Recent Work Experience at EY: Reflections

An NDA was signed, so cant say much but...

On Monday, I had the amazing opportunity to spend time at EY for work experience. The day was filled with a wide range of learning, from understanding the structure of the firm to exploring some pretty advanced concepts like big data, Bitcoin, and audit work. But above all, it was the people I met, and the way they worked and communicated, that I found most impressionable

I started by learning more about how EY operates as a Limited Liability Partnership, something I remember glossing over in an Economics lesson. Essentially, partners "buy in" to the firm and share a portion of the profits. What’s good is that the maximum amount of money they can lose is just what they put in(buy-in) so they’re protected from personal risk beyond that. It was a simple but important insight into how a huge company like EY can function in a way that’s both collaborative and financially smart.

One of the most valuable parts of the experience was spending time with Kiran Ruparelia, an Assurance Senior. Knowing Kiran very well from Yog foundation, I understood that he worked hard, but how hard was only really shown when shadowing him. For reference, it was his last week at the firm and what really stood out to me was how genuine and supportive he is, even though he had a deadline coming up. He constantly made time to check in on others, even during a busy day, and had a way of speaking to colleagues that made everyone feel included and respected. I also learnt how he introduces people in a conversation when they don’t know each other. Instead of just saying names, he adds a short personal piece of context about each person: their role, project, or something they have in common, which instantly makes the interaction smoother.

Shadowing on audit work, I explored how EY auditors perform something called substantive testing, where they directly check transactions to confirm the numbers are accurate. But the extent of this testing isn’t the same every time. It depends on the risk involved in a particular audit and what EY’s data systems recommend. This is called setting the scope of testing. Here, I was also tasked to research a company and any risks they may pose working in sub companies.

I was really lucky to have a partner discuss about Bitcoin and found the way that he presented himself as something to emulate for when I will next be talking to a group of people. A lot of people think of money purely as a medium of exchange, but Bitcoin is increasingly seen as a store of value, especially in a world where inflation eats away at traditional currency. In 2023, Rishi Sunak printed around £400 billion to stimulate the economy, which contributed to rising inflation. I learnt about something called the Rule of 7,  the idea that a currency losing 7% of its value every year will be worth half as much in ten years. In countries with lower economic growth, depreciation can be closer to 30%, meaning value halves every two and a half years. After the gold standard ended in 1971, the amount of money being printed exploded, and some argue that we’re heading from a gold standard, to a fiat standard, and possibly to a Bitcoin standard. Bitcoin has some unique advantages, it’s decentralised, secure, and practically impossible to confiscate if you know your 12 recovery words. We also talked about how printing money often widens inequality. It increases the value of assets like property and stocks, which benefits the wealthy, while lower earners struggle to keep up. In the future, some people believe that while national currencies will still be used for spending, Bitcoin might become a preferred way to store wealth safely over time.

I had a chance to explore the world of big data, something I had only heard about before but didn’t fully understand. We learnt about the five main features of big data: volume, velocity, variety, veracity, and value. In simpler terms, it’s about handling huge amounts of data, making sure it’s fast, accurate, diverse, and useful. I got to speak with Natalie, who works in transaction line analysis. Her job involves using big data to analyse company performance and make it easier for investors to decide whether or not to buy into a business. She showed the whole process: from extracting data from different sources, to cleaning it, layering in extra context, playing around with it through incremental analysis, and finally turning it into clear, easy-to-understand visuals. We also looked into cohort analysis, which tracks how different user groups behave over time. One example we discussed was a food delivery company that saw big spikes in users thanks to promotional deals, but those boosts weren’t sustainable in the long run.We touched on AI too. It was interesting to hear that while AI is definitely useful in speeding up repetitive or dull tasks, it’s not replacing human thinking any time soon. Critical thought, creativity, and good judgement are still essential and probably always will be.

Along the way, I also picked up a lot of random but genuinely useful insights. I learnt about the Streisand effect: where trying to hide or suppress something only draws more attention to it. I was reminded how important it is to be comfortable using Excel, especially features like pivot tables. We were also encouraged to learn programming languages like Python and R, which are becoming increasingly relevant in both finance and data science. I came across Atclyst, a platform that simplifies data analysis, and even experimented a little with WordPress, which was great for understanding how websites are built. Above all, I was constantly reminded to step out of my comfort zone. Every conversation, challenge, or new idea felt like a chance to grow,  and it’s that mindset that made the whole week so rewarding.

A really good experience, from which I learnt alot from, and one i am greatful to be the reciever of such a good opportunity