As we walked in, everyone was overawed and inspired by the grand scale of the building's ground floor. We proceeded to the 22nd floor where we were met by PWC Senior Partner and Old Collegian Graeme Pinfold, along with a number of other Old Collegians.
After a brief introduction, we were given a tour of the business facilities, including the hot desk floor and the training floor. Our tours were led by Old Collegians currently working at PWC, who gave us a valuable insight into the environment.
Contrary to the common misconception of what accounting firms are like, PWC’s offices were bright, friendly and full of energy, which was a pleasant surprise for all the students. This definitely inspired us to do our best in the classroom, so that we might be so lucky as to end up in such a friendly and productive environment as PWC, straight out of university.
We then proceeded back to the 22nd floor, where we were shown a more in-depth analysis of a company’s financial statements and their relevance to particular stakeholders. This was very useful as it provided an opportunity for us to apply the theory that we have been learning in class.
Being taken methodically through a company’s accounts by professionals definitely opened our eyes, as we saw the professionals’ small nuances and interesting analytical facts that we would not usually have picked up on. This also opened our minds to the fact that there are many more ways to interpret financial accounts, which will come in handy at examination time.
We were also given an introduction to the PWC Scholarship Programme. This programme not only provides financial aid to students studying Commerce in New Zealand, but also gives students access to mentors currently working at PWC. Another key selling point of the programme is that it gives university students the opportunity for a paid summer internship, which is a common way for graduates to gain a full time job at PWC.
The day was a real eye opener to the opportunities available to Accounting students, and provided incredible inspiration for us as budding accountants.
King’s College Old Collegians that attended were: Graeme Pinfold (Senior Partner), Patrick McElhinney (led the session), Andrew Nicholls, Avon Peel, Claire Moros, Harriet Dorrington, Anna Dorrington, Louis McLennan, Michael Leightley, Steffanie Williams, Troy Florence and William Perriam.
