problems for people back in the office trying to follow up on things for you.

Prior to attending training, I had been working on the planning area of a number of jobs. This is usually the time of year for this kind of work as we try and get these areas completed before going out on the client’s site. It gives us a chance to start to request items from the client, especially with a lot of large jobs it can take time to get the necessary information.

I’ll be back in the office after my two weeks training and then I’ll be getting started on some tougher jobs to keep me busy up until Christmas.

Philip - Assurance

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Hi,

So just thought I could give you a quick update of my progress since my last blog. Last time I was talking to you I was rolling off my last client and onto a new one. The work on this new client is again performed out of the office so it gives me the chance to learn about a different type of business, a new office culture and different types of business practices. I feel these types of new experiences will help me develop going forward.

Last week was the annual PwC table quiz in the Mansion House, Dublin, put on by the Social Committee. This is my second year attending it. Both years it’s been a great laugh and I’ve had a lot of fun. It gives you the chance to see some of your colleagues and friends from other departments who you may not have seen for a while. Unfortunately my table wasn’t too successful in the quiz but there is always next year I guess!

Finally this week the new Associates coming have begun their training. They will be joining the various departments in the next few weeks so it’s a great opportunity to meet some new people and give them the same welcoming that we got. Its strange thinking that just a year ago I was in their position starting off; the last year has flown by!

Well that’s all for now. Talk to you soon.

Evie - Advisory

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Hi Everyone,

From my last post, I was telling you that I was back in the office, just an example of how quickly things can change I am now out on a client site until the end of February. Variety was one of the things that attracted me to Consultancy, so as you can see I haven’t been disappointed!

The project I am working on is really interesting; it is with a large infrastructure management company in the CIPS sector. I have never worked with this type of client before so it is really fascinating learning the ins and outs of their organisation and operational processes. My role is project management support, which is where I support the project manager with project tasks such as, preparing status reports, presentations to the board of directors and assisting with the day to day administrative tasks that are needed to run the project. I also assist the project team, who are members of the client organisation.

In my previous blogs I spoke about the  internal projects I have been working on, I am still working on these but at a reduced level. This is handy as it keeps me involved in areas of the firm even though I am out of the office. I am also on the Advisory Consulting social committee, currently we are organising a night out for when the new graduates join us in October, we are going to test out their bowling skills!! PwC had a firm wide quiz last week in the Mansion House, it was good banter even though my team ended up on the lower end of the 80 odd teams!!

I know the graduate deadline is coming up so best of luck with it and everything in future.

-Evie

Aisling - Assurance

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Hello Again!

It’s been an eventful few weeks since my last blog posting.

I completed a 2 week training course alongside the other associates from my intake to prepare us for our new role as senior associates. The course took us through what will be expected of us as we progress to the next level in our career and the various audit techniques and methodologies to use, as we build upon the areas of work completed in our first year. It was a great way to catch up with people from other departments and the regional offices who I hadn’t seen in quite some time. I found the training very beneficial in preparing me for the challenges that lie ahead in combating new and more advanced areas of work, as I begin my second year working with the firm.

I spent most of the month of September out on a client’s site with 2 others from the CIPS department. We had a deadline of 3 weeks to audit the client’s financial statements so we were kept busy! I always enjoy meeting and getting to work with a new client and you learn something new on every assignment you do.

Last week I visited DCU for an accounting evening and the UCD Careers Fair with the PwC graduate recruitment campus team. We were there to answer any questions the students had about working life at PwC and the application process. As a UCD graduate it was great to take a trip down memory lane with a return to the Belfield Campus where I spent 4 years studying. Having been a final year student faced with the same career decisions once myself, I understand that this is a very daunting time. My advice to you, is to put a lot of thought and time into your application to ensure you get an interview. Use the resources available such as the PwC website and graduate brochure to find out what exactly it is that we do and what the job entails, including our various lines of service and high profile clients.

I am based in the office this week before heading out on my next assignment. The annual firm wide Table Quiz is also taking place in the Mansion House, so we are all really looking forward to that. There is a bit of healthy competition brewing about the office as people are brushing up on their general knowledge and show biz gossip in hope of scooping the big prize.

With the busy few weeks that lie ahead, I will keep you updated of my whereabouts and what I’ve been up too.

Wishing you all the best of luck with your applications! 

Aisling

Louise - Assurance

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As mentioned in my previous blog, I did my FAE’s at the beginning of September. We got three months off to study for these exams and the time was definitely needed. These are tough exams but hopefully all the hard work will pay off. I’ll be getting my results in November so I’ll just have to wait and see now.

I went straight back to work after my exams which was pretty tough. Luckily I was booked to a small job which helped ease my way back into work after all the time off. It was nearly like starting all over again trying to remember what work I was to do but as everyone has been through these exams already they understand and helped me to settle back in.

The job was a small fund consisting of four sub-funds which was managed from the office. I was only on the job for a week and a half as I had holidays booked.  I am just back in the office now after my holidays. I am booked onto a job for the next week and a half and then I have two weeks of in-house training.

Philip - Assurance

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Hello again!

Well it’s been a few weeks since my first post so I thought it would be a good time to give an update on my progress. Last time I posted I was on my two weeks of training. This went well and I learned some new skills which I will be able to apply in the in coming weeks and months. Since this training time has flown by on my current job which I’m due to finish up on in the next couple of days.

Over the last number of weeks I’ve been working in a large international bank. I’ve found it a very useful audit as I’ve been able to see all aspects of an audit from planning to testing and finally to the completion of it. I feel I’ll be able to use this knowledge in future and it will aid me going forward.

When this job finishes in the next number of days I’ll be straight out to another client site for the next month or so. This new job will give me a fresh start and hopefully I’ll find it as beneficial as my current one.

Well I guess that’s all for now. I’ll let you know soon enough of the progress on my new job.