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KPMG New Zealand

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4.0
  • #1 in Accounting & advisory
  • > 100,000 employees

Tarunjot Singh

The culture and environment is positive and everyone in our office feels valued for any work that they do.

What's your job about?

Auditing at KPMG is all about finding valuable insights and providing reasonable assurances over the information of businesses used by investors. This not only builds investor confidence but also drives KPMG to fuel NZ’s prosperity. My clientele is mostly from the dairy industry and I often work with a big team who come from different backgrounds and ethnicities. 

A typical workday for me starts by meeting my manager and the wider team to discuss our daily tasks and goals. For the most part of my day, I perform several audit procedures and document my results. Not every day is the same as I often conduct meetings with clients based in NZ and around the globe and work from client sites. I also get an opportunity to attend workplace events throughout the year and enjoy different activities with my wider team through social club events. 

A new audit recruit is given a lot of training and support before they start working for a client, so do not feel overwhelmed if you are new to audit. The overall culture and environment are positive and everyone in our office feels valued for any work that they do. 

What's your background?

I grew up in Karnal which is a small town in India where I completed my high school in 2017 with high distinction.  I have been involved in a lot of sports such as gymnastics, cricket, soccer, and volleyball during my time in high school. After my high school graduation, I joined a university in Bangalore but I dropped out after 3 months as I wanted to travel and work internationally and so I came to New Zealand in 2018 to pursue a Bachelor of Business Analysis from the University of Waikato. During my course at Waikato, I got a scholarship for my outstanding performance and travelled most of NZ during that time. I found my passion for bodybuilding and fashion, so I joined a gym and started a channel on Instagram (@style_by_singh). I even worked part-time in various jobs around Waikato and often did volunteering in the community.

During my second year, I actively applied for internships in all the big and medium-sized firms. I got rejected from all of them in round 1 and that was a shock for me. However, I did not stop applying and attended university events. After months I landed myself an internship role at KPMG through a KPMG event at university. The internship experience was even better than expected and I got a job offer right after finishing the internship. I have been in the role for 6 months now and enjoying every bit of it.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Yes, this is possible. In my team itself, there are people who switched their career paths completely and are now working as Auditors. I believe if you have good communication skills, basic accounting knowledge, MS office knowledge and the ability to handle high-pressure situations, then you are already halfway into this profession. 

What's the coolest thing about your job?

The coolest thing that I enjoy about being an Auditor is finding deficiencies in controls and misstatements. I like this because it gives me a purpose to work up to my full potential. The second-best thing is that I get to travel a lot and work at different workplaces throughout the year. It makes work more interesting and enjoyable for me.

What are the limitations of your job?

This job is not easy. There is a lot of pressure during our busy season’s and especially during deadlines as you will have to manage both meetings and your work. This job is not for someone who has bad time management and cannot handle pressurised situations. 

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

  1. Never doubt yourself even if you are failing. Keep learning and moving forward.
  2. Do not compare yourself and your achievements with others. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses.
  3. You cannot choose a career path in a day or a month, so I reckon to try everything ;)