assistant manager

manager

audit associate

auditor

audit manager

KPMG

1.) Job Work/Life Balance : good news is there is no more busy-season, bad news is that that is due to being busy all year. You'll still be slammed Jan - April, but expect your May - September to be busy and your Nov - Dec to clash with holiday plans. Expect to work 1 - 2 weekends during non- busy season months.  Additionally, due to the negative press; expect to spend 10-20 hours a month on mandatory audit quality training. 
2.) Salary/Benefits : KPMG admits that they trail the other big four firms. They are attempting to remedy the situation. However, with the announcement to drop consulting work for audit clients, I believe they'll use that as an excuse to flat-line salaries. Lobby hard to get a better starting salary. They need you more than you need them. 
3.) Job Security : good news is you'll be relatively safe, bad news is that is because they can't afford to lose anymore staff. Same goes for advancement, great opportunity from all the turnover. However, staff have continually refused promotions to ensure their resignation period stays at a shorter period and/or to avoid the pain they see seniors in. 
4.) Management (Directors and above): I have no idea what they are doing besides overselling their practices. To be fair, that's not a bad thing if they implemented an effective staffing plan, but they haven't. They are very disconnected from their staff and will stroll by the staff rows on their way out at 5pm. That said; it's a mixed bag on knowledge and helpfulness.
5.) Job Culture: The staff are very friendly and welcoming. Central teams are extremely helpful. Everyone is generally good natured. The morale is very low though; constant strain of increase in audit quality, with less staff, and tight budgets (as always), with extended busy seasons has really impacted morale. Additionally, performance reviews have done little to consider the excessive situations staff are put in by the partners ridiculous concessions. 

tl;dr Due to work life balance and increase demand for quality with little attempt to compensate with staff / pay, I would not accept a position within KPMG Audit.

I faced a steep learning curve as a Finance and Engagement Management administrator within the Central Finance function. I gained exposure to SAP and by extension, all things operational and all things finance. 
In general the role is challenging and it has its rewards. The work is varied and I gained exposure (amongst many things) to the Client lifecycle. I was fascinated by the way SAP brought Client Engagement acceptance risk controls, billing, WIP accounting and and reporting together into one system.
The people are brilliant and I met some really bright, creative individuals who were very encouraging and very willing to recognise hard work. The Directors and Partners of the firm are quite approachable.   
I have to say though that Central Finance is an isolated part of the firm - many of the cultural benefits given to the Client facing staff did not extend to those in Central Finance. Surprisingly, training is poor and my knowledge only grew because I had the tenacity to find things out for myself. 
KPMG attracted me because they placed emphasis on continuous professional development. I saw this for our Client facing colleagues, but never in 4 years (and in spite of my repeated enquiries) was this extended to Central Finance.
Management in Central Finance have been longtime employees of the firm. I was aware of a clique and in general they were not receptive to change and viewed such suggestions as criticism. Life could then become quite difficult. Secondments that are common place out in the business, were deliberately stifled and did not take place for Central Finance.
In conclusion, KPMG is a great firm to work outside of the Central Finance function - which could and should do much better.

A typical day at work as as Recruitment Coordinator would involve screening a large number of applications (forms, online tests and digital submissions), answering student enquiries over the telephone, managing the graduate inbox queries and assisting with pipeline management (including communication with the candidates.) I would also do a number of admin jobs for example collating information for events and interviews, booking interviewers, rooms and refreshments and coordinating assessment days.

I learned about employment legislation regarding the right to work in the UK and how to deal with visa queries, how to screen and manage applications using a tracking system and how to process candidate expenses using SAP. I analysed data relating to which universities students applied from and the courses they studied and saw how this affected the overall outcome of the companies recruitment strategies. 

The workplace culture was relaxed and sociable, the managers were always on hand if I needed support, despite the remote working situation. The managers were friendly and approachable. 

The hardest part of the job was learning the complex applicant tracking system, but this was also the most rewarding having mastered many of its functions during my time as a Recruitment Coordinator. 

The most enjoyable part of the job was attending recruitment events and presentations to promote the company to school leavers and under-graduates. I enjoyed interacting with the students and also liaising with the universities to secure and book these events.

Typical day:
- Starts at 9:30am
- Spend most of the day answering emails and having phone calls
- Working for people who do not understand what they are doing
- You get 1 hour for lunch, but rarely have the opportunity to use it. Sometimes have to skip lunch altogether
- Official workday ends at 5:30pm at which point you will say goodbye to all the trainees who are studying
- Your workday continues
- Sometimes you get to go home at 9pm after which you will continue to work after you get home. 
- You will usually go sleep at around 2am.

What I learnt:
- The culture at the firm confuses quality with quantity. They do not understand the core concepts of audit
- They are not willing to listen to new ideas from those who come from bigger, more successful firms

Management:
- They do not promote people to manager based on their ability to manage. This clear from the lack of quality managers. Also, managers are good at delegating, but enforce an "us" and "them" mentality and it does not feel as though they are part of the team themselves.

Workplace culture:
- No idea, you spend most of your time at client offices, usually alone due to the lack of staff.

Hardest part of the job:
- Dealing with trainees who have no clue what they are doing
- Dealing with lazy people
- Having to push yourself to meet unrealistic deadlines
- Having to have your own back because nobody else will
- Having to accept that leadership will not push back against clients
- The lack of sleep

The most enjoyable part of the job:
- Going home

I joined KPMG as an Apprentice rotating around various departments before joining Audit permanently. 

They supported me through my AAT and ICAS qualifications.  These created a great foundation of knowledge which I continued to build.

The people I worked with were great and very helpful, often while under time pressured and stressful conditions. Coaching is a large part of being part of an audit team to upskill junior colleagues.

KPMG works with some of the largest businesses in the country and there is exposure to a wide range of industries and clients. 

One thing I wasn't warned about pre-joining was 'busy season' which typically spans January to April. This requires (unpaid) work outside of the 9 to 5, with roughly 5 hours per day overtime expected. This is expected and if you attempt to avoid this will negatively affect your appraisal.  Audit's often are not resourced appropriately and there is a lack of people meaning a heavy workload.

It really was a 'work hard, play hard' environment with lots of social events taking place.

Despite the long hours, the company is really flexible about appointments/personal situations and encourages staff to give back through CSR.

Salaries and progression in audit are published and consistent, however at the time of working I did feel that we were being underpaid given experience developed and hours worked. I understand this has since been rectified. 

I really enjoyed my time with KPMG and it provided a great starting place for my career in accounting.

Check and deal with emails - prioritising workload and "To-do list", diary management, catch up with the Head of Space Management and Team Leader. Managing and updating database, arrange meetings, hospitality, book travel/hotel accommodation, project budget management, assist with powerpoint presentations, liaise with contractors, suppliers, issuing purchase orders and approving invoices for payment, attend meetings and take minutes and distrubtion of minutes, follow up on actions. Managing team expenses and submission to the accounts department, occasional project related works, general administration, adhoc duties.

Attention to detail, time management, my role was vital to the success of the team/department.

Management encourage staff to promote themselves by taking training courses, and add value to the company. Rated one of the best employers to work for, transparency is encouraged at all levels. An equal opportunities employer with a great set of values.

My co-workers are all extremely professional in their approach to their work and colleagues alike. Friendly, and a privilage to work with.

The hardest part of my job was probably filing, only becuase of the volumne but a vital part of any job.

I enjoyed all of the job because of the variety of work, but I especially liked to be assigned a project I could take responsibility for and the challenge it represented and problem solving.

I am on a secondment in KPMG UK, till 20 February. I have had a great time working here. I have been able to learn so much about the working culture and people's psyche. It is quite different from people in India, in a good way. People are always looking for solutions then asking questions, which is bit hard sometimes but it bring the best out of you.
I have been working as a ServiceNow consultant, I have contributed from in building the environment for the scratch. I have been learning a lot working on the course and I have been able to understand each and every part of our environment and dealing with every aspect of service delivery from Supporting, Developing, Implementing, Module demos, User training and Vendor Management.
I get all the support from the management, as I believe I push myself to the max and the management does it as well. It is really appreciable.
Co workers are very understanding, I am working with a Technical architect and we make a great team.
Hardest part is to maintain my health, I sometimes try to indulge myself into the Job and try to learn each and everything. I sometimes forget that I need to maintain my health as well to work. But I am improving on it, now.

I love learning new thing everyday, and working here as One stop shop helps learn a new thing everyday. Which makes me more knowledge and an assets to an organisation.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Big 4, a lot of large clients, paying market rate, massive training programmes, technical strength

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Not enough support is given to new joiners, no response/communication from senior staff sometimes, people are treated differently. There is an office political environment, and it is very difficult to get a promotion or stay if you are not good at it. No job security, twice-yearly performance appraisals. If they are not satisfied with your performance whenever, you will be given 1-2 months to improve, and then sack you  if they are still not happy with you thereafter (even though you have been working there a few years, always got good appraisal before), so it is a stressful work environment. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Work alone and self-study when having queries, lack communication, and do not promote/encourage team members to help each other.  A lot of negative comments from line managers to lower-grade staff members. It is a very stressful work environment there.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Working hard and alone,  a lot of self-study, and being a problem solver most of time. Some line managers often don't support and do not respond if asked a question.

I work for two large teams in an extremely busy tax department.  My role is varied with tasks such as e-travel, diary management, billing, typing of letters, reports, producing PowerPoints and arranging seminars.

Outside my core role I am a Charity Champion, this involves communicating to the entire Birmingham office, arranging charity events/seminars and being responsible for the collecting and banking funds.

Working for a large company and the roles I undertake, I have learned to communicate to a wider audience, be part of a larger team of individuals and have become experienced with a wide range of systems.

I work closely with my co-workers to ensure that we all have good working relationships, this enables us to assist each other and cover in their absence.

I arrange regular meetings with my core departmental managers, this not only maintains a good working relationship but also gives me an understanding of what they’re currently working on and discuss ways in which I can lighten their workload.

I would say the hardest part of my role would be working with individuals who are not team players but I work to overcome this by having regular meetings.

I enjoy the variety of my core and non-core roles and getting involved with events both inside and outside of work

What is the best part of working at the company?
Working at one of the big 4 opens up unrivalled career and networking opportunities. The pay is good, but you’ll earn it.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
You are working very long hours and can be posted anywhere, living out of a suitcase for extended periods. The work is intensive and lots of people ‘burn-out’.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
I’m simple terms it’s a shark tank. Highly competitive, always watching your back. It is a professional organisation and goes the extra yard for its clients. Its recommendations and reports are respected and valued. You are there to make money for the company. You are only as useful as your last assignment.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
You have a brief to deliver in very short time. As you pass the hall to a team brief 40 + new recruits are being mustered every fortnight. One day blurs into another until to get to Friday. You are checking emails constantly even on the weekends. You work for very demanding clients who expect you to conjure up the impossible. You are at the beck and call of clients and partners.

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