Renate de Vries shares her experiences on working at EY, as a Staff Auditor, combining working with her studies.
16 October, 2019
What’s your pre-education?
My name is Niels Broers, 26 years old, and have been living in Tilburg since I was born. After high school I started with a Bachelor in Business Economics at Tilburg University, after which I continued with a Master in Accountancy. When, after one year of a master’s degree, I still hadn’t passed all the courses and I also became very interested in Finance, I decided to start a second Master’s degree. However, I never finished this, because during my internship at WVDB I found out that working in Accountancy is a lot of fun. I am now working within the audit practice of WVDB and I try to further develop myself via the Post-Master Accountancy.
How did you get in touch with WVDB and why did you choose WVDB?
During my Master’s I started to orientate myself on the job market, among other things by visiting organised days at Tilburg University, having a lot of conversations with fellow students and people in my network already actively working in Accountancy. Soon I got the feeling that working at a Big Four wouldn’t suit me and I would rather work at a medium-sized office. Through a friend I came into contact with WVDB for an exploratory interview. I immediately got a good feeling during this interview and then decided to do a six-month internship at WVDB. My wishes were taken into account carefully and I was able to work for three months in the control practice and three months in the compilation practice. Afterwards I made the choice for the control practice and I still enjoy working at WVDB.
How does your workday or workweek look like?
WVDB offers a wide range of activities. I myself spend a lot of time on site at customers’ premises and have a lot of customer contact. This allows me to negotiate with my team and the client about the various business processes and the annual figures. Furthermore, my clientele is very diverse, I can be allocated to a trading company one week, a production company the next week and a real estate company the following week. This ensures the necessary diversity of activities and makes the work extremely interesting and educating. I also regularly work in the office to seek cooperation with the tax practice within the WVDB.
”I would describe the atmosphere as informal, sometimes even ‘brabants cozy’ and in addition, everyone in the organization is willing to help me.”
What opportunities does WVDB offer you?
Within WVDB, a great deal of value is attached to personal development. For example, sufficient time is freed to be able to follow the Post-Master Accountancy, without having too much work, and many training days and courses are offered in the office. Not only in terms of professional content, but also in offering trainings given by fellow tax specialists with relevant and actual topics I might encounter during my work. This means I am offered a wide-range of education and sufficient diversity in work-related activities.
How do you experience the culture / atmosphere within WVDB?
I got the feeling that the atmosphere within WVDB was good from the first conversation. This was one of the main reasons why I chose WVDB and I still enjoy working there. I would describe the atmosphere as informal, sometimes even ‘brabants cozy’ and in addition, everyone in the organization is willing to help me. This way, all managers are very accessible and I can walk in for a chat. In addition, there are plenty of team activities and, in addition to hard work, we also do plenty of other activities outside of work. This way I get to know my colleagues in a different way.
What would you recommend students who have to decide on an office?
Especially, I would advise you to look around as much as possible. Ignore the Big Four for once and take a look at the medium-sized offices as well. Participate during inhouse days, visit days organized at the university and also do (thesis) internships if you have the opportunity. Talk to others already actively working in Accountancy, ask about their experiences and at the end make a well-considered choice.
