5KPMG 2022 graduate opportunities

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

“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.

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.

• Name: Adaobi
• Role: Graduate Trainee - Audit in London
• University: Royal Holloway University
• Degree: Economics and Management

"I’ve always been motivated to learn new things and that was what drew me to KPMG’s graduate programme. Their training offering is broad, and they genuinely want to help you be the best you can be. I actually turned down other offers in order to take this role. Several friends who already worked at KPMG, and whose opinions I trust, told me about their good experiences working here. That was a big factor in my decision.

"If you have a desire to learn new things, you can definitely flourish here."

Before I joined the graduate programme, I did a number of internships at large banks. If I had to highlight a key difference, it would be the level of access to a variety of companies we audit. I’m not sitting in the same office day in, day out - I’m visiting and liaising with new businesses we audit. It’s a really stimulating environment. If you work well with others and have a desire to learn new things, you can definitely flourish here.

Outside of my work in Audit, I am involved in the African and Caribbean Network at KPMG. I also play for a women’s football club, I’m an active member of the social committee and I help out with student recruitment as well. I’d also like to study a little more, so it’s great that I’m with a company that encourages that. I’m a bit of a forward planner and KPMG really enables you to choose the direction you want to take your career."

Description:

Adaobi did a joint degree in Economics and Management at Royal Holloway University before joining our Audit Graduate programme in our London office.

• Name: Ayomikun
• Role: Graduate Trainee - Technology & Engineering
• University: King’s College London
• Degree: Geography and Economics

“I felt that KPMG would be a good match for my ambitions and of course, it’s a Big Four company. So it was a no-brainer for me during the application process. KPMG was where I really wanted to be.

Now I’m here, I enjoy the access to global clients. I like the culture here too. You get to work with ambitious people who want to be part of the next generation of ideas and strategies.

I’m part of the Financial Services Modelling team. When I first joined, the focus was on training. It was incredibly thorough. We had financial modelling workshops run by some of our analysts, for example. We learnt VBA and Python – coding languages that are invaluable in our field. And data visualisation, which is obviously really big right now. It enables us to extract data and make it visually presentable for a client.

“The team is great. The partner in the team has such a friendly ethos and it’s been thoroughly rewarding in terms of the modelling work that we do. It’s very complex, but you’re trusted with a lot of responsibility and you get to work with some huge clients.”

There’s always something new to learn here. It means you can constantly push yourself. And what’s great about Technology & Engineering at KPMG is that you’re surrounded by other people who want to push themselves too. People come from a range of different backgrounds and everybody is very motivated.

Away from my day-to-day role, I’m part of our black heritage reverse mentoring scheme. I mentor partners and directors and we talk about some of the racial stereotypes within big organisations and how to break them. It’s been great.

If you’re looking for the opportunity to enhance your career, to get exposure to all sorts of clients, KPMG enables you to do all of that and much, much more.”

Description:

Ayomikun studied Geography and Economics at King’s College London before completing a Master’s in Management at Imperial College London. He was keen to use all the skills he’d learnt at university and thought that KPMG would allow him to do exactly that.

• Name: Kimberly
• Role: Gradutate Trainee - Deal Advisory
• University: University of York
• Degree: English Literature

“I’m on the Empowered Programme working towards my ACA qualification, as well as working day-to-day. It basically means I take my exams at intervals across the three years of the programme, as opposed to the Intensive Programme where you do most of your study and exams in the first year.

I’ve found that working alongside my studies - seeing how things work in practice as well as in theory at the same time - has really helped with my development.

I work in our Transaction Services team. We provide financial due diligence for companies that are going through mergers, acquisitions or sales. So we look through the financials of the business and present our analysis to prospective purchasers.

“I look at a broad range of organisations – it could be anything from a food manufacturer to a technology business. It’s really varied and always interesting.”

When I completed my first deal, it was a great moment. It felt good to know that I’d contributed to it, and when it went public, I could finally share that achievement with my family and friends.

Technology is definitely changing our work environment and how we work with our clients. In fact, that’s what my current secondment is based on. I’m learning how we can use the new technologies that KPMG are investing in to support our work in Transaction Services.

There are plenty of training courses on offer. Not long ago, I did a course on networking skills, which was interesting. I’ve learnt a lot about financial analysis and different industries. I’ve developed my research skills too and my understanding of business more generally.

There are also lots of opportunities to do things for the community outside of the office here. We get up to six working days of volunteering time and I’ve spent mine going to schools to give young people an insight into careers in finance.

I’ve found that life here is rewarding in all sorts of ways.”

Description:

Kimberley studied English Literature at the University of York and wanted to join an organisation that would enable her to work alongside friendly, supportive colleagues. She joined our Deal Advisory Graduate Programme in Leeds.