KPMG

A Day in the Life of Ali Khaki - Transcript

Sunday Evening
Hi my name's Ali, I've been asked to do a video diary as to what goes on in the week of a recent KPMG graduate trainee, unfortunately it starts like this on a Sunday night, nothing much fun just got to do the ironing for the week, its got to be done I guess not much choice there. So I'm really looking forward to spending the next week with you guys showing you what I get up to everyday, but I guess that's all really for a Sunday night. I guess I will see you bright and early, tomorrow morning, 7am, don't miss your alarm! See you then.

Monday Morning
Morning all, so it's Monday morning quarter to eight, just waking up having cereal and all that, just about to leave for work, should be leaving in around 15 minutes, I tend to leave at eight to get into work for nine takes me about an hour to get in.

So it's just gone nine and I'm in the office, but unfortunately as I work in restructuring we're not allowed to film directly in the hot desk area. I've been working at KPMG for almost 2 years now, I was an intern in 2006 in which I did Corporate Restructuring but was then called Corporate Recovery and got offered a job on the back of that. You have to start off doing 18 months in Audit. My 18 months in Audit finished in March of this year and I've been in Corporate Restructuring ever since, so almost 7 months now.

When I get a spare moment this week one of the overriding projects I have to do for the senior manager is a SIP9 report. Now that probably means absolutely nothing to you and to be honest with you before I started restructuring it meant absolutely nothing to me but SIP9 basically is statement of insolvency practitioners rule number nine. Basically states that for all the time we've billed to the client we have to break it down as to exactly what we were doing, because of course as administrators we have to get the best outcome for creditors that would have otherwise been available. So by producing a SIP nine report creditors can see exactly where our time has gone.

Right back again and unfortunately this is one of the most stodgy jobs that a new joiner has to do. But you'll all be there hopefully one day and you have to do it - not all of the work can be that exciting. Just came off a conference with the manager and the senior manager and now I've got to type up meeting minutes from the meeting that we just had, it was a debrief meeting indicating who needed to do what in the next couple of weeks.

Lunchtime
So it's 1 o'clock, classic lunch break time, so I've brought a bunch of my work colleagues who are on the also on the restructuring rotation programme to say a few words if they're still around here? Wave! I'll wave too  as well.

Monday Evening
Right it's just gone past 6:30 time for me to head home I figure it's just a lot easier to use the mirror this time because the camera's been driving me a bit crazy today! So off to do the London cattle truck tube home, not looking forward to this at all (doors opening) KPMG Best Big Company to Work For 2006, 2008, 2009, pretty impressive huh?

So right got home Monday evening pretty exhausted to say the least. You saw some of the highlights of my day today, but I did mention I'm really excited because tonight. I've got a hot date, however it might not be the hot date you guys expect and it's not with Natalie Imbrulia. I'll give you a clue what it's really got to do with, sadly it's with my accountancy text books. Yes Monday nights don't get much more painful than this. But sadly it is a fact of the graduate programme at KPMG, they do expect you to get your exams done and they do expect you to pass. But you know KPMG do provide you with a lot of support and I think that's one thing that's really unique to the firm, for example, my manager knew I had exams coming up soon and was quite flexible at letting me leave at a reasonable time, I was out by about 6ish/ 6:30ish today so I was quite happy with that.

Tuesday Morning
Right so its day two on my video diary, running ridiculously late this morning so no tome for cereal or any video diary entries. I do apologise but I've got my trusty energy bar and I will see you in the office in about an hour, bye bye.

Lots to do so not sure how many video entries I'm going to get to do today we'll see how it goes especially as I'm mostly going to be out there in the hot desk area.

Completely off topic someone on the train today spilt Starbucks on my jumper! So I'm really annoyed about that but that's another story for another time, but anyways I will see you guys later on, bye.

Tuesday Afternoon
One of the main things I really enjoy about being in Restructuring and even when I was in Audit is just the people that you work with and it is such a good atmosphere and you do have such a good time and it's such good fun that you know I can safely say that I do enjoy my job at times. Yeah there's times where it's quite stodgy and you get given a lot of stuff that's a little bit mundane but it all fits in a much bigger picture and I think that's what you're building up to because KPMG has given me such a good grounding you know? I got such a good experience in Audit and now I've moved on over into Advisory.

Tuesday Evening
Right, hi guys, I've just realised I've only been showing you the work and the boring type of stuff that I do, well it's not boring, you know just work and just revision. So I figure I need to show more aspects of what I get up to, its not all about just working and revising, I do, do other things, trust me I've only shown you a very small part of me, very complex. So this is me going on my jog and just for you guys especially for you guys and the K camera I've decided to wear a very special Hoody today but shh don't tell anyone, see if you can notice it as I jog off.

A Snapshot of one team's involvement in Corporate Social Responsibility - Transcript

Voiceover: This is Josie, Alison and Dominic painting walls on our team Corporate Social Responsibility day

[Painters laughing and chatting in background]

Richard: Hi, we're here today in Battersea Park doing the 5.6 kilometre JPMorgan Corporate Challenge. Me and a few of my colleagues are here representing the Recruitment Marketing Team from KPMG. We're doing this run today for a sense of personal achievement and for SportsAid.

Lindsay: Hi, my name's Lindsay and I work in Recruitment Marketing. We're just in line to check in our bags, getting ready for the big run in T minus 29 minutes and I'm pretty excited!

Caroline: Let's see your T-shirt Linds.

[Laughter in background]

Caroline: A few words Helen?

Helen: Oh no, my hair! Well, I'm rather nervous. I'm hoping to beat my all time best which is about 30 minutes. [Laughter] I have nothing else to add!

First Month of a KPMG Graduate Programme – Transcript

We're here on the graduate academy foundation one. Which is the second training course we've been on; it's meant to give us some of the tools on how to be advisors. I think we've all had a good time and got to know each other really well even such a short space of time. The first week was quite sort of relaxed and then they and almost like this course they throw you in the deep end once you feel quite settled.

I'm Sarah Putherick and I started in October so I've now moved into my fourth month. There's been a few ups and downs in the past, sort of looking up to Christmas, I think you get to grips with a project and you feel, you grow in confidence.

The biggest stress for me was starting, being excited, getting a really nice flat what I pay about a grand for every month and then being put on a project in Bristol for four months and staying in a hotel Monday to Friday and using my flat for weekends, that was a real shame because it's a nice flat.

It's stressful at times because obviously everything has a deadline ultimately and when you're leading up to that deadline especially if things don't go to plan it can get very stressful.

I've got college soon coming up soon, so if I turn this around, sorry it's not going to be the most graceful thing, yep, there we go, welcome to the life of an ACA student.

Other people aren't doing an ACA they are just doing full time work which is great they're on a client site but I come back form a client site and have to go home and actually open my books at about nine o'clock at night and make sure I have studied for an exam the next day so that's pretty intense at the moment, very hard to balance a life at the moment.

Although it's a bit demanding KPMG is really supportive of an ACA student and they give you a lot of time at college, so far it's been a really good experience I'd say.

I thought I'd be on a client a lot more, but now I understand I am new at KPMG there is a lot of training that I need to get done before I get to see the clients.

When I first arrived in IT advisory we do quite a lot of Audit work and it was audit season so we were really really busy, kind of all hands to the pump and fully utilized on projects literally the day I arrived in the office I was out on a project all the way up to Christmas I was fully utilized. In the last couple of months, it's been a little bit more difficult, I've been on the bench as they determine it, which is basically that you're not on a client project, you're not working, and it's quite a weird sensation getting up and going into the office and knowing that you're not actually doing any work and your just kind of sat there and obviously you don't just sit there and twiddle your thumbs, you ask for things to do. We had an office move and a few of us E grades just ended up lugging boxes around which isn't what you expect to be doing at KPMG but you know its still contributing, these things need to be done whether we do it or someone else does it. We were free so that's what happens you know you turn your hands to anything. Well we kind of joke amongst ourselves that if you can do the crap jobs well then that shows you can do the good jobs well as well. If you don't do that then that, you think that's below me, that's not what I was brought here to do, it's not what I want to do, it's not the attitude and it will be noted and you will find it increasingly hard.

The hotels are swish, you can't complain about that but it's still a hotel and if you're there too long you do feel slightly like Alan Partridge. There was a time midway through this year and everyone was down and a little bit bored I think that's changed for most people.

I found a lot in Birmingham and I don't if its being in Birmingham or it s the education work but lots of the people here seem to be on home office 6 months doing that all the time. Where as what I've had sort of three days a week on this two day a week on this.

Were working alongside the police for six months and I'm working with a detective superintendant and he was organising an operation, I don't know how much I'm allowed to say? You can tell us. I basically got to go out on the front line, so yesterday at four in the morning we were smashing down doors. I'm probably not supposed to say any of this!

My advice would be to try everything, when you're offered or someone asks you to do something even if it seems very small or if it seems dull or you're not interested in it, to do it anyway because you never know where it might lead.

I think over time we've all become quite realistic of where were going, we've still got that drive but just a little bit more you know, well less excitable I'd say.

I'm sure one day I'll look back and look at this year as a big turning point. But yes, it's been a lot of change and a lot of challenges.

A day in the Life of Neil Sherlock – transcript

Neil: Well a lot of this has happened of course post Enron and the accountancy profession became a regulated business and therefore the sort of things I’m sort of involved in on the directing side of things are much more focused on regulators, as well as politicians and other players. It’s interesting; day to day you’re very much focused more on the regulators.

Jennifer: Yes.

Neil: And I think there’s a big effort not only within KPMG but around the profession to ensure that we very much sort of talk to the regulators, have a very clear dialogue, not only comply with the regulations but seek to influence them where we feel there should be some changes, right?

Jennifer: Yes and we work very closely with the regulators, to make sure we’re providing them with the information they request. And also to try and gain a deeper understanding of why they’re requesting the information they are.

Neil: I think it’s really interesting on the sort of regulatory side there are lawyers like you, there are people who are like me who have a public affairs back ground, there are people who are very heavy duty auditors who’ve done very big audits around the world, there are people who’ve got different sort of skills sets who have got in terms of managing different parts of the business, people from very many different countries. So it’s a very sort of international effort as you demonstrate coming from New Zealand, so I think it’s quite an exciting time to be in the regulatory world.

Lisa: Well as you know KPMG has a series of political secondments, to the three main UK parties and KPMG have had these going for 6 or 7 years now. This is a very exciting time of course in the run up to the general election.

Neil: So are people really firming up their policies? Oh absolutely, everything is happening and it’s getting very exciting in all the party headquarters and there’s a really great atmosphere. The feedback from all the secondees we have is there is a fantastic atmosphere and it’s a really good time to go in there.

Neil: Yep, very good. What sort of things will these people be doing?

Lisa: Well it’s been a whole range of issues. The last few secondees have worked on a whole rang of issues, from family policy, looking at police implementation and reform and also doing some number crunching.

Neil: It’s very much how the policy works, how the numbers work, how a potential government might be able to enact something, if they came into power?

Lisa: That’s right or just looking at new ideas.

Neil’s voiceover: What I’ve shown you so far I think is a pretty typical day at KPMG. I’ve been here for a number of years now and I’ve been doing this public affairs role for something like 15 years, which has really been helping KPMG to ensure that its messages and the things it committed to, the things it wants to see changed, are understood by the politicians and the regulators. We’ve become a regulated business, as I just discussed with Jennifer Jonson just now, and some of the activity we have to clearly talk to regulators to ensure they understand us, our perspectives on a whole range of issues, are critical right around the world.

On a UK basis, as I discussed with Lisa Hayley Jones there, we obviously try and build very close relationships with the political parties. It’s within our interest, right across the political spectrum, to have good public policy and that’s why we second people into political parties. We have a whole range of activities, not least at party conferences, but outside as well to talk to key players right across the three main political parties.

Voiceover: So were meeting with Neil Sherlock today to talk about a new fair access report, Neil how did you get involved with this report?

Neil: Well I took a call at home from Liam Bern, who was then the cabinet office minister, who said the government were looking to set up an independent panel that will report back to prime minister, but will include people who were leaders in their professions, right across the professions, to come together to say how can we broaden access to the professions to a wider group in society? After consulting with John Griffith Jones, I said I was very happy to serve. It changed a bit and ultimately ended up with Alan Milburn the former cabinet minister chairing it, and a whole raft of people from across the professions - whether they were lawyers or architects or media people or engineers or the armed services, right across the professions with leaders from the professions, and we worked for six or seven months on it. We took lots of evidence, I saw thirty or forty people across the accountancy profession, I chaired a sub group, looking at flexible work for working and flexible routes into the professions. And then we launched the report a few weeks ago, and was very pleased and very gratified to get a nice letter form Alan and a very nice letter from the Prime Minister, because we officially handed over the report to the Prime Minister as the commissioner of the work. And we then launched it and we made it very clear it was all part report as well. The professions are now going to take it away, and the bits that particularly refer to them, the individuals that have led the work are going to work through with their professions.

Neil voiceover: So its pretty important I think that one has a bit of work life balance, and one gets some time with the kids at home in the evening, but that doesn’t happen all the time of course, because of the demands of work and the various things one has to do for KPMG. But when I do get back in the evening it’s very good to do some maths and reading with the girls, just to help them along a bit to support what’s happening with them at school.

Daddy you don’t get it, zero, one, two, I have to do that zero there a one there and a two there.

Introduction to KPMG – transcript

Who is KPMG?

Neil, 24 years at KPMG (Oxford Alumni)

KPMG are a world leading professional services organisation providing Tax, Audit and Advisory services in a 144 across the globe. Quite simply KPMG is just a fantastic place to work. The variety of people, the challenges from the clients and the everyday public policy issues that come across your desk, mean that it’s a great place to work and a fantastic place to be.

Reham, 5 years at KPMG (York Alumni)

The thing that I like most about working at KPMG is the variety that you get everyday, everyday you come into work your working on something different and no one day is the same.

Jon, 7 years at KPMG (Reading Alumni)

It’s great clients, great people and you can really make a difference.

Betsey, 1 year at KPMG (Oxford Alumni)

KPMG is a global firm and we have huge diversity in the company. Like myself, I’m from Hong Kong and I have the chance to work with colleagues from Germany, the Netherlands, India, Mainland China.

Ali, 2 years at KPMG (LSE Alumni)

What do I like most about working with KPMG? It might just sound like an absolute cliché, but it literally just has to be the people. Even when I was an intern in 2006, that was the main reason I picked to join as a graduate, because you feel so welcome. I always thought, you know, each department I was in couldn’t be as good as the next, but each department that I moved through was just at this consistent level and that was the best thing about it.

John, 2 years at KPMG (Sheffield Alumni)

If you just put you hand up and say you’d like a taste of something new, somewhere different or even in a different service line, then the management will do everything they can to make that happen.

Joseph, 2 years at KPMG (Durham Alumni)

On the social side of things there’s a lots going at KPMG everything from sports to dinners to CSR and drinks after work with your friends.

Neil:

Graduates are quite simply the future of KPMG, if the best graduates come to KPMG we’ll maintain our profile as the best company to work for, and we develop people and people grow with us, and we’ll grow with them, and we’ll simply become an even better place with you joining us.