Real Life Career Stories: Izzy Chaplin, Audit Senior at Azets UK

 

Izzy Chaplin, one of the Audit Seniors based in the Azets UK Beaconsfield office tells us about her career journey with the firm. Dive into what her role involves on a day-to-day basis and hear about why it’s important to embrace every opportunity.

 

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?

I started my accountancy career while at University. I was part of the first BSc Accountancy course at Nottingham University. Over the next 4 years, I completed a University Degree, 12 out of 15 ACA exams and 3 placements. Upon graduating, I completed my final 3 ACA exams and became a qualified Chartered Accountant. At the beginning of 2020, I decided to take a bit of a gap year – unfortunately, this was very poorly timed as Covid emerged soon after! In September 2021, I decided it was time to go back to work and joined Azets in the Beaconsfield office in the Audit and Accounts department as a Senior.

 

What stood out to you about Azets when applying for opportunities?

Initially what stood out for me was the flexibility. I enjoy playing various sports which, when working 5 days a week in an office, it’s often quite tricky to fit everything in. Azets offers flexible working as well as agile working which was one of the main reasons I wanted to work there, they really promote a healthy work life balance.

 

What do you enjoy most about working as an Audit Senior?

I enjoy the variety of projects and challenges, from accounts preparation which may take a day or two to independent examinations of charities and full audits which can take a couple of weeks. My client portfolio consists of different industries and sectors – from ice cream manufacturers, technology service companies and overseas importers.

Being an Audit Senior isn’t always about sitting behind a laptop all day. As part of our testing, we must verify the company we’re auditing actually owns all of their assets, so we have to see samples, which I find really interesting and it’s a great opportunity to get to know our client’s businesses.

 

What is a “normal day” like in your role as an Audit Senior?

Working in Audit, every day is different. My normal day varies depending on the clients I’m working on and where I’m working. Generally, I can either be working from home, the office or the client site.

Over the course of the audit, I’ll work in all 3 locations. If I’m out at the client site, I’ll organise a meeting with the audit team and the client as soon as I arrive. The agenda is usually what we’ll be working on for the day, especially if it’s something that needs planning. Following this, my day is pretty flexible, I will complete the audit testing myself as well as help the junior members of staff. If I’m working from home or in the office, I tend to have a catch up with my team in the morning, whether this is in person or via Teams to plan the work allocation for the day ahead.

The working hours are very flexible so there is no set time to take lunch and start work, some people start at 7.30am or 9.30am. If I’m in the office, we have a breakout area for everyone to sit together. At lunch, I’ll go and grab a bite to eat from town then go back to the office and have a chat with my colleagues. If I’m at home I tend to squeeze in a quick workout or walk, it’s a great opportunity to get a bit of exercise in before starting work again in the afternoon.

 

How would you describe the culture at Azets?

The culture is really relaxed and welcoming. Flexible working is really embraced which allows for a really good work life balance, it’s not all about work. Azets also host lots of social events so everyone can get to know each other in a non-work environment. Since I’ve joined, we’ve had our Christmas party, Topgolf and a quiz night with a charity walk coming up too. Everyone is really friendly and I’ve made some great friends in the short time I’ve been working here.

 

What piece of advice would you give someone who is thinking of applying to Azets?

Before starting the accountancy exams, do your research! It’s worth it in the end, but the exams are tough, so be prepared! Reach out to someone already working at Azets, everyone is really supportive and would be more than happy to help you in your journey.

 

 

Interested in what a career at Azets could look like for you? Take your audit career to the next level and explore their current audit opportunities here.

 

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