What's your job about?
KPMG is an accounting firm that provides various advisory and auditing services, I’m part of the Wellington audit team.
In an audit, we will work on many different clients throughout the year so my typical day or week can change quite a bit depending on the engagement I’m on and the type of testing we’re doing.
If we’re doing control testing, we would be testing the controls that the entity has in place to prevent/detect errors and make sure they’re efficient. If we’re doing substantive testing, we’ll be doing recalculations of the entity’s figures to see if we get similar results.
If I was going to describe audit in simple terms, it would be that it is re-stepping through an entity’s financial year and ensuring we’re reasonably comfortable that they’ve followed their processes, and their figures make sense.
What's your background?
I’m originally from Mexico but I moved to New Zealand with my family when I was 8 years old and I’ve grown up in Wellington. I’d say that the most important stage of my life was going to university and starting work.
Since I stayed in Wellington for university, starting work helped me to meet new people outside of the Wellingtonians I’d grown up with. I think I grew the most as a person in this period.
I knew about KPMG for several years and I wanted to apply once I finished up my studies. I applied for my graduate position back in April 2020. Despite the Covid situation, everyone I talked to was super understanding and made me feel very comfortable which made me want to work here even more. I started my role in March 2021, so it has been about 7 months so far.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Yes. Education-wise, I think that ultimately anyone wanting to go into audit would need to have a background in accounting as this really is the base that everything we do is built upon.
However, I do think that having experience in other areas (e.g. law, or tax) can be super helpful. Being a good auditor doesn’t just come down to having an accounting background; it’s also important to have a good understanding of ethics and people skills. We’re meeting and working with different people all the time, which makes the job fun but also means good communication is key!
What's the coolest thing about your job?
For me, it’s always the people that make the difference. I think it’s quite rare to start working somewhere with 10 or so others who are the same age and going through the same experience as you.
On top of that, everyone in a position above you has been in your exact position at some point and so they understand what you’re going through. I also love being able to meet new people and learn more about all the different industries around New Zealand.
What are the limitations of your job?
The job does get hectic at times. I’ve had to work a few extra hours in the evenings and sometimes at the weekend as well, although in my experience this has been rare and for short periods of time (e.g. 2 weeks to a month).
I have sometimes found it hard to completely log off and have work on my mind even when having a break. The effects on my eyesight after months of 7.5 hours of looking at a screen every day has also not been my favourite part of the job.
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