Written by the team at PwC.
For some people, they’ve always had a keen interest in a particular career but now with so many options available to pursue their interests, we’ve spoken to a number of PwC employees who’ve joined through our Flying Start degree programmes to understand more.
Sapna started at the University of Nottingham in 2018 and completed her first full year of Accounting study. Fast forward to September 2019, and Sapna proudly joined the London office on her first placement in Audit.
“Having completed only a few ACA exams, I presumed that I’d be working on smaller areas of the audit and spending my placement assisting others. However I was given the opportunity to work on key areas of the audit and was also given responsibility for directly communicating with clients on testing samples. It was great to have this opportunity so early on and allowed me to put into practice what I’d learnt from my studies the previous year.”
As an Audit associate, Sapna works in our Banking and Capital Markets team and is responsible for audit management tasks such as tracker maintenance, liaising with the Service Delivery Centres and gathering evidence for upcoming audits. Sapna’s also responsible for testing several financial statement line items like cash, PPE, operating expenses, salaries and payroll and equity. She’s also been given the opportunity to test revenue on her placement this year under the guidance of the senior members on the team. It’s all part of the learning experience and having the opportunity to work first hand with clients whilst building your knowledge.
When she’s not studying or working, Sapna loves to play badminton, and she’s pretty good at it.
As a student, I was used to having ample time to study and work on other projects, however, while on placement I quickly recognised the need to work on my time management and my ability to establish client priorities. I had a lot of support around me, from those who were also on the Flying Start placement to Senior Associates who had recently qualified and Managers who looked out for my wellbeing.”
This is one of the reasons why Sapna chose to pursue her career within Audit; the ability to really make a difference and to understand the industry many of her clients operate in. She started studying accounting at school and has been interested in investment banking, structured finance groups and mergers and acquisitions ever since.
During her placements with PwC, Sapna has also taken the opportunity to use PwC’s internal training platform, providing her with technical training to help support her every day. As an Accounting student she’s also been able to use the real life training our Audit Associates receive which will help her with her academic studies when she returns to university.
Sapna’s also noted that the support she’s received from her career coach has been instrumental in her developing as a professional. Everyone at PwC has a career coach working with them to help identify and accomplish their career goals whilst also encouraging them to have open conversations about their health and support during any difficult times.
“Having a good work balance gives me the energy to look forward to everyday and to working enthusiastically. I’m thankful for the ‘Dress for your day’ policy as this gives me a sense of comfort and creates a friendly and less formal environment.”
Looking to the future, Sapna will join PwC full time in 2022 having completed her four-year degree at the University of Nottingham. She’s hoping to make Partner one day and can see a lot of potential for those within the audit industry in the years to come;
“Our core audit teams are continuing to work with our digital audit, risk assurance and IT teams, identifying processes to enhance the quality of audits and the services we provide to our clients. This collaboration has helped detect and mitigate technological risks for audits, and with the development of AI, there’ll be new guidance implemented in the near future regarding the requirements of audit testing. In today’s world with less time and more work, the use of existing technologies enables us to approach tasks more efficiently and effectively.”
And what would Sapna say to anyone considering joining Audit at PwC?
“Working here teaches you to think outside the box, where all ideas are welcome. You’re also given responsibility which encourages you to push your learning. You’ll make mistakes, but you’re encouraged to learn from them and educate others too. Every member of the community is respected irrespective of the background or position and it’s been a great place to learn, meet and create long lasting contacts with a diverse range of people specialising in all areas”.
If you’re interested in finding out more about our Flying Start Audit careers, click here.
