Introduction

My name is Hasan and I work for Crowe UK in the audit team. I’ve been with the business for over a year and I joined as a school leaver with no prior accounting or audit experience. When I started, I found studying tough as the tutors at college go through the content quickly but at the same time they are very supportive. At first, I thought there is no way I would pass these exams, but a year later I have completed the first six exams of the ACA qualification and will be sitting the next two exams in December 2022!

How did you find the application process?

I had applied to Crowe in February 2021 with the initial application requiring personal details such as your name, school, and education, but I didn’t hear back until June 2021. The HR contact arranged an interview with two senior managers in the audit team. Both were kind, and it was like a good cop bad cop situation where one manager was all jolly asking me about myself, and the other asking questions about my skills and experience. With Crowe I really liked how simple the process was as it was just an application form and then an hour-long interview with the managers. A week later, I received a call from the HR contact and was told I was successful. During the call, the HR contact told me more about start dates, salary etc.
Overall, the application process was good, I just wished I had been updated on my application status and didn’t have to wait until June to hear back. But I loved that Crowe’s process had no assessment centre which can be scary and tiresome. However, I believe Crowe has now introduced assessment centres so I got lucky!

How did you decide between your offers?

Crowe was the only offer I had due to the fact that all of my applications were very late, so a number of companies would not consider me as they had already received too many applications. My plan was to go to university, but that changed during the second COVID-19 lockdown in 2021. It made me rethink: Why do a degree for a role when I can work the same role without getting into debt, whilst being paid to study, and qualifying as a chartered accountant in a quicker timeframe? I still applied to university and I achieved three As so I was accepted into university, but knew an apprenticeship was the better choice.

What are your tips for applicants?

My main tip would be to apply early. If you’re keen on doing an apprenticeship apply as soon as possible as some applications open as early as October for a following September start. It also means you can secure an offer before your exams so you don’t have to stress about exams and interviews/assessment centres at the same time. As I had applied late, I had my interview during exam week which was stressful.
Another tip would be to get to know the organisation for example know who the firm’s clients are and which services they provide; talking about the client base in your interview will impress the interviewer. You should also get to know your interviewer, when HR told me the names of my interviewers, I looked them up on LinkedIn (which is another tip: Download LinkedIn) and learnt more about their experiences in the firm and elsewhere. This is a great discussion to have during your interview as you can find out more about their experiences.

Tell us about your team.

As I am in the audit team, I am constantly working in new teams every time I am assigned to a new client. Normally in my firm we are booked onto jobs which last for around two weeks, this is longer for bigger clients. On those jobs, I typically work in a team of roughly 3-5 which may include one or two seniors, a semi-senior, and a trainee. During the audit, the manager is always around if you have any questions the senior can’t answer, but the manager’s main role is to review your teams’ work. I like the structure of the teams I am in and I always feel comfortable asking for help. I have also worked in teams with two trainees, which is great as it’s nice working with someone in the same position as you.

Tell us about your intake

My intake consisted of another school leaver and three graduates who are all very friendly and are now very close friends of mine. Originally, we were meant to have another school leaver join, but they dropped out due to personal reasons. Before we started at the firm, HR put us into a WhatsApp group chat where we all introduced ourselves and talked about how we were feeling about joining the firm. This was great as when we did start, it felt like I already knew my intake so there was no awkwardness.

What was the induction process like?

A lot of my learning has been on the job and the induction process involved meeting key individuals and learning more about Crowe. On my first day, once the intake had arrived, we were taken to a meeting room to introduce each other and meet the managers as well as the partner. After this, we were given our laptops and then joined meetings which explained more about the organisation and how life at Crowe will be like. In the afternoon we were given a tour of the office, though it was near empty as most people were working from home due to COVID. After the tour we completed basic ethics training and HR tasks on our new laptops. We finished at 17:30, and we were told we’d be starting college the following Monday. It was a surprise that I was starting college straight away rather than working!.

What does a typical day look like at Crowe UK?

I start work at 9am and depending on the client I may be working from home, at the office, or at the client’s site. I start by going through my emails and checking for any information the client may have sent or any updates from managers. I then look at my task list for the day, if I’m working on a new client we normally have a Microsoft Teams meeting in the morning to discuss the client and how the work will be assigned. As I work in audit I have to contact the client to resolve any queries I may have, for example asking about variances or requesting support documentation. I typically take lunch around 1pm which will last for an hour and finish work at 17:30.

Do you have periods where you work longer hours?

In my first year I can say that I have never had to work long hours, but I as I gain experience, I know I will have to. However, this won’t be anything outrageous, senior people tend to work an extra hour or two for a short period of time. Also, whenever we do work overtime, the firm reimburse you for the overtime.

What’s the work/life balance like?

So far, the work/life balance has been great as I feel I have a lot of time after work for personal activities. However, it can be difficult to study when you have exams coming up after a long day at work. I have time to go out with my friends and when I work from home, I can go to the mosque during my lunch hour. If there was a time I felt overwhelmed, I know there are people I can talk to who are very supportive.

What flexible working arrangement are in place?

At Crowe we have a very flexible policy, which means I can work from home most days, unless we need to be at a client’s site or a manager requests otherwise. Due to COVID, I have been to the office a few times to see my co-workers, but I prefer working from home as I can go to the mosque and be more flexible with how I work. Going to client sites can be enjoyable but sometimes you can be put in a dull room but that varies per client. As a new trainee I would suggest you go into the office at least once a week to meet people, and it’s easier for managers to support you in person.

What skills have you learned so far?

I have learnt so many skills in a short amount of time. I have become much more proficient using IT as I have learnt many shortcuts which have made my life easier. We use excel a lot in audit, so I have also learnt a number of excel functions which help me complete my work much quicker..
In addition, I have gained more confidence and improved my communication skills. Before starting, I was quite shy and quiet, but as I’ve gained more experience, I’ve become more confident and talk quite a lot now! This is because I talk to clients regularly, so I’ve become better at small talk and getting to know people. I’ve also learnt so much about businesses and how they work, which is really beneficial for me, as I do hope to start my own business soon. I feel much more confident setting up a business with the skills I have learnt so far on the apprenticeship.

What are the study arrangements?

At my firm the trainees study for the ACA qualification at Kaplan which is a great college. We started with the certificate level courses for accounting and then assurance, which I found quite difficult to begin with but it does become easier. At my firm they let us choose when we sit the exams which is nice as it means less pressure, and we can sit them in any order. If you fail an exam you can try again, you don’t get into trouble nor are you fired (unless you fail an exam 4 times), my firm is really good with retakes which again means less pressure.

Do you feel you are treated differently to graduates?

Definitely not. The graduates and I perform the exact same duties and we get given the same amount of responsibility which is funny as I’ll be doing the same role as someone who is a few years older than me. The graduates are not given any preference and we all attend the same training courses. Graduates typically aren’t more experienced, and those that haven’t studied Accounting / Finance say their degree doesn’t help them. Graduates face more pressure as they have to complete exams quicker as their training contract is shorter, so I enjoy the flexibility apprentices have at Crowe.

Do you feel valued?

I do feel valued, it is nice to do actual work which is important and does impact the clients we have. The firm has good training in place, so we are able to complete specific duties with minimal help. It feels good to know we have independence and senior members of the firm trust us. In audit, we deal with important and private information that clients and our managers trust us with. Before starting the apprenticeship, I was under the impression I would only be completing low risk and admin tasks but I was completely wrong. There have been opportunities for me to take on a more senior role in a team and leading audits in my second year helping to coach the new trainees.

What is the worst thing about working at Crowe?

Of course, no employer is perfect. The worst thing for me is that sometimes managers can forget that you have exams to complete alongside your full-time job. You can feel under pressure to prioritise an audit over your exam, but if I’m being completely honest, I haven’t experienced this much.

Overall, would you recommend working at Crowe?

Overall yes, I would recommend working at Crowe. The apprenticeship is a good opportunity and if you’re interested in accounting and finance or any other career which offers apprenticeships, an apprenticeship is the best route. I am happy I work for Crowe as opposed to a bigger firm. At Crowe we are constantly changing and evolving with new clients and different activities to complete each day which means I’m continuously learning. I would advise students interested in accounting and finance to apply to a range of firms and not just the Big Four, as their work environment might not be for everyone.