Annabelle Fordyce

6.10 AM

It’s time to play “How many times can I snooze my alarm before I have to get up”.

6.30 AM

I leap out of bed and begin with some basic stretching - arm, back and legs.

6.45 AM

I streamline over to the coffee machine and begin my brew. Every morning - long black with a splash of soy milk.

7.00 AM

Check my messages from friends and family - anything that I should reply to - Ooh games night on Friday? Yes, please!

7.30 AM

I drive on over to the train station, and to pass the time I read my book - Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie, I'm a sucker for a "who done it".

8.15 AM

I take a stroll through the post office square, admiring the greenery, to make my way to the office.

8.30 AM

I set up at my desk and put my lunch in the fridge. Ready for work, I check my emails to see if any clients have sent me some documents for my testing or to see any updates for work.

8.45 AM

Our manager has a quick meeting to run over what the expectations for today are and what work is on everyone's plates. This week I am specifically working on creating a walkthrough flowchart for the test of controls on bank reconciliations. I take this opportunity to do some background research on our client's accounting system, identifying where there could be a risk for errors. My manager and I set up an MS Teams meeting for 3 pm with the Treasury Accountant to discuss their process and controls around bank reconciliations. This will help us when we need to test these controls.

10.00 AM

This week is the celebration for Diwali – the festival of lights, some of our audit team members have set up a morning tea with some traditional treats to share the celebrations with us.

10.20 AM

While I wait for my meeting, I take this opportunity to call a client we performed a stock take for to discuss some of the variances we identified with their internal auditor. I follow up with an email summarising our discussion.

10.35 AM

I check my MS Teams messages and one of the other grads is asking for help with some testing I have experience with. We set up a call to walk through the working paper.

11.00 AM

Our stock take client has sent us some information, so I update my workpaper accordingly and see if there is any other information required.

12.30 PM

Time for a break! I take a walk around the suburb to stretch my legs and get some fresh air. I head back to the office where I have my lunch and catch up with my some of the grads and check my group chats - 39 missed messages?? This will take a minute.

1.30 PM

Back to work, I catch up with my manager, asking if there is anything I can help with. I now help him make adjustments to some financial statements and upload trial balances into our audit software.

3.00 PM

It’s time for my meeting with the Treasury Accountant, so we dial in to go through the reconciliation process. My manager has prepped me well with the questions I need to be asking. It's a great opportunity to gain more confidence and become familiar with the client. After the meeting, I update the walkthrough flow chart and system notes.

4.45 PM

Tonight, the grads have a networking event with a Law Firm where we are doing Gin Blending. This was such a fun event to go to, not only meeting new people, but also learning how to balance flavours to make a satisfying drink.

7.30 PM

After such a great night it is time to head home. We were fortunate to be able to take home a bottle our gin blends to enjoy over the weekend.

8.45 PM

Time to wind down after today and head to bed.