ACCOUNTANCY

INTERNSHIP PROFILES
placement year student
placement year student – pwc
LOCATION
UNIVERSITY
DEGREE
PLACEMENT TYPE
Birmingham
Bournemouth
Accounting and Tax
Tax Associate
Deciding to do a placement was the best
decision I have ever made. It really helped
to build up my confidence and professional
network, and led to a graduate job offer!
What factors led you to complete an
accounting placement?
I have always wanted to go into a finance
role. While studying Accounting and Tax
at Bournemouth University, I chose to
complete a placement year to build up my
CV and to experience what it’s actually like
to work in a business environment.
What was a typical day like?
Day to day, my role at PwC differed greatly
depending on the projects going on in my
team. A typical day was spent collating
Many of the graduates that
joined with me did not
come from an accounting
background but they were
willing to learn and had very
good interpersonal skills.
Peter Budden
information on specific tax legislation
and then drafting letters, reports and
presentations to go out to clients. I spent
much of my time on the phone to people
from all over the world discussing various
topics and trying to assist the managers with
finding the answer to a client’s questions.
Were there any stand out moments for you
during the year?
Taking care of the summer interns was a real
highlight for me. Not only do I enjoy helping
other people enhance their skills and develop
their career, it also helped me see just how
far I had come in the short space of time I
had been with PwC.
Do you have any advice for someone
thinking about an accounting placement?
The sooner you can get some experience
and try it out the better. There are so many
opportunities for placements and internships
to make sure that accountancy is right for you.
The ACA qualification is not only relevant
but it looks great on a CV and is, in my
opinion, a mandatory tool in progressing
in the accounting world. Following my
ACA qualification I will have the technical
knowledge and experience to consider a
manager role at PwC that would be impossible
to achieve without ACA or equivalent.
What skills do you need to be successful in
this industry?
From my experience, the most important
skill that anyone needs to make a success
in the finance world is to be friendly,
motivated and optimistic. PwC do not
just look for people who are technically
brilliant, they look for outgoing, ambitious
and sociable people who are willing to
develop. Many of the graduates that joined
with me did not come from an accounting
background but they were willing to learn
and had very good interpersonal skills.
What have you taken away from this
experience?
My confidence is the major strength I have
developed since starting at PwC. I am more
willing to get stuck into presentations and
talk to people in high places than I could
have ever imagined. Tasks that I would
have found daunting and impossible before
my placement are now so much more
manageable and reasonable.
The sooner you can get
some experience and try it
out the better. There are
so many opportunities for
placements and internships
to make sure that
accountancy is right for you.
Getting a placement was the best decision
I ever made. If people have the opportunity
to go on a placement year then I would
highly recommend they take it. It will be a
very impressive addition to anyone’s CV and
it really helps you build up your confidence
and work ethic before going into your final
year at university. •
18 For graduate jobs, internships & placements visit www.insidecareers.co.uk/acc
For graduate jobs, internships & placements visit www.insidecareers.co.uk/acc
19