Alumni Talks: Audit Career in the Big 4

Could you tell us more about your educational background and career pathway?

Kimberley: I graduated from SIM UOL Accounting and Finance in 2016. I remember having volunteered through EMPACT with SIMAA and winning the second runner-up position for the accounting literacy challenge in 2016 as well. During my time as a full-time university student, I had the opportunity to intern with Deloitte and was offered a full-time role as an Audit associate after my graduation.

Why did you choose audit as your area of expertise rather than choosing any other departments?

Kimberley: Audit is an area that always excites me because I have always enjoyed Financial Reporting ever since my school days. Being an auditor also allowed us to hold onto our skills in this particular area. An audit role offers exposure in both the commercial and technical areas in which, as a fresh graduate, I thought would be a great foundation to develop for my future career roles and pathways. Fortunately, all these aspects have stayed true to my experience.

Being an auditor, what do you think are the most challenging aspects of your profession?

Kimberley: I think it is time and people management. In the audit industry, there are often a lot of guidelines that we have to strictly adhere to, thus, we have to keep reading and updating ourselves. We also have to be able to manage our time so that we can prioritise the most important tasks that we need to accomplish. It is also equally significant to plan our next step so that we don’t encounter problems in the future.

Usually, there are a lot of stakeholders involved in an audit engagement. For the internal stakeholders, there will be internal team members and viewers. As for the external stakeholders, it involves the client and other professional parties. These people will play a crucial part in our success in meeting predetermined deadlines.

Ever so often, there’s this engagement called quality control review, to ensure that the quality of the work produced meets the requirement.

You first joined Deloitte as an audit associate, and now you’re working as an audit manager. How do you think your responsibilities have changed over time?

Kimberley: With the advancement in a career, it will also come with great responsibilities. I have to say it is not the quantum that changed, but more to the level of difficulties of the work.

My tasks have evolved from doing a simple vouching over P&L transactions to resolving financial reporting problems or reviewing complex accounting data. I think that the learning curve in auditing is very steep. Up to the present moment, we are continually learning new things. Every job assigned to you will be different, so you have to be accustomed to a changing environment and develop your understanding over time.

In the past year again because of Covid-19, there have been a lot of changes in the work standard. How did you cope with the change of working at home, even for us as students, we had a hard time getting used to this era of online education, so as a working professional how was it different for you and how do you manage your work-life balance?

Kimberley: I have to say the work-life balance in audit is a bit blurred. This is because most of the time, we do not linger in the office. Sometimes we have to go to the clients' offices all across Singapore. For instance, occasionally, I will visit Tuas, other times, I will go to Changi. I can even start working at home and come up with a personalised work schedule. So, defining work-life balance is our commitment and responsibility.

In the audit, we have to stick to deadlines no matter where we are working from. When you don't have anything urgent at the moment, you will be able to spend time with your friends and families. Personally, I love learning new languages as I am currently taking Japanese classes. To keep fit, attending Zumba classes is my go-to activity. I also enjoyed spending time with my friends, wandering around YouTube, and watching some shows as well. This is also how I get rid of my work stress. Hence, the work-from-home arrangements imposed now don't affect my working experience considerably.

What are some types of organisations that you have worked with that you feel are the hardest to audit and why do you think so?

Kimberley: I have audited various types of companies. Starting with private and public companies and even those in the process of going public. It also includes local to multinational companies. These companies range across numerous industries, such as consumer business, construction, education, automotive, and logistics.

In my opinion, the most challenging yet intriguing industry to audit so far is tech start-ups because of the complex accounting involved. For the most part, when they have fund-raising exercises, it comes with a variety of dispositions and the accounting treatment is slightly different. Every year, there are always new things going on so it is constantly changing. Ultimately, it is very interesting to see how the company developed over these years.

What would you say is the hardest Industry you have had to audit so far?

Kimberley: I would say the construction industry because there are a lot of detachments involved due to the new financial reporting standards. In the construction industry, the revenue is recognised over time, so there are a lot of judgments involved. This may result in a complex auditing process because there are a lot of details that need to be considered. At times, we cannot just take what the client or the management presents to us. We need to develop our expectations and challenge management judgement.

Even so, not all companies in the construction industry operate in the same manner so we have to keep on updating our understanding of their business. Nonetheless, I believe that in every industry, there are different challenges that we have to face and we need to be able to fulfil the requirements in the respective industry.

When you work together with your team and supervisors for auditing, have you ever faced any conflict? And how do you usually resolve the conflict?

Kimberley: The conflict that I have to deal with is not exactly a conflict, but rather a difference in opinion. Suppose my view is A and my boss’s view is B. In such cases, I will need to understand my boss’s perspective and reasoning. Subsequently, I will assess whether B is acceptable or feasible. If I think that B is not viable, I will try to explain my rationale and see if we can brainstorm together and factor in any suggestions to come up with a compromise solution.

I have also discovered that our bosses would appreciate it if we have done our research before actually approaching them so that we will have a fruitful discussion. Since they are often very busy, they will be very appreciative if you come to them with some homework done. This is an important piece of advice for anyone who is applying for an internship in the near future.

You started working at Deloitte and pursuing the ICAEW qualification at the same time. Not only did you manage to accomplish the qualification but scored the highest marks for two modules in Singapore. How did you manage your time juggling between studies and work at the same time?

Kimberley: I have to say it is self-accountability. At the end of each year, I would habitually develop a plan of which exams I want to take for the upcoming year and which session I will want to take them in.

To stay motivated, I would proceed to get the study materials as soon as possible and book the exam date. After that, I usually reserve some time over my weekends to study because I know that I won’t have time to do it over the weekdays. I have to say that it was an incredibly tough process because instead of resting over the weekends, (especially after a very long week at work), I have to study instead. I rely on self-preservation and motivation to get through this.

I’m also very grateful to Deloitte because the firm is very supportive of our journeys to become chartered accountants. They allow us to take study and exam leave on the date of the exam and this contributes in terms of exam preparation.

After having started working at Deloitte, how big was the gap between what you learned at university and when you started working and how did you manage to bridge it?

Kimberley: In UOL, everything was very exam-based. We have to keep studying the specific modules we are taking each year and as long as we ace the exam, we are all good. However, in real life, the accounting problems are so much more varied. There are no past year papers, so you can’t predict what is going to happen, hence, we usually have to keep an open mind. It is also imperative to do some research on the technical guidance, the applicable accounting standards, and how to solve certain accounting problems.

I have to say that taking a professional qualification such as ICAEW was helpful to me as I was working and simultaneously taking my professional exams. As I was juggling both things, I was constantly reviewing the accounting standards and technical skills. Due to this experience, I was able to explain the standards better to our clients as the content is relevant to what I was studying at the moment. Therefore, I was more comfortable attending to these situations as I was continuously revising all these standards and topics during my pursuit for the ICAEW qualification.

My recommendation to bridge the gap between one’s university life and the working world would be to take up a professional qualification. Not only will it help you keep in contact with the subject, but you will also be able to learn from your fellow peers at work or university. In that way, you will be equipped with sufficient background knowledge in any industry that you will come across. These methods will help you stay in touch with any developments in the accounting industry.

Most of the big accounting firms have a learning support system, which means that all employees will receive training when there are any changes or additions to accounting standards or technical systems. These sessions are very helpful to keep us updated and more efficient as well.

Do you have any advice for students who are currently looking for an Internship or taking up the ICAEW qualification?

Kimberley: An accountancy graduate has multiple pathways to take and you have the liberty to explore the options during your university life and eventually discover the area you would like to work in, in the future.

To stand out from the rest, I do recommend everyone to join CCAs so that you can gain exposure while being a part of them. For the qualification, I think it is very important to do proper research on the structure of the program and the years of experience required to qualify.

I highly encourage people to take up the opportunity of pursuing a professional qualification early into their career as the responsibilities that one holds in junior positions are comparatively lesser than the future positions you are going to be in.

We are almost at the end of our interview now. Do you have any words of advice as an alumni to fellow SIM students who dream to be a part of the corporate world?

Kimberley: As a student, it is the perfect time to explore various opportunities and also have a taste of the working world (even though it is toned down) by being a part of CCAs. It is also worthwhile to jump at various opportunities provided by SIM.

If possible, go for internships as I do think it's a very important experience. Even if you do make a mistake, it is a part of your learning process. Most importantly, do not trail off your studies and make sure that you learn how to manage your time well between your studies, work commitments, and some leisure time.

I think the biggest asset of being a university student is the time and leisure of being able to enjoy various opportunities at once. You also have the chance to network with so many of your peers and professionals from the working world as well.

Having the privilege of participating in events with these opportunities, I would like to encourage more students to network with various individuals and spread your circle while you have the chance to.