Entering placement directly after a very intense and short semester 2 was quite overwhelming at first, but, my first two weeks of placement at an audit firm were nothing short of memorable. 

My first client was in the rail industry. I had a wonderful team that was talented, social, and friendly. As it was my first week, it definitely took a few days to get a hang of the digital tools; but slowly I was able to start navigating it with the help of my fellow associate, who was well informed and gave clear explanations. This learning curve showed me that although I was quick to grasp instructions, I wasn’t as adequate in retaining them. For example, I certainly asked my associate twice if not thrice how to use the testing templates on the evidence-gathering documents (EGA’s) we had to prepare before I was certain, I knew what I was doing.  

Additionally, I was quite disappointed when I realized I had forgotten how to use a pivot table in Excel. I worked plenty using Excel during my summer internship last year, so it was disheartening to realize that those skills did not remain. The first week of placement was enough to show me just how significant the role of Excel is in documenting audit work. It was clear that improving my Excel skills, as suggested by my senior associate through feedback, was vital and would prove to be quite useful in the long run to enhance the quality of my work.  

As mentioned earlier, my first client was in the rail industry, and in just the 2nd week, news had broken that train Company X was going to go from a private company to a public one. This meant that Company X would be absorbed under Group A, which my client is a subsidiary of. When this information was relayed to us, I was intrigued as to how this would affect us, I was also quite fascinated with the notion that we would be working amidst such a big change. Although the news was exciting, what stood out more was that most of my seniors knew it had happened in the morning itself, and came into the room with the first question out of their mouths: “Did you hear what happened?” They immediately started discussing how this would affect the future of the audit and related audit risks that may arise. I was quite impressed as well as surer than ever, that it is very important that I should put effort in cultivating a habit of keeping up with business news and appreciate the role that thinking ahead plays in audit, how it is always important to analyse the holistic impact of decisions and use this methodology to provide relevant guidance to clients. 

Moreover, when I had to prepare my first EGA which involved analysis from my side, I certainly felt like a fish thrown out of water. I had assumed my work as an intern would all be related to simple documentation testing, as that is what I have done so far. I was hesitant on how to approach it as well as not sure of my capabilities. However, once again with the help of my team, although challenging, I found it quite satisfying to analyze the impact of train strikes, inflation, and government subsidies on the client’s accounts. It showed me the value of paying attention, understanding, and appreciating the interconnection of different business sectors, economic turbulences, and political decisions. This incident solidified that, if I want to walk into a room and participate in discussions similar to my seniors, I should continue sticking to the habit of reading the newspaper and relevant sources so that I am aware of the changes in the business environment of my clients.  

All in all, the rest of my placement experience, similar to the anecdotes from the first 2 weeks, continued to be an extremely positive learning experience. It was very impactful in shaping my mindset and building my confidence to go through future endeavours comfortably.  

Written by Stephanie, a current BSc Business Accounting student at AMBS

Related