I’ve been living an elusive life over the last few weeks. Studying for Foundations (Part 1 of the CA dream) by night and auditing by day. Partial relief that it’s over (only partial as we haven’t had the results back yet!)

Aside from that the audit busy season has begun to slow. There has been a bit of a shake up as we were introduced to the new and improved “Deloitte Audit Methodology”, which brings bigger and better things to the audit process- exciting times. Amalgamated with the “it’s almost summer” and “yay for short week” vibes, how can you not smile at randoms as you strut to work?

The long weekend took a few work colleagues and myself to the sunny metropolis of Gisborne for the wine and food festival! A road trip via Hawkes Bay initiated the weekend’s adventures - there was no holding back, as we were joined by some of the Tax crew, and all green pens and calculators were locked away for 3 days!

I’ve had a few challenges on the job recently dealing with people who perhaps don’t quite understand our role as auditors- as auditors our main goal is to provide assurance that the financial statements are materially correct. And we aim to add value in terms of how we think their procedures could be improved, based on our experience auditing a number of different organisations and industries. I won’t go on…

We have had a number of birthdays on the floor as of late so it’s been baking, baking, baking. Great for the overbearing pre-summer get in shape regime. I’d like to make a shout out to Mandie Marks, Sharee Robson and Amber Bellringer- Happy Birthday ladies!! 23 and you are an auditor= Congrats! Remember: Have fun and celebrate! 

Sharee (a.k.a Katy Perry) and the crew at her birthday party: 

My old flat mate and I often discuss (around birthdays) how you can’t help getting “reflective” over where you are, what you are doing, what you would like to achieve- also known as bucket list syndrome…e.g. bungee jump, go to Africa, learn French, learn to play the guitar… how many of these things do people actually end up doing? And is it all just setting you up for failure, or is it just another version of goal setting- a proven technique to enable “success” in your life- I have bungeed! Defo worth a go if you haven’t. 

Back to my accounting.

Cheers, Lucy

Heels were swapped for sneakers over the weekend when a number of the audit crew got together for a round of pub golf… Sporting attire was a must and full participation was expected. Needless to say, performance was on par and a number of handicaps developed over the course of the evening. The bar was set high when a number of hole-in-one’s were attained on the first stretch. Mandz took the win through her consistent performance and determination. Good team bonding… necessary preparation as we begin the lead up for the sports interchange with the north island Deloitte offices held in early October.

Wellington on a Plate took off with numerous food and beverage events at new, old and random locations around Wellington. We decided to get amongst the vibe (always up for food and drink) and attended “Cupcakes & Cocktails” at Martha’s Pantry… A fun filled evening, picked up a few tips, it’s safe to say cupcake decorating is not my forte, Alice (our in-house baker) really found her calling… 

As if we hadn’t spent enough time doing extracurricular activities together, a ski trip with the audit team ensured that we spent the whole weekend in Ohakune bonding. The small, quaint ski village was taken by storm when the audit team were out for dinner. In more ways than one- After a few champagnes and a steak the accountants got out their dance moves…

Meanwhile the snow began falling outside the restaurant, ensuring an adventurous wander home. Snow fights and a few bails was all just good practice for the epic day of skiing and boarding that was to follow…

Amazing weather, wicked snow and above average company. Good result. 

Now it’s back to the real world… Off to Christchurch next week for a job, here’s hoping the after-shocks become less frequent. Hope everyone in Christchurch is doing ok! Amazing there were no casualties.

Cheers, Lucy :)

Why is yawning contagious? What a terrible way to start a blog… with a yawn. But it wasn’t mine it was his (the person sitting beside me wishing to remain anonymous). Well it has been some time since I last opined (opine= to rant, not really sure how to use it in a sentence but put it out there). I’ll try not to make you yawn…

So much has been happening, the peak of busy season is upon us and audit opinions are being cannoned out the level 12 window across the Wellington CBD daily. It’s pedal to the metal as they say, but it’s good times! I’ve done my first week long audit, in the words of Jason Derulo, flying solo. It was a great chance to see how the whole process fit together. If you’re a control freak it’s great to be on your own timeline, making the rules- lunch at 11am (& 3pm). 

Busy season has led to me developing some “organisational skills”, very green, but necessary to keep on top of life. (As life on top of me is not ideal.) Breakfast at the office has become a crucial part of the stay-in-bed-as-long-as-possible regime, as well as pre-planned outfits, pre-made lunch and wearing your outfit to bed… actually haven’t tried that one yet but could be an option? I lie, I once woke up at 4am, thought it was 6am (my watch battery had died), completely showered, got ready and had breakfast, only to realise that it was still the middle of the night, so I got back into bed fully clothed and went back to sleep for a few hours. Was easy to get ready second time round later that day!

Enjoying being back on a team this week though… on an awesome client, laughs all round, our audit discussions centre around the lolly jar sitting on swiss balls. My senior took it upon himself to show us all how to do “the superman”. If I hadn’t been crying tears of laughter from seeing a 6ft 2’ suited male “fly” on a swiss ball in the middle of someone else’s office, I would have taken a photo.  

Over the weekend, I had afternoon tea to catch up with the audit babes after a week of madness. Baking goodies and tea around a fire was the perfect setting for the fully fledged gossip session that followed, just to ensure no one was getting up to any mischief without us all being included. Safe to say Alice took the cake with her rocky road creation (once again, I guess we will just leave all the baking up to you going forward Alice?)

Half the office are away auditing a client in Chch at the moment - huge hours but free Les Mills memberships and they were staying in the same hotel as the All Blacks last week so not a bad trade-off… Safe to say a lot of auditing was performed in the lobby just in case Dan needed someone to talk to…

We have an audit ski trip planned for the weekend at the end of August - everything has been sorted, the only worry going forward is that there are going to be 30+ auditors on the ski fields on the same day. I’m hoping we return with substantially all of the team. How do you spot an auditor on the ski field? They are down the bottom reading the “how to get onto the chair lift safely” sign… Ok bad joke, I made it up, but it’s going to be a laugh. 

Cheers, Lucy

On Saturday night, Wellington Deloitte set the Opera House on fire with their hot staff and smoking dance moves. A few months ago, the social committee (a group of self-nominated grads) were given a budget and the task of organising the firm-wide ball. With a “Narnia” theme, staff were invited to “come through the wardrobe for a night of magical mahem”. Suprisingly, no one turned up in a lion suit, or with hooves and horns… By 10pm (post a delish 3 course meal and a few vinos) the majority of the party were on the d-floor cranking the “sprinkler”, the “shuffle & point” and probably the most common - the arms in the air (often accompanied by shouting the main line to the song e.g. “Ooh-oh livin’ on a prayer!”)… All and all a successful evening captured by SnapStar.

Speaking of balls… Football fever is taking over NZ as a result of the fabo efforts of the men in White… There were a few tired eyes around the office on the mornings after NZ games (myself included). Worth it, even found myself watching other teams…

On a complete tangent, this week I have been flabergasted by the number of men I have seen (in suits) scootering to work… Now, I am not talking about a beautiful pink Vespa, I’m talking silver push-scooters (the ones that were all the rage at primary school). I don’t understand?! (1) the handle bars are always going to be too low as they are made for ages 5-12 yrs; (2) safety hazard - too fast for the footpath, too slow for the road, helmets aren’t madatory; (3) you look RIDICULOUS! (4) there is no (4) - you are a grown man on a scooter what are you thinking?! The thing is, this isn’t a one-off sighting, in the last week I have noted 3 different middle-aged-suit-wearing-male-push-scooter incidents in the Wellington CBD. 

On a less serious note - having a week at the office! “Box job” - where all the necessary documentation is (supposed to be) in a file provided by the client. It is providing an interesting challenge, but good to mix it up and spend some QT at the office. I think my plant was missing me.

Deloitte have launched the “Deloitte Fast 50” recently, where firms are nominated for their fast growth. It is a chance to recognise NZ businesses that have mastered the art of fast growth.

In order to raise awareness around the office, all staff were gifted with a “bag-plant” as I like to call them. Depending on the luck of the draw, you may have landed a clover, forget-me-not, daisies… The competitive nature of a few staff has led to a “plant-off” where the best growth will win. So far the clover is taking the cake, with a large number of sprouts. My forget-me-not has had one seedling sprout about a week ago and since ceased to progress… Hoping it will be a late bloomer.

Will keep you updated! Hope you’re enjoying the uni break!

Lucy :)

Rain, rain go away… Happy Birthday Queen Elizabeth. (If we had a King would it be called King’s birthday?  Doesn’t really have the same ring.) In honour of Queen Elizabeth’s birthday I bought myself a pink polker dot umbrella from the $2 shop for $3.90?! (Must be taking the increase in GST to the extreme)…

Aside from rain the long weekend brought an opportunity for the corporate crew to sleep in, visit friends, read, hit the town, or run a half marathon (whatever you’re into). A number of Del fitties took a trip to the garden city, Christchurch to run the half marathon. Alice, Mandie, Holz, and Rach came away with a half marathon win!! (Win= completing without tripping over, crying, fainting, losing a shoe, or taking a wrong turn) Shot team, fantastic effort!! 

In another sporting discipline, I’ve joined the hard-core Wellington dragon boating team. We have recently kicked off our training with a serious “dry-land” session. Picture this (wish I had taken a photo)… 

• Venue: a Deloitte meeting room (with a view of the sea from the 14th floor to create an atmosphere of being on the water);
• Attendees: a mixture of 15 sporting firm employees from grads to partners;
• Exercise regime: burpees, press-ups, squats etc. (led by big-dog Danny the aerobics man, including necessary vocal encouragement to really “get those legs pumping”).

After half an hour the windows were foggy, our legs were wobbly and the room smelt like a high school gym locker-room. In case you can’t picture us, it looked somewhat like this:

Note: Dragon boating season starts in Feb (dedication)- by the time the season starts this is the goal:

Along with innovative an exercise regime and venue selection (unlike Auckland, Wellington isn’t privy to an in-house gym) the accountant’s of Del House on Featherston have been participating in some innovative thinking. “Innovative accountants”… may sound like an oxymoron to some and perhaps has negative connotations as a result of the Enron fiasco, however (take my word for it) it’s far from this. 

The Wellington Innovation Team has been involved in a number of projects, including “innovation cafes”. The cafes get a group of diverse people together in order to brainstorm solutions to a specific business problem. Note: this is no clouds-on-a-page brainstorm; whiteboard sessions and bullet points are a thing of the past. The sessions are inspired, interactive and inventive. The only rule is you must bring an open mind. This provides an opportunity to exercise the right “inventive” side of your brain when the left “logical” side is getting too big for its boots (can happen when you spend too long working on an excel spreadsheet) and come at a problem from a number of angles, using a number of contemporary tools. So far the team has had a number of success, however it’s only the early stages… watch this space :) !

I’m on a new client this week, in a new office (drinking Dilmah unlike Twinings at the last office)… Will keep you posted.

Good luck for exams!!

Cheers, Lucy :)

Graduation from the University of Otago is, at the very least, a 3 day event. Deloitte provided a day off for “graduation leave” which ensured full participation over the weekend…

Picking up my regalia with my flat mate (bane of the weekend) however, an essential process, as participating in the “capping ceremony” would be somewhat awkward if you didn’t have a cap… and although it’s a borrowed cap from the university and there are hundreds of other graduates floating around with caps just like yours, it’s really what the cap represents to you- “my $60,000 cap” was what the girl trying on a cap in front of us, loudly proclaimed. Good call really (we had a giggle)… Her comment sparked some “reflective thinking” on my time in Dunedin…

• Cap= $60,000 
• Monthly visit to student health to complain about an ongoing cold= $5 (when are you ever going to be able to visit the doctor for $5 again?!)
• Puffer jacket= $300 (mandatory)
• Daily “V” from the Campus Shop during exam time= 2 for $5

• Flatting with 7 girls= $100 for rent (endless relationship advice= free)
• Double at Gadies= $3 (good deal… can’t believe that Gadies is CLOSING?!!)
• Dancing to BSB with the freshers at upstairs cook= $? (how do you cost decrease in social status?)
• Velvet burger “skinnys” (Nb. They don’t make you skinny) after dancing at upstairs cook= $3.50
• An epic night on Castle St during the “Undy $500”= $Your diversion
• Entrance to the Library a.k.a “cent”= no cents (and if it’s during exam time make sure you wear your running shoes and are there before opening time if you want a seat)
• The thousands of friends made and degree from UO (if you’re lucky)= Priceless :)

Grad weekend was a time for everyone to catch up and to reminisce on the good times and live the scarfie dream just one more time.

Back in the real world work is full on! Post the “financial new year” all audits are go. The biggest change thus far is the early starts; getting up at 6-practically-the-middle-of-the-night-o’clock- in-the-morning is becoming a regular occurrence to ensure all blonde moments are out of the way. 

I’m currently on an audit for the public sector. The announcement of the Budget by Bill English (in his purple, spotty tie) had the office in what could only be described as a state of excitement. The announcement led to the office gathering around the television (along with a mandatory cup of tea) to “ooo” and “ahh”.

If you’re wondering about working in an office (whether it be accounting or anywhere) first ask yourself: do you like tea? And then ask yourself whether drinking at least 3 cups a day is what you consider at the very least, doable. Extreme tea drinking has led to the constant need for a pack of mints…  which further leads to the question WHY does water taste 100 times colder after you have had a mint?!!

Mid-year exams must be on their way- therefore facebook stalking will be on the up, so maybe you are reading my stories… If you ever have questions feel free to ask! 

Happy studies! 

Lucy :)

Dear diary,

According to Wikipedia a “blog” is a contraction of “website log”. Google defines “blog” as an online journal… therefore perhaps from hereon in I should begin my blogs with “dear diary”. However “diary” to me indicates “privacy” and I think it’s fair to say that my comments on the Deloitte page are far from private… I guess I will just continue on talking out loud to no-one (and everyone) through Facebook. The Facebook phenomenon is taking over the world… maybe soon I’ll be working through the “Employees@Deloitte” (completely fictitious at this stage) page and working from home… 

Why would I want to work from home when, for the last two weeks work brought me to Palmy North- home of the windmills. Unlike my room at home, the room I have called “home” has a spa in the corner.

There are 3 of us up here doing an audit! It’s a new client and so has been a challenge getting to know the entity and its operations. Spending two weeks away has provided as ample time to “get to know” each other. 

There has been a large focus on food over the weeks: for breakfast yoghurt, nuts and fruit salad has been a team favourite, going for daily post-work runs was the goal (50% success rate- that’s a pass), making dinners together, which became an adventure (with tika masala wraps, involving a trip to two supermarkets to ensure the select ingredients were obtained, landed a 5 gold star rating.) 

Another Wellington Deloitte team have been working in Levin and made the 40 minute journey across for the evening. The night began with a thai beef salad, good conversation and a few vinos… 

Later leading to a night out in Palmy with the Massey students. Needless to say the “student” in all of us took Palmy by storm with our Lady Gaga imitations on the d-floor, creative photo shoot in the square and other stereotypical accountant behaviour…

Peanut butter M&Ms and banana was a key energy boosting discovery late in the piece. Knowing exactly how the AIC (Auditor in Charge) who I will refer to as “Bread Isle” (for confidentiality reasons) likes his tea and how warm the room needed to be for Niki to lose the scarf, became crucial to ensure team optimal efficiency.

We have arrived safely at Friday, “team” vibes intact- although there is still the roadie back to Welly this arvo (apparently singing out loud to Katy Perry & Timbaland is not everyone’s idea of a good time…) 

Cheers, Lucy :)

Here is my first video blog, recorded yesterday. Your thoughts?

Cheers, Lucy

I know you have all been dying to hear what’s been happening in the Deloitte lifts this week… 

The earlier part of my week involved some extreme auditing… (someone could have told me to pack sneakers). Our team took fixed asset testing to the extreme- better explained by photographs… 

We ended the engagement with a morning tea for champions- sausage rolls and mini pies- lucky they have a wicked gym in the office. Was a great client and good learning experience- once again epic team! 

Been back in the Del office for the second half of the week…

PROs about being back in the office: 

• predictable people- get to catch up with “the babes” (the other grads), 
• predictable kitchen (issues arise at clients when plan to make a toastie to work for lunch only to find it has to be downgraded to a sandwich due to lack of a toastie machine), 
• predictable location (the office doesn’t tend to move around too often) so can have lunch breaks on the waterfront also the post office and bank are close (once you start working you will realise bank and post-shop hours are rather inconvenient), 
• predictable chair (have had some interesting “chair” experiences),
• (why do all my pros include “predictable”)
• getting in on the office goss (and if there is none- cause some). 

CONs:

• needing a swipe card to get back from the bathrooms onto the floor (causing massive issues- contemplating putting a sign on the door to the bathroom: “LUCY DO YOU HAVE YOUR SWIPE WITH YOU?” You can always tell if I’ve been locked in the bathrooms because I have a french plait- time consuming hair style, let’s just say there have been far too many french plaits this week), 
• Ok that’s the only CON (so far) but it’s a really big one.

Had our first social committee meeting this week- we’re planning the mid-year Deloitte ball. Have been coming up with theme ideas and trying to decide on a location… Loving it, we have a budget set and the rest is up to us… Kegs at a ball- appropriate?

Yay Friday… Have a good weekend :)

Cheers, Lucy

Why is it that everyone refers to Deloitte, a globally recognised brand, as DeloitteS… As soon as you begin at Deloitte you learn that adding an “S” to the firm name is about as accepted as wearing a turtleneck. If anyone has any idea where the “S” originates from I would be keen to hear it.

Learning points for the week: a green pen means a lot more when you’re an auditor, scientific calculators are overrated, accountants like acronyms, Facebook is taking over the world, never forget your swipe card when you go to the bathroom, and observing lift etiquette is one of the most interesting past times…

Often when you hit a brick wall the advice you are given is to take a walk around the block. Refreshing option, especially when the Wellington 100kmph winds are attacking female hair and skirts across the city. However, I have found that simply taking a “lift trip” can be much more interesting. During my lift trips I have noted there are two types of “lift riders” - the ones that like to stand in silence and stare at the doors, wishing them to open in order to relieve the awkward silence; or the people that really can’t stand the silence and therefore feel the need to discuss the weather with the whole lift, often thanking the occupants upon exit to their floor (presumably for wasting the extra 5 seconds it took to stop at their desired level).

Taking your work home normally has a negative connotation, however, last night after work I got a knock on the door (after changing into my hot grey tracksuit) and was greeted by a “surprise post-birthday antipasto & bubbles” = dreamy! We’ve only been working together a short while and they already know me so well!

Speaking of work… I’m out at a client this week. Interacting with the big guns… The staff are really approachable and it’s good fun being in a different office. Learning a lot from my fabulous team! The audit is a bit of a race against time to ensure we get the work done as it needs to be signed off early next week, so less Facebooking and more working…

If you have had an interview, hope it went well and you didn’t refer to DeloitteS in your answers. Until next time… Have fun and celebrate! :)

Cheers, Lucy