Working at…PwC

Who are you?
I am Margot van Baal, 24 years old and I was born in Roosendaal. After high school I had many doubts when it came to choosing between studying Medicine and Business Economics, but ultimately I chose Business Economics. In 2010, I started the bachelor of Business Economics at Tilburg University. Thereafter, I graduated from the master Accountancy and now I have already been working at PwC for about half a year.

Are you a born auditor or were you doubting for a long time what your future job would be?
In my first year of Business Economics, I did not know what to expect or what I wanted to do later. In my second year, I became a member of the student association Asset | Accounting & Finance, where I participated in three committees. In the meantime, I was also involved in the TOP-week (introduction week) organization and the students’ hockey association in Tilburg. In this period, I met a lot of people who followed several studies. At Asset | Accounting & Finance, I especially came into contact with people who were following a master Accountancy. In addition, I participated in a lot of events and asked myself what I really found interesting. Slowly, I was realizing that accounting interested me.

How did you come in contact with PwC and why did you choose PwC?
As a second year student, I visited an in-house day of PwC. It was here that I got in touch with the accountancy sector and the culture of PwC so early in my study. After a student exchange in my third year, I visited the Beach Event at PwC and came into contact with employees of PwC. Another time I lunched at the office, which helped me to get an extra insight into PwC and its daily business. Of course, I met other accounting firms (through in-house days and other events), but PwC gave me a good feeling and The Associate Academy really appealed to me.

Can you describe The Associate Academy?
As a starter of PwC you are part of The Associate Academy. This is a two-year training program that PwC offers. In these two years, you are intensively assisted by a coach and gain experience through different clients. I really like this diversity. My clients are for example a hospital, a community, a housing association, a school, a monastery and several profit-customers, both small and large. Besides, you regularly meet with your coaching group (an older colleague and some other starters) to share your experiences. There are also regular training days at the head office in Amsterdam. In short, you get good guidance to work as an accountant and to share this experience with your peers and other colleagues. In the teams, the older colleagues are really helpful and like to share their knowledge.  The way of working makes sure you learn a lot at every audit.

How do you describe the working ambiance at PwC?
What I mostly like about working at PwC is that you come into contact with a lot of colleagues. Almost every week, I have a different customer with another team. This makes the job really diverse in contrast to what most people think of the accounting profession (it is not boring!). Furthermore, within PwC and within each team, everyone is respected. The director talks to a starter with the same ease as to a manager. This leads to an informal feeling, which implicitly benefits the quality of the work as well! Additionally, there are a lot of informal activities (like an indoor soccer tournament, nights out and a ski trip), which enhances the relationship with your colleagues. I also play hockey in the PwC business hockey team, so there is no need to only sit at your desk at PwC.

What do you mostly like at your job?
I really like the fact that I am able to see so many different companies. PwC is the perfect employer for this; it offers a wide range of clients and therefore you get the chance to work on various audits. Every client is different from the other. Every week you learn something new, both from the clients and your colleagues.

Do you have tips for (accounting) students of Tilburg University?
Take your time to develop yourself and get to know what you really like. Become active in an association and expand your network. If you are interested in Accountancy and you are in the early stages of your master, an internship at PwC is perfect. You can write your thesis at a PwC office to get to know the company and the ambiance. I have also done this and I can definitely recommend it. And of course, I advise students to work at PwC and become my colleague.