Article
Final boarding call: paging all Deloitte passengers
By Albert Sam
Senior Accountant, Audit
During my second co-op term at Deloitte, I worked on an audit engagement where the client was located near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was my first business trip with Deloitte so I was excited, but nervous at the same time. Here are some tips that helped me.
Be prepared
A fellow Waterloo co-op student was also on the engagement and had started a few weeks before. He gave me some tips on crossing the border and a brief introduction to the client. Apparently one of the members on the team was detained by security – so I definitely wanted to avoid that. I had my passport, visa, hotel information, boarding pass and return flight information all ready for customs.
Pay attention
On the day of my flight, I met up with the senior on the engagement at the boarding gate and we talked for a bit. We must have had quite the conversation because our names were being paged for 20 minutes to board the flight, but both of us didn’t hear anything! They almost left without us but we luckily heard just in time and our luggage wasn’t removed from the plane so we were safe to board.
Bring a positive attitude
I remember my first impression of the audit room. It was pretty small with stacks upon stacks of paper that the client provided as supporting documentation. Although it was a bit overwhelming at first, the team was very helpful at introducing me to the file and the sections of the audit that I would be responsible for. You may be a long way from family and friends, but I definitely learned a lot about my team, including the experiences they had at school and at Deloitte.
Have fun
The other team members had been away from home for about a month and had been eating the same takeout food for lunch and dinner. It was my job to find new places to eat that would deliver or that were relatively close and could satisfy all our dietary restrictions. We also went out for dessert at night to take a break and relax after a long day. I highly encourage you to do some research before travelling to a new place because these trips are a great opportunity to see a city that you may have never been to before.
Albert graduated from the University of Waterloo with a major in Biotechnology. He also holds a Masters of Accounting and Chartered Professional Accountancy. He is a Senior Accountant in our Toronto Audit practice.
