My journey as an EY returner

Meet Simon, a director in our London Private audit practice. Simon began his career at EY in 2009 but left the business in 2019 to gain experience in industry. Find out more about Simon’s journey, including why he always saw himself at EY in the longer term. 

Following a gap year after university, I started my career as an Assurance graduate at EY in London in 2009. My work focussed on the hospitality and leisure sector, with clients including large hotels, pub and restaurant groups, as well as clients from the betting and gaming sector. I learnt a lot through this broad sector experience and progressed to senior manager.

I’d always wanted to gain some experience in industry so in 2019 I left EY and joined an exclusive members club as Head of Finance for one of their brands. I then moved to a start-up which was going through a rapid growth phase. Having experienced the best that life in industry had to offer, I made the move back to EY in summer 2023 as a director in our London Private audit practice.

Why did you decide to leave EY?

EY is, and always has been, a fantastic place to work. But I made the deliberate move to try life on the other side of the fence. I wanted to broaden my skillset and gain experience of running an in-house finance team and everything that goes with that. I really wanted to get under the skin of how a business operates. Other than financial reporting, which had been my core focus at EY, an in-house finance role allowed me to experience other key elements of a finance team, including financial planning and analysis, treasury management and fundraising.

What brought you back to EY?

Ultimately, I always saw myself at EY in the longer term. It’s hard to pin down one or two things that brought me back – but key for me is the huge range of people we work with, the variety of things you can be involved with and that you’re constantly learning and growing as a person. To use the old cliché, there are never two days the same!

How has this experience benefited you since returning to EY?

I think there are two elements to this: from a business understanding perspective, and from an experience and confidence perspective.

For my role in audit and assurance, knowing how a client’s business works is crucial. Working in industry has given me a unique perspective, allowing me to have better conversations with my clients and understand their business better – ultimately meaning I can add more value to the service we provide.

For me, there is also a confidence in knowing that you have experienced how a business works first-hand and how it feels to be in business, bringing an empathy which clients genuinely value – adding further credibility.

What does EY offer that you feel you don’t get elsewhere?

The sheer variety of experiences you get at EY, along with the people you work with is genuinely unique. Naturally we work with a huge range of businesses, so one day I’m working with a hotel business, the next I’m talking to one of our mining clients.

As well as that, there’s the opportunity to get involved in a whole range of different elements of the firm, whatever level you’re at, from diversity, equity and inclusion, through to winning new work. It’s this variety which sets EY apart, allowing you to contribute to the business in different ways.

On top of that, the firm’s approach to flexible working is something I really value, particularly with having a young family.

What misconception do you think people have about working in audit?

I think there’s an idea that audit is a bit mundane, but that’s a misconception. There’s so much more to audit than compliance – it’s a unique chance to work with a huge range of businesses at a senior level and add value to our clients, whilst constantly challenging yourself and learning.

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