Vacation program

Meet Emma

Name: Emma Zeibari
Job Title: Senior Associate
Service Line: Audit & Assurance
University Attended: University of Western Australia
Degree qualification:  Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Finance)
Year graduated: 2021

Emma began working at Grant Thornton as a Vacationer in January 2021, giving her insight into life as an Auditor. After her Vacationer experience, she was offered an undergraduate position in March 2021, before accepting a full-time Graduate role in June 2021.

Day-to-day, Emma is either working at a client site or flexibly from home, where she analyses cash, accounts payable, equity, operating expenses and capital assets. “You also get to expand into a lot of other cycles such as receivables, revenue, exploration and evaluation and journal entry testing. These can all differ from client’s industry and level of risk, so you are always working on different work papers each week, making every day different,” Emma says.

Emma particularly enjoys the diverse team she collaborates with, as Grant Thornton offers the opportunity to work with many different people. “We get a lot of exposure to many different businesses as different industries and people. Therefore, we get a wide range of diversity among team members, and I feel like this really creates our culture,” Emma says.

What do you enjoy the most in your role? “I enjoy fieldwork the most where you are testing your assigned cycles. You get to understand the client’s system, select a sample for testing and then go to the client with any queries, which really combines many of your main audit tasks into one. Each cycle is different and tested differently depending on the level of risk it has, so you never do any work the same on fieldwork.”

How do you feel supported in your role? “When a manager or senior trusts you to get the work done on time and effectively. A sense of appreciation or being told you are doing well goes a long way in this job. Often, we have appreciation messages that get posted every few weeks from other levels in the jobs for people that have shown you are going out of your way or have improved greatly,” says Emma.

Meet Robert

Name: Robert T'Hart
Job Title: Senior Associate
Service Line: Audit & Assurance
University Attended: University of Western Australia
Degree qualification: Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Finance)
Year graduated: 2020

Robert’s journey with Grant Thornton began as a Vacationer in 2020, before he was offered a Graduate position in March 2021. As of January 2023, Robert was promoted to Senior Associate. While he was studying, he gained some accounting experience at a local meat factory, exposing him to an office environment.

Robert is exposed to all parts of an audit as an Associate, and he particularly enjoys when he can join client meetings. “One of my favourite things is sitting in client meetings with the audit team and watching the Partners and Managers interact with the clients. You get to see how the professionals do it,” says Robert. He also likes working in an environment with like-minded people, where growth opportunities are always offered – no matter your level of experience.

Do you feel supported in your journey with Grant Thornton? “You’re always receiving feedback on your performance, whether it’s informal or formal. Your manager will regularly catch up with you and let you know how you are going. It does feel good when you start to get the hang of things, but it takes time, so be patient,” says Robert.

Every day is different, and Robert is excited by the infinite learning opportunities that Audit provides him. Robert says, “Some days you may be out at client sites, or in the office. Most of the time, you are scheduled on a client for a few weeks at a time, so generally you spend your time completing ‘cycles’, which are sections of the audit work, such as Cash or Capital Assets.”

How do you find the culture at Grant Thornton? “I genuinely believe Grant Thornton has one of the best, if not the best cultures of the professional services industry. It is to truly special to be a part of and anyone who is keen to work in an exciting, but down to earth environment will love it here!”

Robert enjoys travelling and says that the opportunity to experience other places outside his hometown has shaped him. “Taking the time to travel before you start work is important. Not only will you have more time before you start work, but it will also open your eyes and shape you as a person.”