Matt studied a Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne and then a Bachelor of Commerce at Monash University before starting as a vacationer at KPMG in the summer of 2005 and returning as a graduate in February of 2007.
Having initially studied Science, I realised that life spent in a lab coat was not for me, so I decided to start a Commerce degree. After sampling the variety of subjects on offer, accounting was what most interested me. When I spoke to KPMG people and attended various career nights, I thought that a career in audit would provide a broad range of experiences with large listed companies.
An average week involves travelling to a client site with colleagues, discussing the audit plan for the week and then undertaking the appropriate audit procedures. A lot of time is spent meeting with the client to gain an understanding of their business and obtaining the necessary documentation. The week would also involve some KPMG in-house training relating to the CA program or audit technical skills development.
For one of my clients I had to follow the entire production line process whereby massive machinery lines and ovens turn a variety of ingredients into crackers!
KPMG provides diverse in-house training sessions ranging from business etiquette and managing your performance, to technical training to enhance basic accounting skills and the audit process. This training has been really valuable as it provides you with everything you need to know about the work and what would be involved.
What makes KPMG stand out from other firms is its commitment to the CA program through the numerous training sessions and mock exam preparation. This training in invaluable – it’s like having your own personal tutors right here at work!
My main priority at the moment is to complete the CA program and then take advantage of an international secondment opportunity to further develop my audit skills.
Challenging, exciting, fun, rewarding, educational.