We would like to introduce you to Benjamin. He is a graduate auditor in the Melbourne firm. When he is not working at HLB Mann Judd he is on the hunt to find the best pizza place in the city.
After a chance encounter meeting an HLB employee at a CPA seminar, he interviewed with the firm to then start in July 2019, just as the end of financial year testing started taking off – aka “Busy Season”!
What’s your ‘Team HLB’ story?
My first introduction to HLB Mann Judd was meeting one of the firm’s employees at a CPA event. We started talking about my personal goals and they shared some insight into life at HLB. Afterwards, I kept an eye out for when their graduate positions became available.
I applied for a graduate role and was invited to interview with an audit partner. In the interview I expressed that I was looking for flexibility in my day-to-day work and wanted to experience a diverse range of industries as well as be exposed to work that wasn’t strictly audit, but also audit adjacent.
Probably one thing I would like to share was that the interview with the partner didn’t feel like an “interview”. Somehow, we got to talking about our pet dogs. Dogs! It didn’t feel like an interview, it felt more like an easy-going casual conversation. If I can talk about my dog in an interview, what else can I do!?
Follow Benjamin as he walks us through a day in the Melbourne office
8:45am
It’s busy season and I am working offsite at a client’s location. I sign myself in and say a quick hello to my point of contact at the client. I then make my way to the designated audit area to set myself up with my team.
The audit team always starts the day with a quick discussion about our plans for the day. The meeting then usually turns into a quick recap on who what watched what last night on TV!
Mid-morning
It’s coffee time! An important team bonding experience is sussing out which local café near the client serves the best coffee. I’m ready to take a quick break because I’ve checked my emails for any documentation I requested as a part of the audit file. I have also
continued my audit testing as discussed in the morning catch up.
Once re-caffeinated, I pick up where I left off.
Lunchtime
It’s Friday, which means the team will be having our end of week lunch together at a local restaurant.
Throughout the week we have thrown out different suggestions and debated where to go. We live in Melbourne after all!
3:00pm
I have continued working on the client file. I’ll shortly meet with the client’s payroll or expenses team leader. In the meeting I’ll gain a better understanding of the client’s processors regarding those areas and requested documentation based on our discussion to place within the audit file.
Throughout the day the team has discussed observations and testing results so we all have an understanding of the audit. Being out at the client means I have an opportunity to see how the audit file areas link together.
It doesn’t happen everyday however…
The Melbourne firm has a very full calendar of social events! From breakfast through to lawn bowls – there’s always something on to get the whole audit division, as well as the rest of the firm together in one place. These events are a great way to mingle and get to know each other as well as plan the next outing!
Benjamin’s advice for graduates
Have a goal you want to work towards. You may want to have a more in depth understanding of a specific industry or perhaps you may want to continue your charity work at a professional level. It’s important to tell your interviewer or manager your goals and discuss how together you can achieve it. Having a goal that you are passionate about can make your work more enjoyable and satisfying.