What to expect as a first year audit trainee at a Big 4 Firm
Summary
TLDRMaddie, a second-year auditor at a big four firm, shares her journey from struggling student to professional, emphasizing the importance of perseverance. She discusses the realities of entering the auditing field, including initial training, the learning curve, and the demanding yet rewarding nature of the job. Maddie offers advice for new auditors, highlighting the significance of mastering Excel, asking questions, embracing challenges, and building client relationships. She also provides insights into the transition to senior roles and the diverse career opportunities that auditing can lead to.
Takeaways
- 🎓 Maddie, a second-year auditor at a big four firm, shares her journey and insights into the auditing profession.
- 📚 She emphasizes that academic performance does not dictate professional success, encouraging students not to be disheartened by low marks.
- 🏢 Maddie describes the initial training at a big four firm, focusing on learning firm-specific systems and basic auditing techniques.
- 👩💼 She assures that it's normal to feel overwhelmed as a newcomer, and the first year is about learning with minimal expectations.
- 🛠️ Excel proficiency is crucial for auditors, and Maddie advises starting to learn basic shortcuts and functions early on.
- 📈 Being placed on the first client can be daunting, but Maddie highlights the importance of having a supportive team and the learning opportunities it brings.
- 📊 During the busy season, auditors can expect to work hard with tight deadlines, but it's also a time of rapid learning and growth.
- 🤝 Building relationships with clients is key, as it facilitates a smoother audit process and is a valuable skill for professional development.
- 📈 Maddie shares that after the initial busy period, the workload tends to decrease, allowing for reflection and preparation for future challenges.
- 💼 As auditors progress, they take on more responsibilities, including mentoring juniors and managing audit projects, which helps in developing leadership skills.
Q & A
What was Maddie's initial experience with her academic performance before starting her channel?
-Maddie was failing all of her subjects and needed a creative way to improve her academic performance.
Why did Maddie start her channel?
-Maddie started her channel as a creative way to help herself and others avoid failing academically.
What was Maddie's perception of the auditing profession before joining it?
-Maddie had heard horror stories about long hours, difficult clients, and generally not enjoying the experience.
What does Maddie suggest about the correlation between academic marks and professional success?
-Maddie advises that academic marks should not dictate how one will be as a professional, as they do not necessarily reflect professional success.
What is the first week at a big four firm like for a new auditor according to Maddie?
-The first week at a big four firm involves mostly training, learning the systems used by the firm, and the basics of auditing.
What is the importance of learning Excel for an auditor as emphasized by Maddie?
-Excel is crucial for auditors as it is their primary tool for work, and proficiency in it is essential for efficiency.
How does Maddie describe the workload during the busy season for auditors?
-Maddie describes the busy season as a period of intense workload, tight deadlines, and high stress levels due to the need to complete audits swiftly.
What advice does Maddie give to first-year auditors regarding their learning process?
-Maddie advises first-year auditors to embrace the learning process, ask questions, and not be too hard on themselves as they are expected to learn quickly.
Why is it important for auditors to build a relationship with their clients, according to Maddie?
-Building a relationship with clients can make the audit process more efficient and pleasant, as clients are more likely to provide information quickly and cooperate.
What does Maddie suggest about the value of challenges in an auditor's career?
-Maddie suggests that challenges are valuable as they force auditors to learn and adapt quickly, leading to personal and professional growth.
What is Maddie's perspective on the career opportunities for a qualified auditor?
-Maddie believes that being a qualified auditor opens up numerous career opportunities due to the diverse business expertise and problem-solving skills auditors acquire.
Outlines
🎓 Starting an Auditing Career Journey
Maddie, a second-year auditor at a big four firm, reflects on her initial struggles during her honors year and how she started her channel to help herself and others avoid academic failure. She emphasizes that academic performance does not dictate professional success, and encourages students not to let grades define their future. Maddie shares her initial apprehensions about entering the auditing profession, which were filled with horror stories of overtime and difficult clients. However, her personal experience has been quite different, and she aims to provide a realistic view of what being an auditor is like. She plans to discuss the initial entry into the audit world, especially at a big four firm, the experience of being a first-year auditor, and what to expect beyond the first year.
📈 The Reality of Entering the Audit World
Maddie describes the transition into the auditing profession, starting with the first week at a big four firm which is primarily focused on training. New auditors learn the firm's systems and the basics of auditing to prepare for their first client. She assures that it's normal to feel overwhelmed and not understand everything at first. The importance of learning Excel is highlighted, as it is a fundamental tool for auditors. Maddie then discusses being placed on the first client, which can be daunting, but she assures that the team is usually welcoming. She advises new auditors to be prepared to learn, not to stress about not knowing everything, and to take advantage of the learning opportunities. She also touches on the busy season, which is a period of intense work and stress, but also a time of rapid learning and growth. Maddie shares her experience of adjusting to the auditing rhythm and workload, and how it becomes more manageable over time.
💼 Navigating the Auditing Profession
In this paragraph, Maddie provides advice for first-year auditors, emphasizing the importance of asking questions, reviewing notes, and mastering Excel. She discusses the learning curve and the types of tasks first-year auditors can expect, such as working on basic workbooks like cash and bank. Maddie explains the process of auditing, including testing valuation, existence, and other audit assertions, as well as the concept of materiality and how it relates to identifying misstatements. She encourages first-year auditors to embrace challenges, communicate with clients, and build relationships that can facilitate a smoother audit process. Maddie also highlights the importance of making friends and networking within the firm, which can enhance the overall work experience. Lastly, she provides insights into the responsibilities and expectations as auditors progress in their careers, from first-year learning to second-year mentoring and eventually to supervisory roles.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Auditor
💡Big Four
💡Auditing
💡Excel
💡Busy Season
💡Materiality
💡Workbook
💡Review Notes
💡Chain of Command
💡Client
Highlights
Maddie shares her journey from struggling in her honors year to becoming a second-year auditor at a big four firm.
She emphasizes that academic marks do not dictate professional success, encouraging students not to be disheartened by poor grades.
Maddie provides an overview of the initial training process for new auditors at big four firms, focusing on IT systems and basic auditing knowledge.
She discusses the importance of not being too hard on oneself during the first week, as the focus is on learning and not on immediate expertise.
Excel proficiency is highlighted as crucial for auditors, with recommendations to start learning basic shortcuts and functions early on.
Maddie describes the experience of being placed on the first client and the supportiveness of the team despite the initial feeling of being overwhelmed.
She explains the concept of the audit 'busy season' and the increased workload and stress that comes with it, especially for new auditors.
Maddie shares her experience of learning quickly and adapting to the audit environment during the intense busy season.
The value of asking questions and seeking help is underscored, as is the importance of reviewing notes to improve as an auditor.
She talks about the transition from first to second year, where expectations increase and auditors are expected to take on more responsibility.
Maddie discusses the importance of building relationships with clients and the benefits of having a good rapport for a smoother audit process.
She encourages auditors to embrace challenges as opportunities for growth and learning, rather than viewing them as obstacles.
Maddie provides insights into the role of a second-year auditor, including the expectation to assist first-year auditors and manage workload.
She outlines the responsibilities of a third-year auditor, such as overseeing the audit team, managing budgets, and ensuring goals are met.
Maddie concludes by reflecting on the broad skillset auditors gain, making them attractive candidates for various business roles.
Transcripts
hey guys for those of you who don't know
me or are new I'm Maddie and I'm a
second year auditor at a big four firm
today I was just thinking about when I
started this channel in my honors year I
was literally failing all of my subjects
and I just needed a creative way to not
fail anymore and hopefully help other
people not fail and at the time I was
definitely in a position where I was
thinking this isn't going to happen for
me because I don't know it all just
seems so difficult and if I'm finding it
difficult now my honest yeah how am I
going to find it in the Working World
and it's funny looking back at it now
being a second year and only having a
year or so to go before I qualify as a
casa that that all seems so silly and
it's absolutely achievable and so before
I start this video I just want to let
all of you know for those of you doing
your honors or university don't let the
marks dictate how you will be as a
professional because it doesn't mean
anything you will absolutely make it but
I'm getting sidetracked in today's video
I really wanted to talk about what
entering into the auditorials actually
looks like for me when I was in
University I had no idea I just heard
basically horror stories about overtime
and working on Hector clients and just
people not enjoying the experience at
all and going into auditing actually
I've had a very different experience and
so hopefully after this video you will
gauge an actual understanding of what
being an audit really does look like so
I'm going to firstly be discussing what
entering into the audit world looks like
especially at a big four firm because
that's how I see my experience and then
secondly what being a first year is like
and thirdly what you can expect after
first year yeah
foreign
entering into the ordered World setting
the scene you're a freshly graduated
pgda student or CTA honors student now
you're expected to go to work the very
next day which seems insane but you're
just gonna have to do it and then your
first week at the big four firm will be
mostly training you're going to learn
the systems that this particular firm
uses and you'll learn about the it
systems and just the basics of auditing
so that when you get to your first
client you're not completely clueless
but you definitely will be and that's
not a problem seriously don't be hard on
yourself in this first week when you
just don't understand the methodologies
at all or how to audit or how to use
Excel that's a given in your first year
you are expected to learn and that's it
there's very little expectations set on
you and that's a great thing trust me
the only thing that you should take away
from that first week is how to submit a
timesheet which you will come to become
very very familiar with in your working
life although I must stress if there is
one thing to also pay attention to
besides the timesheet thing it is Excel
um this is something you're going to
become very familiar with it is your
bread and butter as an auditor but don't
stress now if you're not an Excel Pro it
will come although I can make the
recommendation start on Excel early and
it doesn't mean that you need to know
how to code in VBA it just means
learning basic shortcuts pivot tables
fever cups that sort of thing just the
basics to get you to grips with what
you'll be doing for I guess the next
three years of your life now after that
week of training you're going to be
placed on your first client this is
daunting as hell for anybody but don't
stress about it your team is probably
very lovely and very happy to have you
once you find out who your team is your
third year so your supervisor will
probably reach out to you at this point
and say hey bro you'll be on XYZ ordered
and this is what you need to know before
starting we'll be working at the client
or we'll be working mostly from home or
we'll be working at the office and they
basically just set the scene for what
you can expect you'll never be expected
to know everything you're probably not
even expected to reach out to your
supervisor or manager they should be the
ones approaching you about the client
but if they don't never be shy to just
pop them a message but make sure that
it's either to your supervisor or your
senior and as a last resort your manager
but never never your partner um the one
thing I can tell you about the audit
world is that it's very big on the chain
of command so when in doubt always go
one level above you rather than skip I
don't know to the top of the staircase
or whatever on your first day of the
order be very prepared to learn it's
basically assumed and this I mean in a
very nice way that you're useless and
yeah you're basically incapable of doing
anything at this point that is fine just
take it all in when they teach you how
to sample when they teach you how to set
up a workbook listen and observe and
that's the best thing you can do don't
try do things by yourself when you don't
fully understand just try understand
everything take notes I I used to make a
lot of excel documents being like first
day of client and all the things I
learned and that really does help if you
can reflect back and be like okay cool I
remember that I took that away from that
day another thing to mention is that if
at this point you've been put onto a big
listed client because unfortunately most
listed clients have a year end of 31
December so that means that for the next
three months Jan to March we'll have a
very busy audit period it's literally
called the busy season and during this
time your seniors so your second year
and your third year and then obviously
your managers are extremely stressed
there's a very tight deadline to get
things to turn around obviously because
if you're listed you've got jse
requirements so the order of report does
need to be signed quite swiftly and the
order team needs to be working at full
capacity to get things done and it's
unfortunate because you've also come in
not knowing anything and now your second
year has to help you adjust and learn
and while also taking care of their
sections which are very difficult at
this point and it is just a very
stressful time I think for everyone but
it's not to say that it's going to be
unpleasant or that it has to be
unpleasant in a way this is almost the
best sort of situation because you're
going to come in and you're going to be
thrown completely in the deep end and
you're going to be expected to learn
very quickly and pick up the slack and
you can expect something expected to
work very very hard definitely harder
than you've ever worked before and
that's a great thing on your first
client because then you're going to
become so used to that sort of Rhythm
and that sort of hard work that any
other client going forward actually
seems like a piece of kick what you do
find is that after that busy season
generally your year will start to low
and that's what I've experienced now and
that's why I've taken such a big break
from these videos is I have a big client
in Jan to March and then they're
afterwards things do kind of trickle
away and then pick up again at the end
of the year and that's lovely I really
enjoy the hustle and bustle and I like
that there is a space in between where
you can kind of gather your thoughts and
and Tech stock and then get ready again
to have another hectic busy season and I
think that is what they say about
auditing is that you know you will work
really hard you will work overtime for
sure you will absolutely but when you
have an awesome team in this fun
environment where everyone is working
together and yes maybe you're doing I
don't know four hours in the evening
it's fun when you're doing it together
and going through it I must say it has
made my ordered experience really really
cool although the entire order can be
stressful as hell if your order team is
cute and you make good relationships
with everyone there's no reason for it
to be a hellish busy season at all now
the rest of your years so beyond this is
season and entering into your first
client you're going to be expected as I
say to learn and to learn very quickly
there is a massive learning curve to
start off you're going to be assigned to
very basic workbooks so cash and bank
and operating expenses are the usual
ones given to First Years and when I say
workbooks workbooks are Excel documents
containing all the tabs in an Excel doc
needed to test all the risks involved in
a particular section so for cash and
bank this is very theoretical but you're
going to be testing the valuation how
much are your your cash assets valued at
your test occurrence do they actually
exist and basically all those audit
assertions that you learn in your
governance or your auditing subject
those come into play and then in these
workbooks basically what you're doing is
testing that those assertions are
covered and that way you have
differences in the amounts is so say for
example in cash and bank one of the
procedures that you have to do is an
external Bank confirmation so the entity
is giving you what they say their bank
is valued at and you reach out to the
bank directly and you get a statement
from them and you compare these two and
if there's a difference they then you
have to compare it against what
materiality is and materiality is
calculated the exact same way as you
would have learned in order to being a
percentage of Revenue or gross profit or
whatever the case might be for this
particular entity and if it's greater
than what we call in sad or basically a
misstatement then we have an issue and
it needs to be raised with your manager
or ultimately your clients so that we
can gain the proper supporting
documentation as to why there is this
difference but you don't need to stress
about materiality as a first year this
is never something that you'd have to
calculate and if you do you will have an
extreme support system to make sure that
that figure that you're dealing with is
completely accurate and it will be
reviewed 100 million times what you'll
hopefully find after doing a few sets of
workbooks in your clients whether you're
on one client the whole year that does
happen or you're on multiple clients is
that you get confident with whatever
workbook you've thrown at so whether it
be cash and Bank Opex Revenue whatever
the case might be you're like awesome I
know the basic principles of how to set
up a workbook I understand the risks
involved with these accounts because it
is documented on file which is just
where all of your either prior year or
current year documents are surrounding
the entity exists you'll know exactly
how to audit it but the best thing about
being a first year is that no one is
expecting you to be the best they're
expecting you to learn and if you have
that mindset going forward and you're
not so hard on yourself you'll be
absolutely A-Okay and the most valuable
thing I can leave you with is to ask
questions where you need help because my
role as a second year is to assess my
first years so that they can become
exceptional second years so to summarize
as you continue into your first year
here are some of my projects one ask as
many questions as possible now is your
time to learn don't take it for granted
because coming into second year let me
tell you you are expected to take a much
more senior role and you're expected to
know things so ask those questions and
year one two review notes will not kill
you review notes are little notes that
your manager or your supervisor whoever
is reviewing your workbook is going to
leave you saying hey Maddie you did not
do this properly please and it always
feels like an affront like you know I'm
not good enough oh my gosh I completely
messed up this workbook I promise you it
never is I think they there's no way of
making a review note sound very nice
unless you add smiley faces and
unfortunately no one does so it's just
one of those things that you're going to
have to deal with and I think it makes
you much stronger and more resilient
when people are critiquing your work and
it'll always make you a better auditor
but if you don't understand why your
manager raised a certain review note
then you can always go chat to them and
resolve it point three Excel is your
best friend you work on Excel eight
hours minimum a day and you need to know
shortcuts you need to know how to use
vlookups you need to know how to use
conditional formatting you must be able
to deal with Excel well to make your job
go smooth best believe this is a skill
that you want to hone number four don't
be afraid of a challenge at the end of
last year I was put on a massive client
it was our first time dealing with this
client and it was a massive challenge I
didn't know my team and the actual
systems itself very complex there was so
much to learn but it ended up being the
most valuable experience for me because
I was forced into this environment where
I had to learn so much and pick up on
new skills like talking to the client
because if you don't understand
something ultimately that is where you
go to hey dude how did this systems work
please lead me through this process this
is something you'll become very familiar
with in system descriptions and
walkthroughs but ultimately you're going
to be chatting to your client which
seems so scary as a first year but it
becomes such an important skill to have
as you enter into the professional world
so on this client although it was
extremely hectic the lessons I learned
from it have been so valuable that going
forward into other clients I really have
just so awesome and confident and
I can just talk to anyone and I could
just do any workbook and it's been very
very cool so I recommend taking on as
many challenges as you can so that you
don't actually want a very easy audit
you need some challenges to weather you
so that you have something to show at
the end of Articles being like hey I've
been confronted with challenges and
difficulties and this is how I've dealt
with it and then leading on from point
four is point five talk to the client
this is actually quite a cool thing we
are basically children and we are able
to speak to the financial managers the
CFOs these big dogs are very big Vines
and that's so cool because they do have
a lot of experience and you're able to
have this back and forth conversation
and be like no you're wrong I know
you're right or I think the most
important thing to learn here is that no
one likes Auditors unfortunately you are
going in critiquing their financial
systems and something that they would
have way more experience than you do
being a 12 year old and it's such a fun
experience when you've actually won the
trust of a client or when the client
actually enjoys working with you so it
is really good to build a relationship
with the client and this is something
that you will hone over the years
obviously you can't be buddy buddy with
them that's really not the point of an
auditor you need to become more than an
email signature to them so that when
they are dealing with you they provide
you with information much faster so it's
just a more pleasant and efficient audit
and number six make friends if you're
not making friends then you're not going
to enjoy your ordered career my year has
been so much better because I took the
time to I don't know be part of firm
events and see my work friends on the
weekend and it's just so fun if I go
into the office I know on a given day
I'll see someone I know and it's awesome
and then lastly going forward I'm in my
second year now so what that means is as
an ordered senior you are expected to
basically start transitioning into the
third year supervisor role because your
supervisors have completed their ABC
which is the second board exam they're
ready to basically just get the hell out
of there or they'll stay on but their
mindset is definitely towards just
finishing that year and qualifying so as
the second year you are dealing with a
lot on your plate you have your board
exam which you have to study for
throughout the entire year then you're
on you know busy season you're working
overtime you're on very difficult
workbooks and then also you've got to be
now assisting your first year which is a
challenge because sometimes you don't I
mean I don't know the answers all the
time but you have to be there for your
first year and making sure that they're
always on track with their work because
ultimately you are responsible for them
and then as a third year I don't have
experience there yet but basically you
will be in charge of the order to like a
mini manager and you'll be overseeing
that everyone is on track you're going
to be doing a lot of admin until of
project management making sure that you
have this budget for the client and that
everyone is meeting their goals in terms
of the hours spent in each workbook and
that if there are any issues you are
reporting directly to your manager a
really good supervisor will have
everything under check they'll have very
good chain of command with all of their
peers so the third year to the second
year signature to the first year and a
very good idea of what's going on in the
order they were not just going to be
flailing around and then thereafter guys
I think the beautiful thing about now
being a CA is that you really are an
all-rounded sort of individual where you
have experience dealing with difficult
people you have experience dealing with
difficult subject matters so as a hire
you are very attractive because you are
just more equipped to deal with business
problems so it is a very cool career in
that sense that you have a career you
have so many options whether it's
staying audit or transferred to tax or
if you want to be a Financial Manager do
the actual books yourself or whatever it
is you have this sort of business
expertise that not a lot of careers can
offer you so that's my two cents if you
do have any questions about what order
things like I'm really so stoked to
answer any questions
um always but otherwise if you guys are
writing exams now I think it's exam time
I'm very out of the loop these days then
good luck you'll slay them yeah but
otherwise I'll see you guys soon
foreign
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