KPMG: Application - Offer Full Experiences

Hey, thanks for your post, that's really good to know - I have an assessment centre soon. Was wondering if you could tell me more about your presentation, like what company did you do it on that enabled you to suggest things kpmg might be able to help them with to improve? I know the presentation is only 10 minutes but I am having a bit of a panic about it! Really want something good to talk about. Any help would be very much appreciated. Thanks :)

Hi, thanks very for your information.
I just got through the first interview yesterday, and they sent an email saying: we will be shortly inviting you to an assessment centre, but didnt give an exact date. Have you got ideas how long it will takes to get the day, please?
Many thanks.

@axs772 - amazing post! ..thanks from the WikiJob team :p ..must have missed this when you first put it up but thank you - and well done!!

E.

hhoo -

When i passed my first interview, i had to book my own assessment centre based on the dates they had available? Im not sure how its worked with you exactly but id imagine it will be fairly quick. Date or no date if youve been promised an assessment centre just start preparing then get onto the recruitment hotline and speak to them. Id imagine they will be able to get you in within two weeks but thats just my own rough estimate im afraid.

Please note that you want this to be as soon as possible. When i had my choices, i was given either two days or 3 weeks away! i went for the nearest even though it was so quick because these places get filled quick!. Also, i dropped it into my assessment day and they said it showed a level of motivation.

fidget87 -

My presentation was on Aldi. I said they were in a great position as consumers are looking for cheaper alternative. Also they had some great progress in the last financial year. I did three recomendations, In brief, more stores, diversifications and online shopping. KPMG could offer and audit to help decision making on new stores. Diligence reporting and advisory on diversification into another industry with possible mergers. Online shopping - It Advisory.

I was worried about my presentation too. I cant stress enough that it doesnt have to be amazingly financial. Justify your ideas well and your in a good position for the remainder of the interview. The partner/directors are really quite nice..There not there to spot holes in everything you say, there more interested in why you think there the best proposals, and how you can defend or present them.

AXS772,

Many thanks for your quick reply, and acturally I called the recruitment hotline this afternoon, and they said there is currently no available time for me, and would let me know in the following days.
Ahh^^^, not sure when.
Yes, you are right, the only things I could do are waiting and preparing.
Hope soon!
Thanks again, and when willl you start work?

Il be starting September 09, London!

As i understand it, its down to when a partner/director is available and gathering enough applicants at the same time! Hopefully they can get you in ASAP.

Good Luck!

axs772,

Hope you enjoy your time before september.

I was told that my assessment day will be on the 25th this month, excited and stressful.

How about the etray format, is it the same as the fast stream one?
4 choices, and you choose two answers, one is the most suitable one, and one is the least?
Could you let me know please, I am quite confused, as I heard before, there is only one answer from 4.

Also, were you selected to do numeric or verbal tests on the day?

Many thanks!

Thanks for your help, especially on the presentation stuff! I had my assessment day today, apparently will find out at the beginning of next week. thanks again :)

hhoo -

I would say the Fast Stream E-Tray is *SIMILAR* to the KPMG one. The biggest difference is that you only choose the most suitable action or response; Not the least suitable! You have a booklet which includes all the details of the clients..this information is also available on your "Email System" so use whichever you feel suits you best. You basically cover a colleague at another office and have two hours of your morning to get back to his office colleagues and clients! You have Four clients in total.

You start with 5 emails in your inbox, then by your reponses you get more; to a maximum of 25 i think. Of those 25, two require some number crunching but it is very simple, just slightly more time consuming than the others! When you recieve an email - they will either include an attachment that you will need to answer the questions, or it will ask you to reference your notes. It is a simple format you just need to be relaxed and understand where all the information is!

My Advice for this bit is; Work very quickly and accurately. You can relax when its over!! Also, familiarise yourself with where all the information is at the beginning of the E-Tray. spend no more than like 5-10 mins on this. You wont need all the info, just an understanding of where it all is so you can get back to it quickly!

Part B - In my opinion is easier. You have two emails which are basically reccomendations. (Similar to your presentation for the partner) The first is for your client, they give you a budget and four options with all the relevant details. the Second is for your own firm, again they give you the budget and all the details. You get 50 mins for this, and again you need to work fast! So many people advised to spend more time on the first. But everyone at the AC couldnt understand why!?! their equally weighted and each take as much time as the other. So work fast and keeps all your grammar perfect! Try if you can to leave a minutes to read over each.

Just to give you an idea of how i did..(im not sure if i passed or failed) BUT .. I missed one question in the emails - And in part B, I did a fairly good first email but my second was very very rushed and consisted of around 5-10 lines!! Dont forget the competencies they check in the ETray they also check in your interviews and group exercise. Just make sure you do all the basics and youl be fine!

I wasnt retested in my AC. Infact, when I went to lunch; the graduate said she didnt know anybody who ever was..

This is about as good as i can do mate! I hope it helps, post something else if you have any more questions!!

Good Luck!

axs772,

Thanks very much for your reply.

Busy during the weenkend, just started to prepare, so stressful. I think the first one for me is Presentation. Are there two recommendations enough? And for every suggestion, do I need to give advices for implemention, including any risks? quite confused.

Many thanks!

Well i made two suggestions for each of the emails in part b. You are confined to a budget so you may be able to make more or less!?. Its really simple..and yes, you probably should say why their the best options. You dont have that much time so you need to be quick. Im not sure if you should say how you would implement them..i dont think i did? dont stress about it too much, and also, scour these pages for what other people have said! Other people will have useful info posted.

axs772

Thanks for your suggestions on Etray.

And with the presentation to Partner, I will talk about the company information firstly, around 1-2 minutes; and then summarize SWOT analysis, about 2-3 minutes; and then about the recommedations, I give two points: market develop, increase investment on emerging markets, such as China and India, and the other is that developing new products. So those recommedations answer the second question they ask: How they can expand/further develop their business.

And to answer the last question they ask: The advice that you would give to this organisation to ensure successful development of their business, and why.
I give detailed advices on those two recommedations above.
For market developing in emerging markets, I suggest to open more stores, increase product range, acquistions and alliances, staff training, internal controls.
And for developing new products, I advise them to develop marketing research, Invest more on R&D, internal control.

And Kpmg's auditors can help make decisions on new stores, and advisory could give suggestions on development of new products, acquisitions, internal controls and enhance performance, and tax services can provide perspecive on future developments with tax and regulartory authorities.

Are they all right and enough? Please give me some suggestion, which will be really helpful for me!!!

Many thanks!

Yeah that looks about right. Its more about how you can defend your ideas, so keep some of your presentation back, so when your asked you will have some quite good answers. Otherwise, from my experiances your on the right track. In my opinion; the partner interview is the most important so i would advise using as many people on here with experiance as you can becuase they may have something useful to offer. I hope your successful a you AC, please keep me informed!

Good Luck!

That is helpful, axs772.

Can I use the same examples for competency questions in Parter interview, as the first interview, please?

Some people here said yes, but some of them said no, what's your opinion?

Cheers!

I wouldnt, you can use similar exampls but using the same is risky. They write everything you say down in your first interview, and it would be quite naive to think that the partner wouldnt look at your file and skim through your notes.

Hey Guys, if any of you did the AC in London yesterday on the 25th, let me know about the outcome! :)
Kirill

Hi guys, I'm going to have a 1st interview with KPMG on audit in a week's time. About the number of examples, I got a email reply from HR that 3 examples for each competence. But I'm not sure does this mean 3 examples for each question ie have you worked in a team, or for a teamwork type question?

thanks...

Hi everyone, I on the other hand have just been rejected for the auditing graduate scheme. The feedback told me that my motivation to work for KPMG was not sufficient and that I did not know enough about KPMG and the role in spite of doing a fair bit of research. Any way, I am going to move on to other firms and I am trying to learn as much as I can from these mistakes, so if anyone can give me some more detailed feedback it would be very very much appreciated.

Cheers...

What attracts you to the position you have applied for?

I am fascinated by what conditions allow for a business to succeed. Auditing for KPMG will give me intimate access to a wide range of businesses and observe what factors determine their differing levels of performance. As a political scientist, I am eager to view the market and its dynamic closely in order understand what represents sound financial planning and good economic policy. Lastly, this position ensures diversity, every audit will possess different characteristics and offer new challenges and it is important for me to be tested for me to enjoy my work.

Why do you want to work for KPMG?

As a highly successful global firm, described as ‘unparalleled’ by the Sunday Times, KPMG is in a unique position to offer me a varied career path, enabling me to use my language skills and fulfil my potential.
I know that an exceptional level of support will be given to my exam training. But, I am particularly encouraged by KPMG’s commitment to challenging their graduates. I have always gained a great deal of satisfaction from having my skills tested and see them develop. Lastly, because KPMG values differing perspectives, I know that my diligence and strong creative instinct will be appreciated.

What do you think you will be doing during your first year at KPMG

I will be performing a number of functions in a high profile position at the offices of a variety of institutions, thereby gaining a broad and invaluable view of business practice. At times the work is likely to be less challenging. However, I will be testing several capabilities such as business focus, problem solving and task management while advancing my social and analyzing skills considerably. I will also be working with many interesting people during office hours and studying intensively towards my ACA exams in my spare time. The first year at KPMG therefore promises to be highly stimulating.

Well look at your last answer to that question, very little of what you said is audit/kpmg specific.

Thanks,

Of course, that makes sense. I think I got a bit sidetracked.

thanks again

Motivation for the firm itself, I always discuss the culture, opportunities for personal and professional development and the alignment between my personal strengths and competences they require.

On a side note, I have an offer for Audit (ACCA) and im pretty sure I did badly on part 1 of the Etray exercise, I finished 5 minutes early...so I would suggest if you do well in the other areas you can get through.

Hi,
Do you guys know approximately how long KPMG takes to respond after completion of the online tests?

KPMG are generally pretty speedy. I got my assessment day offer a week after the online application submission and an offer an hour after the final assessment day. Mind you, that was three years ago, things might have changed because there are a lot more applications this year.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Bigfourblog...
I did the online test on Wednesday so I'll probably get an answer sometime next week.

Did many firms require psychometric tests back in 2007? Ive noticed that recently most (if not all) firms require online assessments.

I had a "business awareness questionnaire" but no psychometric test. But some of my friends applying for KPMG (and the other big 4 firms) did have to do it. I think it was already common for the investment banks. Perhaps it's compulsory now?

i honestly think the psychometric tests are added to get rid of most of the applicants before they even go through the selection process...because nowadays the supply in graduate jobs are low and demand is extremely high, they wont have the time or resources to go through each and every application in proper detail. So compared to the past, organisations have increased the hurdles in the application process...psychometric testing is just an extra hurdle...ALL firms have it now...even government graduate programs have it....

the problem is too many graduates not enough graduate jobs...it would be funny if the unis started providing "psychometric test" courses...and the firms will then have to create some new way of getting rid of applicants...lol

Hey,
I have been a wikijob user for the past 2 years and I would have to say that this website is amazing. I have recently been offered a position with KPMG Audit for a start sept/oct 09, (just got the call). Having sought advice from other users and read on experiences, I felt it only right I post mine and try and offer some advice.

Online application: The online application I personally have found to be the trickiest parts of the whole application process. I had a lot of people reading mine and scrutinizing it over and over again to make sure it was perfect which is strongly recommended. The most important part of writing online application is to be direct, every sentence has to say something of value otherwise you are just wasting vital words. The graduate recruiter will read it briefly and if too flowery or poetic they will most likely reject I have found in my past experience. Grammar and spelling must be perfect.
For the first question, my answer focused on 2 points; 1) why I applied to audit and a particular reason e.g. working with clients and building strong relationships. 2) why I would be suited to job and developed the skills through university or vacation jobs.
The second question, listed 2 awards they won. I then really focused on what led me to apply and made sure in the application that it is unique to KPMG, I focused on two particular markets in audit that interested me in particular, then a nice conclusion to round off the answer.
Third question, is lifted off their website in the in-depth section and from wiki. I mentioned working towards the ACA and then focused on what specifically was involved, and said it culminated in an audit report. Also mentioned how it would help “add value to clients”.
Other wiki users may disagree with my answers, but it worked for me and there are no real set ways. The main thing is to be concise and make sure someone reads it, try not to put too much emotion into them (if that makes sense)
Online Tests – I’ll be honest, I applied last year for an intern and messed this part up. KPMG’s as many people on this website agree is ridiculous. I personally completed verbal but only did 13 of the numerical. What they are looking for is accuracy in my opinion. As long as you make sure the accuracy is there, you will be fine; that is supposing you have done the necessary ground work of practicing loads such as shl, assessment day and even wiki job’s. They all help!!!

First Round Interview – I know many people that have failed on this round because of several reasons even though they had done internships. There is a particular thread here by Uzairch which lists effectively all the questions and I used them to help me prepare. As for commercial awareness questions, I prepared a company that did well and didn’t do well just in case (was asked for one that was doing well and how to further it) and a current issue (this was at the time when Darling announced the continuation of tripartite and CFS so used that and was promptly asked). Of note I was asked which sectors should audit and advisory services target as clients. I was stumped but answered with banks and your manufacturers linking to the wider economic issue such as confidence of investor and the end of recession. It really is advisable to have kept up to date and not just two weeks before hand with commercial awareness, I used BBC, FT and economist to help me build up my commercial awareness through the year. I won’t list the competencies as they are all in Uzairch thread, but mine all were about conflict within a team. I recommend having scenarios and adapting them rather than specific examples for each competency that way you are prepared for anything they can I ask I believe. However they use the PAPI to ask the questions and may check if your personality fits the PAPI questionnaire somewhat given one or two discrepancies.
http://www.wikijob.co.uk/forum/accounting-professional-services/some-help-kpmg-applicants

A/C – My A/C was split into 2 days, beginning with the e-tray and group exercise.
E-tray: I have read in the posts to leave at most 2 or 3, I left about 4 and not to mention my second e-mail was pretty horrendous, I had written the end, but my main body was clearly unfinished. So I came out really down and worried. I was offered a position, so I think I might have passed it so I think you can leave out that much. I reckon they are looking for accuracy and not only speed, but as many say here..DO NOT GUESS, I agree with that, and I didn’t. It is really hard to prepare, doing the practices such as the Edinburgh one only helped a little I thought. I wouldn’t bother reading the whole thing and taking notes, it’s a waste of time, which I realised afterwards...tbh the paper should only be used for calculations.
Group Exercise: I don’t like these as it is completely out of your control. If you have a good group then great, but if the group is awful then you’re simply unlucky. However in saying that there are key points to remember; if someone is quiet include them by “blah blah, so *insert name* what do you think”. If the discussion is getting bogged down, i.e. can’t agree; then after a while “i really think we’re getting bogged down and move on...” or something along those lines to move the group along. Also try and encourage discussion, “I think A is good since blah blah...what does everyone else think?” Lots of brownie points for those things I think. When someone says something ALWAYS look them in the eye, even move your body in an exaggerated way to show you are listening, fake I know but PwC pulled me up as they felt “I was writing my notes too much and didn’t listen”. Try and do a summary and take the initiative from time to time. Don’t be over powering in anyway. I always see group exercise as a way to show off our team working skills, so do show them off.....!!!!!

Partner Interview – I had mine on another day and I was fearful to say the least. I agree with most and choose a company that you know inside out or familiar with. There are no slides, so I typed out a 4 page booklet with one or two charts, binding it and putting a front cover making it look really professional. Although not necessary I think it gives a nice impression. I learnt mine off by heart, so needed no notes. The interviewer then asked me questions that involved justifying your choices, leave some details out to entice him/her to ask you questions which I did, and it worked nicely. The rest of the interview consisted of a chat about my education and university and interests. No competencies thankfully, it was as some may agree (or not) the nicest part of the day.

I then received a call the next day to say I was offered the position and they would contact HR to send me the formal offer. I am nervously awaiting the email and continuously clicking the refresh button to make sure it is concrete. For those who have had the offer, is it an October or a September start? And if someone could PM the starting salary outside London to confirm what I suspect it would be much appreciated. I was too happy to ask about it..whoops. I will happily answer any questions either on this thread or PM and will continue to roam around to help any of the others!!!! Again really sorry for the long post

congratulations on getting the job! Excellent post too!

I am now at the final stage of the application process. I have my AC on the 18th of August. I was reallly lucky as my aunnt used to work in HR for KPMG and is friends with the head of graduate recruitment so i had a dummy interview. If anyone needs some help with this i am more than willing to help. I am also willing to send what i wrote on my application form if this helps. I was wondering though if anyone here can help me with the Presentation. I still haven't recieved anything about what i should do and was wondering if someone could email me what they were sent so that I can prepare. Possibly go through in a little more detail what you did in your presentation and if you got an offer. I have a general idea of what you should do but i am still a little unsure.

hello oaneilr1uk,

I hope everything goes fine with your final stage. may i ask you a question about the interview?

what are the main development/significant news in recently six month that have influences in aduit profession?
thanks a lot!

Christina,
I'd suggest the following:
-Accounting standards (like those set by the IASB) coming under attack from politicians in Europe and USA.
-The expectations gap between what an audit is for and what the general public (and some politicians) believe it is for.
-In terms of actual auditing then obviously the recession has increased the risk of companies going to difficulty, and if an auditor believes the co. is unlikely carry on trading for much longer then that impacts the audit report and other aspects too.
-More long-term would be the concentration of the audit market (esp. in UK and US) and its impact on auditors' independence and the ability of companies to find a suitably capable audit firm with no independence issues. (I did a couple of posts about this on my blog, first is here: http://richardthinks.wordpress.com/2009/02/15/uk-audit-market-concentration-the-problems/)

hope that helps a bit, Ucayman.

P.s. there is no need to post the same question in multiple threads, people read a lot of the ones relevant to their area of expertise that show up in the recently updated list on the right.

In my interview i was asked about issues facing financial services. So i talked about the increase in fraud. If you go on the KPMG website it's all there. It's quite a good one because it's a KPMG study that disclosed all the info. I also talked about SOX 404 compliance. It's not really current though.

@ oaneil1uk; How's the presentation coming along? Hope it's going well. Best of luck with the A/C.

@ Christina0430; I talked about the increased audit risk, which is effectively what ucayman posted. Just read the link and around the subject, wikijob has a thread somewhere about this or an article I think.....I can't remember where though sorry...

The link is http://www.kpmg.co.uk/news/detail.cfm?pr=3541 I'm doing my presentation now. Luckily i got a local managing director to speak to me for a couple of hours about his bakery and take a tour. I'm still really worried though. It's on Tuesday so i'm stressed. It's my first application let alone my first a/c. Thanks though

ucayman, thanks a lot for your suggestions. But the first one you mentioned about the accounting standards, where can i find relevant materials for demonstrating it? It seems to be under discussion all the time among general public and politicians.

Can anyone tell me what kind of thing that they put in their presentation packs? I'm not exactly sure what to do. I was thinking of doing an overview of the company, SWOT analysis, recommendations and the abbreviated accounts. Any thoughts?

I did a 1 min introduction, explaining the purpose of the presentation and history into the company. I then did a short-term and long term plan. Split evenly, containing strategies to improve with a few bullet points for key details. Did not include abbreviated accounts and was rather minimal on figures except for the odd market research data. And then concluded. You have right idea...but don't get bogged down with numbers, you want to show that you have business acumen and can back up ideas. You could leave out one or two details to entice the partner to ask you a question to which you can prepare and that will hopefully make you look very good!!! You could always carry a separate presentation for yourself with numbers and such to remind yourself if ever you were asked for more details. Hope that helps!!

Hey guys!

I've got an AC coming up, and i was wondering is it right to assume that the remaining three competencies will be assessed in the partner interview?

I was assessed on Business Focus, Drive and Resilience, Building Relationships, Making an impact and Career Motivation. This leaves Leadership, Problem Solving and Task Management as the final three competencies.

Thanks! x

Hey Guys, I recently had an assessment centre at KPMG, and unfortunately, I didn't receive an offer. However, I was given some good constructive feedback, and I'll try to implement these into my experience/suggestion.

You start off with the E-tray exercise. The first part involves you responding to 24 emails within 70 minutes. The actual details of the first part of the exercise are dotted all over wikijob, so I'll refrain from boring you with repetitive details, but I'll give you some tips, stuff that worked for me (according to the feedback). I'd recommend spending 5-10 at the beginning reading through the booklet of information, with the aim of familiarising yourself with the information- the contents page is very useful!! After reading the email, read through the multiple choice options to give you an idea of what type of information you are looking/seeking for. This helps you to quickly identify which information within the booklet it relevant. There are a few calculations involved, though nothing too major. Also towards the end, there are a few emails that require more of your time, so you might want to bear that in mind.

The second part of the e-tray exercise involves responding to two emails, within 50 minutes. Each email requires you to look through 3-4 pages of information and make recommendations. I'd recommend splitting your time evenly. The first email requires you to interpret information from a table of facts to justify your recommendations. The second email requires you to interpret graphs, and perform calculations. There is no option to format your responses i.e. bullet points etc, so that's something you may want to consider. If you can type fast, then it means you can spend more time planning the response :)

The next part of the day is the group exercise. You get 10 minutes to read through some information, then 30 minutes to discuss as a group, and then 10 minutes to present. The group exercise is the main gauge of your leadership skills, so things you may want to do are, taking responsibility of time, making valid suggestions and perhaps leading on the discussion of that point (i.e. asking others for their opinion, summarising what's been said). The group exercise is also used to assess 'Building Relationships', 'Business Focus', 'Problem Solving'. So making eye contact and listening is good, agreement when someone makes a good point. Also look to think outside the box with your suggestions- shows good problem solving skills!

We got taken to lunch after this, was very informal and relaxed. The trainees that take you are very open, so you really can ask all those questions you're scared to ask in the interview! It's a good way to get a basic understanding of the specifics of the service line you have applied to.

The final part of the day is the partner interview. You will have prepared your presentation for this. The partner began by talking a bit about their career to date. Then you go through your presentation. My partner was very relaxed and keeping to the strict 10 minute time limit didn't seem to be much of a concern. The partner noted points down as i was talking, and i'm assuming these formed a part of their subsequent questions. The questions weren't too bad, but perhaps that was because i had researched my presentation thoroughly. I had a few competency questions around building relationships and task management. We talked about my experiences at university- what i had learnt etc. Then i had a chance to ask questions, which eventually led to a discussion about how/why some economies around the world are starting to come out of recession. To be honest, i think provided you have done well during the first part of the day (e-tray/group exercise), then the partner interview is just a final confirmation that you have the 'interpersonal skills' to fit in at KPMG. I think the most important thing with the presentation is how you actually present, as it will give real insight to the partner as to whether you are someone who they can trust to represent KPMG at client sites. So practice your presentation, and try to make it engaging- i.e. no monotone voices!

Finally, i wasn't assessed on leadership in my interview, which means it was only assessed during the group exercise. Leadership was where i fell short... so make sure you demonstrate it during the group exercise!

I'm sorry if this post is largely incoherent, or not even useful, i'm running on 3 hours sleep and though i'd post this while the information was relatively fresh.

Hi Pancho sorry to hear you didnt receive an offer, was it just the leadership competency you failed? that really sucks if so. My assessment is next week and i'm getting really stressed now. I thought group exercise would be the easiest part of the day but not now if you can fail purely on that. Oh well, also with your presentation how long before the assessment centre was yours fully prepared? I'm still researching mine and am a bit worried I should have finished it now thanks

Hey sj2886,

I think whether you would find the group exercise the easiest part of the day is all down to your own strengths and weaknesses. I personally found the E-tray to be the most enjoyable. Just try to relax during the group exercise, it'll help you come across a lot better, however i do think you should try and think of ways you could demonstrate good leadership skills.

I finished my presentation the night before my assessment centre, and just before i went to bed i decided to create cue cards! I think you should be ok provided you have one day to practice, as that should be adequate time.

Hey, I too completed an assessment centre the other day down in London and considering I often used this site to prepare for it I thought it was only fair that I described my experiences as well. If you want to know I was applying for ACA in Audit (audit being the easiest area to get into, or so I'm told) and I got offered a job. And my degree wasn't anything to do with business, maths or economics, just in case anyone was wondering.

APPLICATION & TESTS

So long as you meet the requirements and make a reasonable effort filling in the online form you should be fine, there's plenty of information on the site about this stage (including a very useful page suggesting answers), so I won't dwell on it. The verbal & numerical tests are both pretty tough, the numerical one in particular is difficult, especially compared with the ones you're required to do for the other big 4 companies. If you're nervous about it then just find some online or through your uni's careers service. But one bit of advice would be, in the words of Douglas Adams, don't panic. For the numerical reasoning I only answered 11 out of 22 (or 24, can't remember) questions and that was still enough to put me in the top 40% of applicants (and you only need to be in the top 60% or 70% I think).

ASSESSMENT CENTRE

E-TRAY EXERCISE - Well, everyone hated this and I was no exception, worst part of the day for me but there isn't really much you can do to prepare. I did do the Fast Stream practice test that this site directs you to which is in the same format as the one you do on the day, even if the kind of E-mails and information you're looking at are completely different (the FS one is to do with disease control or something). Basically I would say again get some off your careers service if you're worried but all I did was the Fast Stream one. One bit of potentially good advice, which I did, was to answer all the E-mails pertaining to one project one after the other. The scenario will be that you've stepped into a company for the day and there are three main projects on the go, all of which you will need to read up about (I spent 10 minutes reading the info at the start but I'm not sure that was a good move). So I just answered all the E-mails to do with one project, then all the E-mails to with another and then again for the last one, which kept the information fresh in my head.
The typed exercise I found a lot easier, for me the first E-mail was qualitative and required a moderately long answer while the second was more quantitative and didn't require as much typing, but did require significantly more calculation. You'd have to read what other people have said to find out if this is a trend, I can't tell you.

LUNCH - Eat, chat to people. 2 hours is pretty long but I enjoyed it, you get properly taken out to a restaurant. I mainly talked about The Wire to the employees who were out with us rather than ask KPMG questions but it's up to you, not as if you're being assessed on it.

GROUP EXERCISE - Should be the easiest part of the day; despite the fact I was a bit stressed about it because I thought I'd have to come up with innovative strategies it was actually not that bad. I came out with one shocking idea which I (and the rest of the group) dismissed almost straight away but so long as you make some decent suggestions you'll mainly just be assessed on your interactions. Make a few comments about keeping to the time limit, structure your discussion ("I think we should talk about X, then Y, then Z") and make eye-contact with folk, don't be too domineering. Basically be a pleasant, astute person. Hopefully that shouldn't be a stretch. Keeping the group on track and deciding the structure of your discussion and presentation are possibly good displays of your leadership but don't go overboard on it.

PARTNER PRESENTATION & INTERVIEW - I would echo what many have already said about this being a lot more casual than you may expect going into it. So long as you have done your research and know your presentation well (or are just naturally good at presenting if you're lucky), this shouldn't be too bad. Obviously if you haven't done much work for it you will be caught out but if you've got through to this stage you're probably organised enough to have done quite a bit for it. I chose a relatively small business which he didn't know (which they DO seem to like, try not to pick Tescos, Waitrose, Boots, WH Smith etc if at all possible - they've heard it all before) and I didn't have a single stat or figure in it, just strengths, weakness and solutions/strategies. I didn't have any financial information or employee stats, but I'm sure it's a good thing if you do. Got asked a few questions about it but nothing too probing, I didn't feel he was trying to catch me out or anything.
Then had a fair bit of banter with him, pretty friendly really, just some vague competancy questions such as "what are 4 qualities a leader should have" and "when do you think an auditor might have to say 'no'", but mixed in with some questions about my general background and some conversation. Don't get too tense, just try to show that you're good at talking to people, I felt that was mainly what I was being assessed on (or at least, being affable can make up for some average answers I think). But then a lot of this depends on the partner I guess, so there is an element of luck involved.

I got a phone call 40mins after I'd left the centre from the partner who interviewed me to say I would be receiving a formal job offer shortly (although haven't actually got it yet, but it's only been 2 days) and then got an E-mail saying the same thing later that evening. I think they usually reply within 2-3 days, getting a phone call seems quite common but I don't know how quickly they usually do it. I wouldn't imagine you normally get it just after you leave the centre, I guess he just didn't have much on that day!

Anyway, hope this helps folk and good luck to everyone.

Thanks for the insights everyone, its good that people actually come and post their experiences when they've got job offers as there's obviously nothing in it for them anymore. I've got an AC coming up soon, and will hopefully be able to post my experiences too, just hope they;re positive ones!

Hi Guys

Congratulations to everyone that has made it through the interviews....
I've got my 1st interview at KPMG on Wednesday. Just wanted to know what kind of interview the 1st one is and what questions to they ask.
Do any of you have some advice on how to prepare for the 1st interview.

Thanks and regards

Binz

Does anyone thing there's a problem with doing a company that's already got loads of obvious growth opportunities for the partner presenation? Ive done loads of research on a firm, and think I could do a decent presentation, but at the minute they're alreadt growing fast; I was thinking of proposing strategies for once they have saturated the market in which they're currently growing, as well as mentioning how they should grow in this market.

I'd appreciate anyones thoughts?

Thanks

If you have already spent time researching this company then use your findings.
You mentioned that the company is already growing fast. Perhaps you could comment on the pitfalls of expanding too soon, too quickly and maybe illustrate with quick examples?
I believe that what the interviewer is looking for is that you have done your homework and that you are able to assimilate and analize the commercial and financial information about this company and that you are able to report and comment thereon.
You should also make sure that as well as being well versed of the company's information, your presentation skills are fine tuned.
Much of your time as a qualified ACA (after all the boring trainee audit work) will be involved in finacial analysis and preparing reports for clients.
Effective communication is important.
Hope this helps.

Yeah that's great thanks. I suppose no matter who you choose you're going to have problems with what to say - in the respect that if you choose a large, established company, you're going to have to be creative as their accounts/strategy will be public, and with a smaller company, that is growing fast, you're going to have to look past the obvious growth of the business for your suggestions. Its just easy to go OTT with it and worry to much!

Cheers