My job is to assist my seniors in the Audit department. About a third of my time is at client sites, sometimes in Hong Kong and sometimes in different cities in China. I spend the rest of the time at Prince's Building, Central, Hong Kong. The great thing about this job is that I get to meet a lot of people. A typical day consists of understanding the client business and gathering supporting evidence by liaising with client staff — maybe alone or in teams of up to about ten of us — all from very different backgrounds.
KPMG is a leader in its field and it offers the opportunities to achieve my ambitions and also to broaden my horizons. Also, I believe it provides excellent training support for my professional development, as I would like to be an expert in Audit. My ambition is to rise to senior managerial or partner level.
Clearly training is important technically for professional development and being at a leading global organization means it is constantly striving for high quality. I look forward to being in a position to train others. I believe I can learn even more, when given this opportunity. Aside from having to thoroughly understand what you are conveying, it helps with presentations skills and with being confident in front of a room of people.
I haven't yet but I would certainly love to be seconded to an overseas member firm. I studied for my degree in Australia. I gained a lot from that experience and I am aware of how different other cultures can be, both the values and the lifestyle.
At this stage I have learned that technical knowledge is important, it is why clients come to KPMG. But equally important is a good client relationship. Good observation and communication skills are the means to achieving this. If you can get to be in charge of a team, or an IPO, you can show what you've learned and perform to the best of your ability.
There are many things to learn and yes — you will work hard — but this is all preparation for an exciting career ahead.