Fast Forward is a three-day interactive learning program that provides students with the tools to help enhance their leadership skills and gain an inside look at a career in accounting with KPMG. Each year, university students from across North America meet and network with like-minded students as well as KPMG professionals from Canada and the US. “Meeting the best and the brightest leaders from all across North America was a once in a lifetime experience.” She adds, “Everyone is down to earth and friendly. A partner is never too busy to talk with you, and everyone is extremely outgoing, which makes it so easy for anyone to feel welcome at this conference.”
Aside from mixing and mingling with KPMG’s senior management, Fast Forward is also an excellent way for you to get an inside look at a career in public accounting with KPMG while building key skills that help in many aspects of life. Gillian emphasizes the personal development skills that she left with. “The program taught me more about my leadership style, what kind of leader I want to be, and how I can achieve that. We spent a lot of time developing our personal goals and insights on how we lead a team. For example, I learned about how other people might perceive my leadership style,” she says. “We were also taught how to be a leader at KPMG, and what they expect from us as the future of the company.”
It gets even better. The whole conference takes place in the ever-exciting city of Hollywood, CA, where students have a blast while participating in the interactive courses taught by KPMG leadership.
On her first day, Gillian joined fellow Canadian participants at the opening ceremonies and was introduced to the KPMG employees who would lead their training sessions for the next two days. Then the adventure began! “The best part of this day was the Amazing Race game we played in the evening!” she says. “It was so much fun running up and down the streets of Hollywood searching for clues and trying to win the race. It was a great way to meet the delegates!”
The second day of the conference included classroom sessions as well as a “World of KPMG” fair. “We had the opportunity to network with KPMG representatives by visiting booths that featured their Global Internship Program, their charitable work, their diversity initiatives, and how much fun working at KPMG is!” She adds, “In the evening, we had a spectacular ‘Black and White’ themed party to close off the conference.”
Overall, Fast Forward was an amazing learning experience for Gillian. “I had the opportunity to develop my leadership skills, critically assess my abilities and identify areas that I would like to improve on,” she concludes. “It was such a privilege to get such in-depth training from KPMG professionals.”
Though this is a very competitive program (with just 12 students selected to attend from Canada), the Fast Forward selection process consists of several opportunities for applicants from across the country to meet some of our people and participate in networking events to learn more about KPMG.
Students who feel they have what it takes to succeed in this industry and are eager to gain some insight from KPMG professionals, are strongly encouraged to apply to Fast Forward.
For those of you who are interested in applying to KPMG’s Fast Forward Leadership program, keep posted to our website at www.kpmg.ca/fastforward for more information on how to apply, and follow KPMGCampusCDN on Twitter! #KPMGfastfwd
KPMGCampusCDN on YouTube has some great videos to share about last year’s Fast Forward program!