Called to accounting - Charlotte Chown explains how PwC made it so very easy for her to settle into a career that is both demanding and rewarding

After leaving university, deciding what your next step should be is a fairly daunting task. Trying to choose and kickstart a career path in an increasingly tough graduate market poses so many obstacles. 

My degree didn’t lead me in a clear direction so I looked home to Jersey to see what was on offer. After an impromptu week of work experience, I decided to join PwC, the number one graduate employer in the UK.

I’m Charlie, and I’ve been at PwC now for just under two years. Originally I joined the firm on a temporary basis for six months as I wanted to go travelling around the world. I then started my training contract in audit and assurance just over a year ago.

Starting the training contract was not unlike starting secondary school – you're the youngest and least experienced members of the firm. But one of the main benefits about joining a structured graduate scheme is that, like school, there’s lots of people in the same boat when you join. No-one knows what to expect, everyone is a little nervous and you’re all given time and help to settle in. This help is so important as PwC employs some graduates from the UK as well as Jersey, who are completely new to the island. 

We local graduates helped them to get used to island life by showing them the best Jersey had to offer, even before we’d started our jobs, and we spent many weekends at St Ouens and St Brelades bays, not to mention an entertaining evening at Domingoes. The firm also help the UK guys with temporary accommodation and they arranged for us all to have a ‘buddy’ in the year above so you have a point of contact for your first day and following weeks. There were also so many events organised to begin with that within the first week of induction, you feel truly welcomed and a part of the firm.

Our first two weeks with the firm were spent studying with BPP, the service provider PwC currently uses to help its employees pass either the ACA or ACCA qualification. At the end of these two weeks we sat two exams to set us on the path to qualification. When you join PwC you have a choice of which course you would like to study for, and I have so far completed nine of the fifteen ACA exams. The study aspect part of the job is notoriously demanding, but we all keep motivated focusing on the end goal, gaining an internationally recognised qualification that means the world is your oyster. It is certainly well worth the effort!

After the BPP study, your PwC life begins with two weeks of internal training with our Guernsey counterparts. These two weeks are your guidebook on how to perform your job, and they give you a great basis on which to build your knowledge of auditing and of our clients industries.

Armed with your training knowledge, you begin working on your first clients. It sounds daunting but there’s constant support for you in the form of seniors on the job who you are assigned to, and who become your mentors and answer the many questions you will have to begin with.  You’re also assigned a counsellor, usually a manager, who will help guide you throughout your career. PwC ensure that there is a proper support structure in place for you so that you can make the most of your time with the firm and excel in your career. Having a manager as a guide, who has been through the same exams, and who will have at least five years experience with the firm, is invaluable.

In my first year my main clients were predominantly in the private equity industry and the public sector. However the firm aims to give you a diverse portfolio of clients and I have also worked on banking, funds and property fund audits. Audit team sizes vary from just yourself and a senior for smaller clients, to larger teams of fifteen or so people. This diversity means that your job changes from one week to the next to keep you interested and on your toes.

One of the most attractive aspects of PwC is the global network. There are many opportunities to travel abroad for audit jobs, such as to Switzerland, France, India and the UK. There are also secondments that come up, where you can transfer temporarily to another PwC Network firm and work in Sydney, Hong Kong, San Francisco and London to name but a few. Great opportunities for career development and progression.

Whilst PwC often needs teams to work long hours during audit busy season, it really takes helping staff maintain a healthy work life balance seriously. The managers focus on sharing workloads as evenly as possible and making sure we know the most efficient way to do everything. And to make sure we have  time to relax and have fun the firm puts on regular social events which have recently included the annual summer ball, a day trip to France, a ‘food of the worlds’ evening and paintballing as well as monthly drinks. There are also various sporting opportunities on offer including weekly five a side football, cricket, netball and rugby.

If you are leaving school or university soon and have talent and career aspirations, I’d give PwC some serious thought. Start with a bit of internet research and if you like what you see, contact our HR department to request a week of work experience – this was long enough to convince me that this was where I wanted to be. 

I work surrounded by my friends in firm which cares about my future career prospects. So if you are at all interested in a career in accountancy, look no further.