Renate de Vries shares her experiences on working at EY, as a Staff Auditor, combining working with her studies.
7 July, 2021
For the Dutch version, click here
About me
My name is Daan van Overbeek and I have been working at KPMG for 3 years now. I am 26 years old and live in Tilburg. I started studying in Wageningen, where I followed the bachelor ‘Bedrijfs- en consumentenwetenschappen’. In Wageningen, I was also a member of a student association, where I held the position of treasurer for one and a half years. This is where my interest in working with numbers started. This led me to leave Wageningen after my bachelor’s to follow the master Accountancy in Tilburg. After the master Accountancy, I continued with the Post Master Accountancy at Tilburg University, which I completed last year.
How I got to know KPMG
When I started the master Accountancy, I honestly had no idea what kind of company I wanted to work for. Fortunately, the university and Asset Accounting & Finance organised several introductory events at the beginning of the year, which gave me a better idea of the possibilities after the master. After talking to several recruiters and professionals, I decided to sign up for KPMG’s Business Experience. For five days, we went to Madrid with +/- 30 students and 10 KPMG professionals. The program was arranged in such a way that we learned more about the Audit, KPMG and the colleagues, but also enjoyed the Spanish sun, tapas and clubs. After this week, I was convinced that KPMG and I would be a good match.
My experiences at KPMG
My career at KPMG started as a thesis intern. The great advantage of a thesis internship is that you can already take a look behind the scenes, without being expected to do very much. Writing your own thesis is the first priority, and if there is time left over, you can work for/at clients as much as you like. It is also a great opportunity to get to know your colleagues. Immediately after my thesis internship, I started working at KPMG, in the Breda office. KPMG Breda is a relatively small office (about 70 accountants), so you quickly get to know everyone. This made me feel at home right from the start. This is partly due to the fun activities we organize with colleagues. From bachelor parties to NAC evenings and from football tournaments to a day of sailing. Besides the activities with the office, there are also fun activities with several offices together. For example, there is an annual ski trip, which we hope will be possible again this year. In short, besides work there is plenty of time for relaxation!
At KPMG Breda, we don’t really work with sectors when it comes to clients. As a result, I have (had) a wide range of clients, from a large international construction company to an investment company with only 15 employees on the payroll. Personally, i experience this variety as fun and instructive. For example, one week I am working at a client in an assignment team of 12 accountants where you can learn a lot from your more experienced colleagues, and the next week I am in an assignment team of four accountants where I can take on many responsibilities myself. My experience is that a lot is possible at KPMG. If you like to do something besides auditing, there are more than enough opportunities. I am a coach for interns and I have supported the recruitment team with career events. There are also junior colleagues who, for example, help with the acquisition of potential new clients.
My advice to students
If you have decided for yourself that you want to work at an accountancy firm, I would attend as many career events as possible. The most important thing is to be able to speak to many people from different offices. After all, the work we do is more or less the same everywhere, since we have to comply with the same regulations. Therefore, my choice would depend on the atmosphere that prevails at the offices.
As you can read, I am very positive about KPMG as an employer. It therefore didn’t surprise me to read that KPMG has been chosen as the number 1 employer of the Netherlands in 2021 according to LinkedIn Top Companies. If you don’t believe it, here’s the link: Top Companies 2021: bij deze 25 Nederlandse bedrijven ontwikkel je jouw carrière het best | LinkedIn
If you are also enthusiastic and want to know more about my experiences at KPMG, you can always send me a message via LinkedIn.
If you have any questions about the (internship) opportunities at KPMG, please contact our recruiter Marvin van Veen via LinkedIn, mail (vanveen.marvin@kpmg.nl) or phone (+31622589360).
