Graduate Blog

Kate - Assurance Cork

Hi everyone,

Sorry for not posting this blog sooner, the last fortnight has been hectic! As I mentioned the last time, I had a stock-take to attend in Rome for one of our large pharmaceutical clients. This whole experience was really enjoyable and extremely interesting. I was counting inventory that was located in huge warehouses! One of these warehouses was completely automatically operated which meant there was machinery operating itself in and out of the warehouse picking up and delivering inventory items to wherever the request had been generated, it was fantastic to get to see its day to day operation!

Since last week, I’ve been out of the office and for the next fortnight will be working on the interim audit of another pharmaceutical company! This is the first job I’ve been involved in for the second year and it really is crazy seeing the work I completed last year and explaining to the associate what I did!

I’ll be in touch again before Christmas!

Talk soon,

Kate

Aoife – Tax Dublin

Hi all,

It has been a busy few weeks in the DIO unit. With December approaching, year end is on the agenda for a lot of our clients. This is a good time to speak with clients on various planning ideas which may be of interest to them.

In my last post, I mentioned that I visited a large multinational client together with the Partner and Manager on the job and we discussed a number of tax planning ideas that we felt were very relevant to this particular client. The client has decided to proceed with one such re-structuring idea and I have been busy assisting on this over the past few weeks. I have had a number of further meetings and conference calls with various individuals within the client's team who have different responsibilities with regard to implementing the proposal, together with the client's legal advisors. From the PwC side, I have had interaction with the VAT unit and Company Secretarial unit, both of whom are assisting us on this project. This is a good way of building relationships with those in other units who I do not work with on a daily basis.

I have also attended a meeting with a smaller client who has seen their business grow over the past year. Their projections for FY12 are positive and the client is hoping to implement some planning ideas in the new year so that their tax affairs are structured as efficiently as possible. I look forward to working with this client over the coming weeks. Hearing about the successful year the client has just had and their plans for expansion is definitely a good news story and very encouraging.

Over the past few weeks, we have had a number of training sessions on specific topics such as the Research and Development (R&D) regime in Ireland and Succession Planning. These internal sessions are delivered by our in-house specialists in this area and give us a good basis on which to have a discussion with clients. We have also recently been updated on developments in the corporate tax regime in the UK and how these changes might benefit our clients.

A firm briefing was recently given by our Senior Partner, Ronan Murphy. All staff of the Dublin office were invited to the Convention Centre and we were updated on all aspects of the firm and reminded of various highlights experienced by PwC over the past year of which to be proud. At the event prizes for "Above and Beyond" were also awarded. This is an award whereby staff can nominate their colleagues for achievements in various aspects of client service.

As the Budget will be announced next Tuesday, the tax practice will have a very busy week briefing clients on various changes arising from the proposals.

Until the next time,

Aoife

Catherine – Assurance South East

Hi All,

Since my last blog I’ve been working on a number of different jobs. These have included both audited and unaudited companies and I’m also currently working on the accounts preparation of my first set of secondary school accounts, brings back school memories when I see references to school principals!

I was up in PwC’s Dublin office as well last week. As I placed 7th in my CAP 2 exams I went up to have a photo taken for the national papers with all of the other people who were placed in their exams this year with PwC. It was definitely a different side to my working day posing for the camera and then seeing it in the newspapers a couple of days later...whoever said an accountant’s life is boring obviously never worked with PwC!

I’m back in the office now this week, we only have a few more weeks left until the Christmas break so I’m trying to tie up some of the loose ends of jobs I’ve been working on so that when I get back from my Christmas break it’s full steam ahead for my second busy season!

Until my next blog...thanks for reading!

Adam – Consulting Dublin

Hi All,

Apologises for the gap in entries but I have been on study leave for the last 3 weeks! As you know I am studying towards my CIMA qualification and last week I sat the P2 and F2 examinations. The exams were tough but I’m hopeful that I did enough to get through! The results aren’t out till January so I will enjoy Christmas before I start worrying about them!

I finished up on my previous job before my study leave. It was a busy week trying to tidy up loose ends and get the report completed before I finished but thankfully everything went according to plan and the report was completed on time!

I’m currently in the office and I’m unassigned. This means that I am not assigned to a job at the moment. I have plenty of work to keep me busy though as I have to complete appraisals for my last two jobs. I’m also helping out with the website for our team which I’m really looking forward to being involved with as it’s an area I have no experience in.

It’s great being back in the office particularly with Christmas fast approaching! Everyone is already getting excited about the Christmas party and then there is the “unofficial” 12 pubs Christmas party that is on the week beforehand!

I shall keep you all updated!

Chat soon,
Adam

Sarah – Consulting Dublin

Hi Everyone,

I’ve been quite busy since I last gave you an update. As part of the large change project I’m still working on, I finalised the ‘Voice of the Customer’ report and gave this to our client last week.

As well as this, over the last couple of weeks as part of the Stakeholder and Communications working group, I have been involved in an ongoing stakeholder analysis through which we have identified key stakeholders of the project. This piece of work is going to be bigger than I first thought as we have already identified over 30 external stakeholders and the list seems to be growing. Our next step is to create a communications plan around all key stakeholders and to define the key messages we need to communicate to them. We have our kick-off workshop this week to get this up and running. Other work I have also been involved in has been developing the ‘to-be’ process maps for the new processes that will be put in place in the future.

Apart from this, as Christmas is getting closer, there are a number of events lined up over the next few weeks including our Christmas party which I’m really looking forward to.. I’ll write again to update you on how things are going before this!

Brian – Tax Dublin

Hi all

I have been very busy since my last update. Our busy season finished on Wednesday so work has become less stressful at the moment!

I’m currently doing a lot of immigration work. One of the large multinational clients I work on have many employees moving in and out of Ireland on assignment at the moment. As a result Immigration is a big issue so I’m busy applying for work permits and ensuring all the documentation, including visas are correct.

I have also been down to Cork regularly over the past few weeks for a Graduate Recruitment dinner as well as meetings with Clients. It’s great to get out of the office (and Dublin!) and meet people you are regularly in contact with over the phone and via email. It’s also a good opportunity to find out what issues clients are facing and what PwC can do to help.

There are lots of social events beginning to happen now in the lead up to Christmas both within my department and my intake so there’s plenty to look forward to!

Ciao for now

Oliver - Risk Assurance Solutions

Hi everyone,

I have been quite busy since my last update. I am still working hard in my internal audit secondment. Every day my responsibilities are growing offering me more opportunities to learn and gain valuable industry experience. I also had the chance to visit such exotic locations as Longford and Navan!

I also went to my first FAE lecture. After doing the Masters in Accounting, these will be my first professional exams so I wasn’t fully sure what to expect so over the next few months I will try give you an idea of what to expect. Even though they may seem far away, it might help you decide now whether you want to do a masters or CAP 2’s and if the ACA exams are the right choice for you. The structure of the FAE’s is very different from anything I have done in college. Luckily, it is not a case of learning volumes of new information. Once you have done a masters or the CAP 2’s, you will have covered all the technical aspects. The classes now are focused on how to bring everything together and apply it in a practical way. The classes last about 3 hours and are also streamed online so there is flexibility as far as work and social life goes. At the moment we are working on introductions to the subjects but I will keep you posted as the course progresses.

I am currently off on annual leave preparing for my CFA exams for the next few weeks, so I will update you in the new year on the end of my secondment, how I’m balancing classes with work and of course how the Christmas celebrations went. Until then, enjoy the holidays!

Ollie

Kate - Assurance Cork

Hey Everyone,

The last few weeks have just gone by so fast, I have since rolled off the big audit I was working on as the audit file is nearing completion and have been back in the office working for managers and attending several stock-takes. This has most certainly kept things interesting. As I mentioned in my last blog I was attending a stock take in Middleton and with that Friday being the bank holiday weekend I got to head away at 3pm which was so nice and really made the weekend seem so much longer!

I have also been to stock takes in Mallow, Charleville and Ringaskiddy so the days and weeks are just flying by as I’m kept busy being out and about!

This Wednesday I am flying over to Rome to attend a stock take that is taking place over 2 days, I fly back Friday evening and really am looking forward to it as I’ve never been in Italy. I’ll definitely keep ye posted on how it goes!

Talk Soon,

Kate.

Evgeniya - Risk Assurance Solutions (RAS)

Hi all,

I’ve been very busy over the last month as I was senior on a number of medium-large size clients. In PwC we greatly value all of our clients, which means we always try to put our clients first. Hence, when you have more than one client at a time, work can be very challenging. However, Managers and Directors are always willing to help and you're never left alone. I’ve also been very lucky to have great teams working with me.

My greatest challenge over the past month was to manage two teams on different projects and in different locations, but it all worked out well in the end! Have I mentioned that PwC gives you great opportunity to travel? Well, over the past month, I’ve spent a week in Northwich, England and then two weeks in Kerry! It’s been great fun and I truly enjoyed it. Also, I think that when you travel with your colleagues, you get to know them very well and you have better rapport in work.

One of the very interesting projects I am working at the moment is SOX review for a large multinational company. I really like this project and it’s very rewarding as you get to see how your work affects business and improves business processes. I was very lucky to get involved with this project from the very start (approx. 3 years ago) and now I am leading it together with a Director in RAS who assists me with resolving more difficult questions. This client, probably as any SOX clients, is a fantastic learning experience for those sitting FAE. It really gives you a feel for the business processes in place and associated risks. When we just started on the project, we had to draw every single process (incl. Payroll, Sales, Receivables, Payables etc.) from the scratch. We then had to identify key controls in each area and ensure that we create such a control environment as to comply with SOX requirements.

During the current review we are undertaking for this client, we perform walkthroughs and testing of controls identified at the start of the project to make sure company still meets SOX requirements. So myself and my team had been very busy trying to meet deadlines for review, but work is fun when we really enjoy it! That’s all for now, but I’ll keep you posted on my experience in PwC.

Talk soon,

Eugeniya

Aoife – Tax Dublin

Hi all,

Since my last post, I have had a busy few weeks visiting clients. We are always encouraged to take the opportunity to visit clients as often as possible and I was delighted to be able to do this recently. As our work in the tax department is largely office-based, it is a welcome change to visit clients at their premises.

Together with the Partner and Manager on the job, I recently attended a meeting in a large multinational corporation. The meeting focused on tax planning ideas which we felt were very relevant to the client. We explained to the client how its corporation tax liability could be reduced by structuring its affairs more efficiently and availing of various incentives suited to its business. As representatives from the client's Irish and UK offices attended the meeting, it was a great opportunity to put faces to names of those we hadn't previously met. The meeting was very encouraging and the client was very interested in our ideas. We hope to carry out some tax planning work for the client in this regard shortly.

I also recently spent a day visiting a client who is based in the midlands and who operates a manufacturing plant. A Specialist 2 accompanied me and as we have visited this client on a number of occasions over the years, we feel we have become very familiar with the business. At this time of year, the audit team from PwC Limerick are onsite with the client. Our task is to carry out a corporation tax review. A tax review is where we look at the corporation tax charge to be included in the company's financial statements and determine whether it is materially correct. At a later date in the year, we go into greater detail to determine the exact corporation tax liability of the company. The day we spend onsite is a good way to catch up with the client and to have a chat about how the business has performed recently. We also discussed how the business in likely to perform in the coming months.

I find that face to face meetings always strengthen the relationship between PwC and the client. It is a great way to catch up with the client and learn how the business is performing and where its opportunities/challenges arise. Meetings are a good way to determine if there are other services which PwC can provide to assist the client in certain areas, e.g. payroll taxes, VAT work, transfer pricing. We are happy to refer the client to our colleagues in these areas if necessary.

During October, a number of new Assistants joined my team (9 in total). There is always a good atmosphere across the floor when the new intake arrives. The new Assistants are coming from very different backgrounds and it is really interesting getting to know each of them. They seem to be settling in really well with the help of their "Buddies".

The annual PwC Quiz recently took place in the Convention Centre which is situated beside our building at Spencer Dock. Over 140 teams participated so the competition can be quite tough! The PwC Sports and Social Committee organise the quiz every year and it is a great night. Lots of fun and all for a good cause. This year, a collection was held for the Vincentian Lay Missionaries who carry out fantastic work in Ethopia and Nigeria.

Until the next time,

Aoife