Audit Assistant, Joshua Ejenobo started his accounting career at Bishop Fleming through the Strive Internship Programme. He shares his inspiring journey and showcases the commitment of Bishop Fleming to inclusion, diversity, and creating opportunities for underrepresented talent.
Can you share with us your career journey and role at Bishop Fleming?
I started my internship with the Accountancy team where I worked for 3 months. I worked on account preparation for various clients, learning how to use Xero and other very useful tools. Following my internship, I was offered a full-time position as an Audit Assistant with the Audit team. In the last few months, I have worked with several teams on audits for various clients. I have had the opportunity to visit client sites and interact with their finance teams. So far, I have built considerable experience auditing different clients.
I have also had the opportunity to work on special projects which are data and IT driven within the Audit space, which is an area I am passionate about and a good reason to use some of the knowledge I learnt during my Financial Technology master’s degree.
Joining the Technology, Innovation & Growth Funnel has provided me with the opportunity for networking and business development efforts on behalf of the firm within that space. Overall, it has been an interesting journey.
Why did you choose the internship route?
I had some working experience in Nigeria before I moved to the UK to study for a master’s degree. However, integrating into a new working environment in a new country can be quite challenging. During my master’s programme, I applied for various financial jobs that played to my skillset, but I had a lot of rejection emails despite being fully qualified for the jobs.
This led me to follow the social media campaign around the #10000 Black internship programme. I applied for a spot on the programme but did not get it. However, when the information around the Strive Internship came through, I decided to take another chance at applying through a programme that was focused on providing equal opportunities for people like me from an ethnic minority background and I was delighted when I eventually got a job offer following my interview with Bishop Fleming.
Starting as an intern gave me the opportunity to start small and it provided me an avenue to prove myself despite the earlier rejections. The Strive internship was a really great opportunity for me, and I will encourage everyone to take advantage of it.
How has your role evolved since you first joined the company, and what are some of the biggest challenges you've faced along the way?
I started with Accountancy which gave me an insight into how accounts are prepared based on information gathered from clients. Transitioning to Audit was the next step because in Audit you get to review already completed accounts and ascertain if everything is in order. As my knowledge and experience on the job grew, I got to handle more sensitive areas of the audit file and I continue to build experience every day.
One of the challenges faced was that you have to learn on the job and each job has its different challenges and new things to learn. It can be challenging at times not to know what to expect. Working with different teams for different jobs also means there are different working styles to get used to.
Describe how you've grown professionally and personally since joining the company, and what advice could you give to those just starting out?
Personally, I have grown to take more responsibilities. I have also had to push myself out of my comfort zone to engage and form relationships with other members of the team. Despite being part of a small group of ethnic minorities in the office, I’ve never felt out of place. I have not been treated differently, and everyone has been nice. I’ve also got to learn more about the firm’s diversity and inclusion initiative which is heart-warming.
Professionally, I have gained quite a significant amount of understanding of audit process in a short amount of time. I have learnt how to engage clients in uncomfortable situations and that is a skill worth learning. I have learnt about networking and being part of conversations.
My advice to new starters will be to put yourself out there and engage with the system. Create relationships, put your hands up when volunteers are called for anything, ask questions and just be inquisitive.
I would encourage people from ethnic minority backgrounds just starting out to be open minded about their chances of getting an opportunity to work at a top corporate firm. Don’t give up if rejected and be confident that despite your cultural background, there are still opportunities out there.
What are the best bits of working at Bishop Fleming?
The people and the culture are the best parts of Bishop Fleming. Also, there is always a helping hand around the corner.
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