February 17, 2015

Meet Emily Spencer at PwC

When you read or hear the word ‘Accountant’ what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Be honest? Perhaps ‘An old man with white hair and a beard’ or a ‘Snooty faced woman in a pale green trouser suit?’

The team at Girls Talk London urge you to take a few minutes to check out our interview with Emily Spencer, Trainee Accountant at one of the world’s leading Accountancy firms, PwC.

Newsflash: Accounting is full of YOUNG, interesting and fun people with lots of opportunities for those who are finishing university and even those who don’t want to go to Uni. Thank us later 🙂 

Can you explain what you do?

As a trainee accountant I juggle my time between working in audit and taking professional exams. Since joining in September, I have taken five exams and worked in different teams carrying out statutory audits of several businesses within the insurance and asset management sectors. Typically I am in charge of my assigned areas of the audit and my work is then checked over by someone more senior. Even as a junior team member you have a really valuable role to play and you have to deliver!

What is the best bit about your job?

Collaborating with lots of different people. Each business I work with is an opportunity to work with a new team and meet more clients. I have got to know a lot of people through my work and built some great friendshipst’s great being able to go and visit other businesses and see how they operate and what their offices are like (from what I’ve seen so far, usually really nice)!

What has been the highlight so far of your career?

Definitely passing my professional exams to date. I found them tough, particularly given that I studied History of Art and French at university, so the leap to accountancy was huge. The ACA qualification is difficult but for a reason: it is internationally renowned and I know that if I do choose to move around later in my career the qualification will make me really employable, either here in the UK or abroad. Your peers are all doing it too so you have a support network to draw on when studying gets difficult.

What are the everyday things you do as part of your job?

It really depends what client I’m working for! I can be in the office or out on site, which can be in London or further afield. I spend my time examining lots of different elements that make up a company’s financial statements, talking to clients and working with my team. I also have periods of study leave for my exams. On a typical day I will arrive in the office or the client’s site for about 9.30am, fire up my laptop, catch up with the rest of the team and then plan what I am going to work on that dayAfter work I’ll head to the gym or out for a drink. If you find yourself working away you get an allowance for dinner so trying out new restaurants with your team is a lot of fun!

How did you become a trainee accountant?

At the start of my final year at university I was looking at lots of different graduate schemes. I applied for a shadowing week at PwC on a scheme called ‘Shadow a Female Leader’ – now called ‘Women in Business’ – just before Christmas in 2013. My application was successful and I really enjoyed it; when I got my offer for the graduate scheme a few days later, I accepted straightaway!

What advice would you give someone looking to work in this role?

Make sure you consider what kind of clients you would like to audit and where you would like to work. There is a huge range of industries and locations out there, so find the businesses that you are passionate about! In terms of the application itself, the process is pretty tough so do put in the time to prepare: practice your psychometrics and interview technique and keep up to date with the news as you will probably need to talk about a business story that interests you.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

In my spare time, I enjoy going to the gym, art galleries and gigs. I also love going to events where I can speak French, catching up with friends and family and travelling; this year I am hoping to go to Spain, Germany, Canada and America, although I haven’t booked anything yet! We get a decent holiday allowance and can choose to buy more days or sell days back, which makes it flexible year-to-year depending on your plans.

Want to get a taster of what working at PwC is really like? Why don’t you apply to watch their Apsire to Lead: Women in Business event taking place on Friday 27th February. Details on how to secure your place can be found here