The transition from student assistant auditor to full time junior assistant auditor

Julia Sullivan came to Amsterdam fresh out of high school from New York to start her studies of economics and business. During her second year, she started working as a student assistant at Reanda. This started off a career in audit and led to her full time position as junior assistant auditor.

The SEFA career event

While Julia was enjoying her studies and the subject of economics, she was looking for a way to apply what she was learning. “It was quite a lot of theory and I was trying to understand how the concepts I was learning actually show up in the real world. So I signed up for several company events at the university’s career event run by the economics and business student association ‘SEFA’, without any strict expectations, just open to discovering new opportunities. I hadn’t heard of Reanda before that, but I joined their case study event out of curiosity.

During the Reanda case study, and reflecting on it afterwards, I realised that I felt very comfortable. The representatives were open-minded and interested in everyone’s input. I liked their mindset: they emphasised quality over growth. At Reanda, growth is seen as a product of good work rather than the main goal. I thought that was a refreshing and realistic approach to things.”

Reanda’s first work student

Julia started at Reanda in March 2023 and worked sixteen to twenty-four hours a week, combining it with her studies. Since she was the first student worker at Reanda, she collaborated with the team to establish a structure that worked well for both sides. “I hadn’t worked in audit before, so I started on a small, task-by-task basis – picking up things I could handle across different clients. It was a realistic way to ease into the field and start building an understanding. I really appreciated how much the team invested in me and how supportive they were. The beginning was definitely challenging; there was a lot to take in. But with time and guidance, I developed a clearer understanding. It helped that I could focus on the details first and build towards more independence. And it gave me the space to actually enjoy the work I was doing and get excited about auditing.”

A fresh perspective

“As a work student I always felt like a full member of the team. That’s something I really value about Reanda; there’s a lot of mutual respect, regardless of your background or experience. It’s a very diverse team, and everybody brings something unique to the table. Even as a student assistant I felt I could contribute something meaningful. Coming in with an academic mindset gave me a different perspective, and that was appreciated.”

 

“Working at Reanda is almost like a cross pollination”

There’s a diversity in every aspect at the firm. “We have clients in a wide range of industries, and our team comes from all over the world. People have different educational and professional backgrounds, which means we also have different working styles. It creates a kind of cross pollination; you learn from a collective of others while also bringing your own strengths to the table.
That’s also what I find so interesting about auditing. You get to see how a whole range of companies across different fields operate from the inside. At Reanda, that’s especially true because of how broad our client base is. It gives you a unique perspective.”

The transition from work student to full time

Julia continued her work as a student assistant auditor for close to a year. “From January 2024 I focused on finishing my studies and then I took a bit of a ‘study sabbatical’. In September, I joined Reanda full-time as a junior assistant auditor.”

“I really liked being able to fully commit. I had more responsibility and felt more ownership over my work. That made it more exciting, seeing something through and being proud of what I contributed. At junior level, the supervisors also ask what we are interested in. Some juniors try out projects in different departments as well and then come back to audit. As for me, I went back to the SEFA event, this time with Reanda, to help run it. I share my story with students and answer their questions because I’ve been on the other side of the table, figuring things out and looking for direction. Back then, I didn’t have a set plan, but I’m happy with how things worked out. I’m glad I took the opportunity when it came, because it led me here. Right now, I’m enjoying the work, the company culture, and my colleagues. I feel like I’m growing and I’m proud to grow alongside the company, and to be a part of this journey.”

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