Joseph Devine
Audit - PwC
Joseph, a BSc Finance and Management student, carried out his placement at PwC (Price Waterhouse Coopers) over the 2022/23 academic year.
What has been one of the greatest achievements on your placement year?
I was part of the team that won the PwC south-east team award for transformation - a competitive prize awarded to teams that show impressive application of digital tools and innovative ways to best utilise external delivery teams.
I played a role in implementing and advocating across the team new technology and processes, considering the PwC strategy to create capacity for growth whilst exploring digital alternatives to work that would have otherwise been performed manually.
Additionally, our team saw an increase of 318% in distributed delivery model team hours, which played a large role in our team receiving the award.
What were some of the roles and responsibilities involved in your placement?
I was retained on one audit engagement for around eight months, where my main responsibility was to conduct the audit of several balances on the financial statements, of the client company, and its international entities. Throughout the duration of that audit engagement, I was gradually given more ownership of those testing areas which involved direct client contact. Additionally, I was tasked with the responsibility of coaching two summer interns throughout the duration of their four-week summer internship.
It was an honour to work at PwC for my placement year; although it was challenging at times, it was also extremely rewarding and I am incredibly fortunate to have had a lot of support from my cohort and the managers around the office.