A Tale From Two Cities

MacIntyre Hudson welcomes an Australian auditor who is working for the firm for three months as part of a staff exchange scheme operating via international network, CPA International Associates. 27-year-old Sandra from Melbourne, finds life in an English city quite different

Job Down Under: I’m an Audit Supervisor at fellow CPA member firm, Danby Bland Provan & Co in Melbourne.

At MacIntyre Hudson: I'm working for three months in the Audit team doing accounts preparation work, and performing internal and external audits. Afterwards I intend to take three weeks off to travel around Europe.

UK challenges: Walking so much - back home I drive everywhere.

Likes: Working in a different environment each week, meeting people, the relaxed work environment and the friendliness of the people around.

It's interesting learning how different companies work, their processes and adapting to the culture… and the opportunity to travel.

Dislikes: Not being able to drive my car, rushing to catch the last train home and the living costs … especially when I make the mistake of converting to the Australian dollar.

The differences at work: In Australia we tend to do more substantive testing when performing external audits and less analytical work, whereas it’s probably the other way round here. There, we use an audit program called Caseware to document our audit work, and are aiming for a ‘paperless’ environment.

Cultural differences: There’s so many more people here and it’s a lot more exciting. The cinemas are smaller though, and not as comfortable.

Travel is different. In the UK it's common to travel to another country for a weekend. In Melbourne, you'd have to take time off to go anywhere.

What surprises Sandra about the UK: The supermarket staff! They just sit there swiping the groceries while you try and stuff everything in the bag. In Australia they are a lot more helpful. I appreciate that – especially after a hard day at work.

Sandra pictured with colleague Sen Nee Toh