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Australia
Gary deMuelenaere
Graduate - Business Advisory - Brisbane
5:30am
Monday’s are the hardest days to get out of bed. I’m definitely not a morning person, but if I can score a free lift to the bus stop to save me the walk you better believe I’ll be awake! Time to get ready for work. Still half asleep I try pick out the outfit for the day. Do I want to wear the blue or grey suit today? What shirt do I want? This almost takes as long as it does to do my hair!
6:20am
The bus arrives. Time to choose the music for the trip. I either go on YouTube to utilise their auto play function or choose an album to listen to…depending on what I’m vibing for the day. Once I’ve figured out this clearly difficult decision, I’m out like a light. Miraculously I’ve never missed my stop, somehow always waking up just in time to get off the bus.
7:30am
I get into work early to make sure I’m able to get through all the work of the day…and to try and get something done before everyone else comes in and I jump at the opportunity to show them the memes I’ve collected over the weekend. Dylan is already there, utilising our firms flexible working arrangements. We catch up for a while. Slowly everyone starts to come in. A bunch of us go to the kitchen, grab a coffee, talk about the weekend and anything interesting that will be happening throughout the week.
8:30am
The day has officially begun. The first thing I do is to look at my workflow for the week. I assess whether I will have enough work to keep me going for the week. This allows me to better plan for the week and prepares me for our team’s weekly workflow catchups.
9:30am
The team and I meet up for half an hour each week to discuss the jobs that we currently have on, the status of these jobs (i.e. client queries, review, completed, etc.), assign additional work and discuss any issues/matters that need to be raised with the superiors.
Up until lunch my day mainly consists of working through tax sensitive accounting issues for clients, preparing financials statements and discussing any tax issues the client may be facing with my manager, regularly going to the kitchen for coffee refills.
12:30pm
Lunch time! A bunch of us all go to lunch at the same time, some bringing food from home and others go and buy food. We all meet up in the staff hub. Lunch times are always great, you get a chance to talk to people that you may not get a chance to in everyday work life and get to catch up with everyone, with a bit of friendly office banter thrown in the mix.
5:00pm
Home time already? The day’s flown by! I finalise everything I’ve been working on for the day, say goodbye to everyone and start the walk to the bus. I get ready for the peak hour traffic home, put some music on and slowly fall asleep for the trip home. I start planning out my night. Am I going to go hangout with mates? Am I going to go to the gym? I decide to do both.
7:30pm
After eating dinner with the family, I message a mate and both head to the gym. Nothing better than getting in some exercise after a full day of work! We finish up and have the rest of the night to hangout.
10:00pm
I get home and start to get ready for bed. I put some Netflix on to wind down after the day. Ready to do it all again tomorrow!
Jamie Roubin
Graduate - Risk Advisory Services - Sydney
6:00am
Having already delayed my alarm twice, I quickly get up and change into my gym gear.
6:30am
I walk just over 20 minutes to get to the gym in time for my 6:30 Pilates class. I do this class around 3-4 times per week and find it puts me in a really good mood for my day (though I do get a little tired by 3pm)
7:30am
I have a quick shower and change into my pre-packed work clothes. I’m quite fortunate that my gym is around the corner from work, so I can attend the later sessions and not be late!
8:00am
I make my way up to level twelve, after grabbing a large almond flat white from the café on the ground floor. I check my emails and make some toast with the bread provided by RSM. As I have a 10 am meeting I’m sure to have a quick breakfast.
8:30am
I have a look over the questions I prepared last night for the client – a leading provider of drinking water for Sydney, and ensure I have multiple copies of the scope printed out.
8:45am
I head out with my manager to meet at the Client’s office (it’s a bit of a trek).
10:00am
We get to the Client’s office and meet with our direct contact. We first go over the scope where we are conducting a review of the environmental management plan’s currently in place at the client site, and the governance surrounding their implementation. We request a number of documents, some the client is able to provide on the spot, but I keep a list of my requests on OneNote throughout the meeting in case one is forgotten.
11:00am
We are provided a tour of the site and head off walking around the different areas of the Plant. It’s quite interesting having the ability to see all the different facets of creating potable water. At the end of our tour we advise the client of the next individual we would like to speak with after lunch.
12:00pm
My colleague and I head to grab some lunch from a nearby café (I had a delicious chicken wrap) and head back to the client site. I revise the notes I have taken from the previous meeting and compile a list of documents I have requested/plan to request.
1:00pm
We meet with the second individual from the Plant. He is able to provide us with detailed understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the site, and who is responsible for implementing and reviewing the environmental plans. I was pretty happy when this meeting ended as I received answers to all the questions I prepared. My manager was happy with my questions too! We head back to the office to debrief.
2:30pm
My manager and I have a quick debrief regarding the meetings we had, and how we want to approach the technical testing component of the review. I want to ensure I don’t fluctuate from the scope.
3:30pm
It’s coke-zero-o-clock. I head upstairs to grab a $2 coke zero to keep my energy up for the remainder of the day. Once I sit down with my caffeinated beverage, I look over the documentation provided by the client and start setting up my testing work papers. Through my analysis I compile an RFI (request for information) which consists of requests for documentation or information for any queries I have come across.
5:00pm
I’ve finalised the RFI document and sent it off to the client, hopefully they’ll be able to start actioning my requests tomorrow.
5:30pm
I head off for the day and meet up with a few friends for Taco Tuesday. There are so many places for a $2 taco in the Sydney CBD and I’m fortunate to have a few friends who work nearby.
7:30pm
After satisfying myself with tacos, I head home to catch the start of Survivor and hang out with my Greyhound, Chloe. Hopefully my favourite doesn’t get blindsided this episode, but who really knows once it gets to the final five?
9:00pm
I’ve kept my eyes open long enough to see my fav survive another tribal council. On that note, its bed time. I have an early start tomorrow as I’m driving out west to audit a few lights for a clients’ Energy Savings Scheme claim.
Jyoti George | Audit Assistant
5:45 AM – Wake Up
Good morning! After snoozing my alarm a few too many times, it finally time to get going. I get up and head to the gym or to a Pilates class which is paid for by RSM. I like to get an early start to my day, as it sets me up to have a productive day. After my workout, I head home for a quick breakfast and to get ready before I catch the train to work.
8:30 AM – Arrive At Work
I arrive at work and settle into my desk. My first task is to check any unread emails or teams messages, which could include meeting invitations and updates from clients or colleagues. I then check the Audit Planner, our workflow planner and see what job I am booked on. I write a daily to do list, prioritize my tasks, and make a start on my work.
8:40 AM – Work Time
I settle into my work and reply to any client queries/ emails that I have received overnight. Each day at RSM is different. As a grad within the Audit division, we are given the opportunities to work on different sections of an audit for different clients. This ensures that each day is interesting, we are constantly learning, and improving our skills.
9:15 – Coffee Break
It’s definitely time for a coffee! There are plenty of coffee machines available on each floor of the office to keep everyone caffeinated, but nothing compares to the dirty chai made by the in-house baristas’ downstairs in the lobby of our building. I message my friends, Josh, Tyler, and Tom who I met during Grad Collab. During Grad Collab, all the grads for the different divisions came together to do a mixture of technical training and team building activities.
10:45 – Catch Up
I have a quick catch up with the Senior in charge of the audit engagement I am on for the day. I give them a quick status update and ask any question I may have. This morning I will be working on the payroll transaction cycle. This involves gaining a clear understanding of the client’s systems and processes in place, reviewing the system documentation, and performing a control testing walkthrough. As a grad, I normally work on sections such as PPE, Cash, Payroll, Expenses and Revenue.
12:30 Lunch
Finally it’s lunch time! Normally I bring a packed lunch from home, but on Fridays I like to treat myself and buy lunch. My friends and I head out to the food court across the road, which is normally our go to spot as it gives everyone the chance to pick up something they like, since we can never agree on one restaurant. We head back to the office and go up to the staff hub to eat, catch up on our week and play a game of ping pong.
1:30 – Back to Work
I am back at my desk, and I finalize my prep for a meeting I have later in the afternoon with a client, by compiling the list of my questions so that I can gain a clear understanding of their systems and processes in place. I also begin revenue vouching, in which I test to see if the 5 criteria of revenue recognition have been met.
2:00 – Client Meeting
I pop on my headset and join the client meeting alongside my manager. After the meeting we have a quick debrief about the call and plan out the next steps. I finalize the documentation of the payroll transaction cycle. My manager helps me to sort out the finer details of my work paper, and I submit it for review.
2:45 – Continue Working
Today, I am collaborating with another grad, Isaac. Together we go through the client request list and update each other on any client information received. Within audit, the team I work with changes every few weeks, depending on the client that I am assigned to. This provides me a chance to learn from a wide range of talented individuals within RSM. After our quick chat, I continued with my vouching.
3:45 – Tea Time
I make a quick cup of tea and grab a piece of fruit to get me through the dreaded 3:00 PM slump!
3:50 – Back to work
Back at my desk, I plug in my headphones on and start up a good playlist, whilst I continue working by finalizing my vouching and beginning the summarizing of the board minute meetings of a client.
5:15 – End of Day
At 5pm I begin to wrap up the day by signing off on the work I have completed so that it can be reviewed by a manager and a partner. I complete my timesheet for the day and make my way to the staff hub with the other grads for Friday drinks. Friday drinks is a great time to chat with other people in the office and winddown from the week!