KPMG4

• Name: Rani Lall
• Role: Deal Advisory Graduate
• University: University of Birmingham
• Degree: Economics

“I spend time studying for my professional qualification and time getting valuable experiences at work too – with plenty of responsibility.”

Description:

Rani initially gained an insight into KPMG through our undergraduate programmes when she was an Economics student at the University of Birmingham and found she enjoyed the culture of the firm.

“In the first year of my degree, I attended the KPMG Insight Programme. I especially liked how people-centred the firm is. It was through that programme that I was offered an internship which I also really enjoyed. That led me onto the graduate scheme.

I like having different tasks and trying things that are completely new to me. I’m working in Transaction Services, which is focused on the early stages of a deal. A typical example of our work is when a client asks us to help them sell their company, we’ll look into the accounts, do due diligence and produce a report to give to the buyers.

Our partners often ask you to research a company. That involves searching across everything from news to relevant mergers – to then share back with them. I find it really interesting. It’s great to have that kind of responsibility and partners are genuinely interested in what you think.

“There are lots of ways you can build your networks outside of your day-to-day work. Through the KPMG Network of Women (KNOW) I’m mentored by a senior partner.”

I’m doing the Empowered Programme and I really like the work-to-learning ratio. If you’re very exam focused, then you can do the Intensive Programme where you do 14 of the 15 exams in your first year. But we all qualify at the same time, so it comes down to personal preference really. I prefer to have the exams spaced out.

I’ve just recently joined the KPMG netball team. I’ve also done quite a bit of charity stuff. The national charity for KPMG is the NSPCC and recently I helped to set up a table football tournament here in the Birmingham office, as a fundraiser. You also get up to six days for volunteering, so I’ve used some of mine volunteering at schools, helping year 10s to practice their interview skills.

My advice? Be confident. You’re not expected to be an expert when you join and people here are always happy to help you. It’s a very open and supportive environment.”

• Name: Vanessa Haisch
• Role: Audit Empowered Graduate
• Degree: International Business Management

“I can definitely recommend joining KPMG as a graduate. You get the full package of achieving a qualification, working for a global network of firms and meeting lots of amazing people.”

Description:

Vanessa was born in Germany, where she studied International Business Management with a focus on Finance. She chose to join us not only because she wanted to work in audit, but because she’d also heard about the diversity of our people.

“I joined KPMG on the Audit Empowered Programme. Essentially, that means I go to work every day and, in amongst that, I study. The ultimate aim is to become a qualified accountant. You can opt for the Intensive Programme too, which is where you go to college to study intensively for the first year instead.

What I most enjoy about my programme is that it's varied. Every day is different. When I go to work, I never know exactly what I’ll do. I also like that I'm learning so much every day. It's sometimes overwhelming, but it challenges me in a good way.

“The training here is so broad. Outside of Audit, I’ve been able to learn about the banking industry, building societies, insurance and everything about the financial sector. It’s really useful and I’ve definitely grown in confidence.”

For me, the most exciting experience so far has been working on an audit from start to finish. It was a great opportunity to learn, and really get to grips with what was going on and what everyone does. And after months of preparation and hard work, it was really fulfilling to see everything come to a close.

Technology is a big focus for our firm, and for Audit. We have some dedicated departments that deal with audit technology. We collaborate with them – they can literally take a whole dataset and evaluate it for us. It’s obviously a big advantage when it comes to ensuring the quality of the audit.

The people here are very friendly. I've not yet met someone who isn’t willing to help or support me. It's very open, and I feel like if I were to have an issue or if I needed to talk, there’s always someone who I could talk to.

I also really like that people here enjoy working together and value the firm. KPMG supports people to be themselves – they really accept you the way you are.”