What is it like to work in audit at KPMG?

Why work in audit?

Audit, the largest of KPMG’s practices, involves examining organisations and making sure that their published accounts provide a 'true and fair' picture of their financial position and results. It’s essential that organisations – large and small – undertake audits as they build trust and help businesses to grow.

‘Deciding to pursue audit as a career was an easy decision for me,’ Tahmid says. ‘I really enjoy getting to understand a business, helping audited entities to identify risks and potential, and creating solutions with them.’ His love of statistics led him to study mathematics with management and finance at King’s College London, where he discovered that he really enjoyed ‘dealing with financial figures and data’.

Why work at KPMG?

‘When you think audit, you think immediately of the Big 4,’ says Tahmid. ‘When it came to researching which companies to apply for, KPMG really stood out to me during the application process. I felt it was the most approachable, from interviews and meeting those who worked there, and that fantastic people culture now exists in my day-to-day work as well.’ KPMG audits some of the world’s biggest companies, making it an exciting place to start your career as a graduate. Throughout your career, you could be working with big retailers, UK banks and multinational companies, providing organisations with insights and helping to build more trust in the economy.

What exactly does an auditor do?

Tahmid sums up his role for us: ‘I work in a team that investigates, documents and verifies the financial history of various entities and conducts testing. I work on different engagements to complete analysis and tests that will all form part of a signed statutory audit. Most of my work is that of an investigative nature and necessitates gathering evidence from the entities we work with.

While audit work requires some travel to external sites for engagements, an audit associate can work flexibly – at KPMG offices, engagement sites and from home. KPMG is always seeking to improve how it works, through inspiring workspaces, innovative ways to collaborate with colleagues and hybrid ways of working.

Technology in Audit at KPMG

Tahmid tells us that one of his career highlights so far is ‘developing my expertise with KPMG Clara’. If you’re interested in technological innovations, you’ll enjoy getting to work with this smart and intuitive audit platform. It helps KPMG auditors such as Tahmid provide organisations with even higher quality results and a better user experience, through integrating new and emerging technologies with advanced capabilities, with the aim of delivering collaborative working.

Training and development at KPMG

KPMG offers a rich curriculum and learning community to help graduates build their skills and fulfil their potential. This ranges from an immersive five-day induction experience, formal training courses, leadership knowledge bites, learning journals, online courses and networking events.

In addition, in Audit, KPMG currently offer either the ACA or CA depending on office location. For those joining an office in Scotland, they offer the ICAS (CA). For other offices, they offer different ACA routes depending on the programme you apply to.

Training doesn’t end once you’re qualified, of course: support continues throughout your career at KPMG. Not only will you have the support of fellow new joiners when you start – colleagues who are at exactly the same stage in their careers as you – but more experienced audit professionals are always available to offer you guidance, advice and support every step of the way.