Case studies: Placement, KPMG: Emily Todd

Emily Todd graduated from Durham University with a BA in Economics after going on a year-long placement with KPMG as part of her course. Emily tells us how the experience has helped her…

I spent my placement year in KPMG's Birmingham office. I decided to do my placement as if I was a graduate trainee. Therefore, I had the same roles as the new graduates and sat some of the ACA exams, too.

My position within the company was audit assistant, meaning I was responsible for auditing certain sections of financial accounts, such as cash, payroll, fixed assets, debtors, creditors and consolidated accounts.

As the year progressed I was given more responsibility and more challenging tasks to perform, but there were always more senior staff around to help, if necessary.

I decided to do a placement year to help me decide whether accountancy was the right career for me and also to boost my CV.

It has benefited me greatly, as I was able to establish that I would like to pursue a career in accountancy and was offered a graduate position with KPMG, meaning I didn't need to spend time in my final year applying for jobs.

Being able to sit the first year of the ACA exams has also meant that I only have another two years left before I am a qualified accountant.