Last week, my friend Victor from Spain/Austria came to visit for the week and we really made the most of being in Manchester!  I loved playing tour guide and showing him around Manchester City Centre.  We also ventured out to the Manchester United Stadium and The Lowry (an area in Manchester that looks like a modern Venice with lots of canals).  We met up with Gemma, her friend, Jayne, and their boyfriends for another delicious curry on the Curry Mile.  (Are there any good Indian restaurants in Harrisburg?!)  I was also working near Liverpool, so we visited Liverpool one evening and saw the club where the Beatles got their start!  It was such a fun week and it was great to be able to spend so much time out and about in my new home.  Check out the pics here!

On Friday, my Hurst friends through me a “leaving do”.  Instead of saying party, here they refer to parties as “do’s”.  Two other very common do’s are “Hen Do’s” and “Stag Do’s”  which are bachelorette and bachelor parties.  And Hurst has an annual “Christmas Do”.  Maybe we can use this as the name for our Christmas party this year!   We went out to a place called Bredbury Hall.  The building itself was incredible with secret passageways and dungeons.  Very fitting for England!  In the morning, I treated all of the girls to an American breakfast.  I’ve made such great friends here!  I’m going to miss them all so much!

On Sunday, I decided to take a road trip to Stonehenge.  It was about a 3.5 hour journey both ways but well worth it!  The drive itself was amazing.  I was on a lot of old country English roads and passed through some really cute English towns where all of the houses had thatched roofs.  Stonehenge itself was an incredible sight to see!  The mystery of why the stones were moved there remains unsolved but it is known that they’re from over 3000 years ago and the stones were moved from miles and miles away!  Click here to read more about Stonehenge.  Despite the hail storm that started right as I arrived, it was the perfect day to see Stonehenge and the storm clouds really added an ominous feel to the pictures – Stonehenge Pics!

I’m still amazed at how well they make use of their space here.  Parking is far and few between and I’ve never seen so many cars parked it such small places!  At the Hurst office, there is an employee parking lot but once all of the cars are parked there, there’s no leaving until the last car in decides to go.  I had to go to to the office one morning before heading out to a client so I got in early and made sure I parked in the farthest possible spot so I’d be able to get out easily.  When I went to leave, three more cars fit into an area that I thought wasn’t big enough for one car!  They are impressive parkers here!  Because of the limited parking spaces, when you work from the office, everyone works from 9 until 5:30.  And basically, there’s no leaving until everyone decides to leave!  Talk about team work!

I’ve also noticed that clients make the most of all of their office space.  On the audits that I’ve been on, we normally sit in the office of someone who is on holiday.  This week, I’m working on a client in Liverpool.  They’re a chain of really popular bars in Northern England.  While at the client’s office, we are actually sitting at desks directly across from the Financial Director and Financial Controller and in a room with the entire accounting department.  It definitely makes everyone very easily accessible and it’s very easy to ask questions.

Tomorrow night, Gemma and I are going to take advantage of working in Liverpool and spend an evening there.  Then on Thursday, my parents and grandfather are arriving to Manchester.  Friday is my last day (I CAN’T believe it!) and I’ll have to say goodbye to my new family at Hurst!  I’ve had such an incredible time here and I know I’ll be keeping in touch with everyone once I get back to the states!

I have lots of plans for the next couple weeks.  On Sunday, my family and I are travelling to Scotland.  We’ll be staying in the town of Crieff which is where my Great-Grandparents lived!  My 89 year old grandfather is also joining us on the trip and we’re going to show him the house where his mother was born!  Then on the 18th, I’ll be heading to Italy with two of my best friends from the states for a week long tour of Rome, Florence, and Venice.  Finally, on the 24th, I’m going to visit my friend in Austria and see Vienna.  Then I fly back to the states on June 28th!  I can’t wait to see everyone again!

Last week, I was working at a manufacturing client. I find it really interesting here that a company’s yearend can occur anytime within 18 months after their inception.  This means that there are yearends happening all year round which spreads the work out throughout the year. The client this past week was a December 31st yearend but it’s the first December 31st yearend I’ve worked on. The previous two have been March 31st yearends.

Also, one of my team members this past week has just returned to audit (or Business Services as they call it at Hurst) from a 3 month secondment in tax. At Hurst, every accountant in training in the business services department spends 3 months working in the tax department. They find that it’s really beneficial for the staff in audit to have the experience in tax especially because during the audit the audit team does the testing on sales tax (VAT).

Simon, Gemma, and I at the Beyonce Concert

On Wednesday, Simon (Hurst Marketing Director) invited Gemma (my buddy) and I to join him and a representative from the Royal Bank of Scotland to the Beyonce concert at the MEN Arena in downtown Manchester. The concert was absolutely amazing (I highly recommend going to see her if you ever get the chance!) There were two supporting acts before the show – Zarif & Shantel (she sings “Stuck with You” and the T-shirt song). Beyonce came on around 9:30 and danced and sung her heart out until 11:30! The final Manchester United game was going on in Rome during the concert as well but unfortunately United lost to Barcelona 2 – 0.

This weekend was absolutely gorgeous! It’s been sunny and in the mid 70’s without a cloud in the sky! I decided to stick around Manchester and enjoy the beautiful weather. On Saturday, I went with Gemma and her mom and sister, Danielle, to shop for Danielle’s wedding dress (she’s getting married next year)! It was such a fun “girlie” day. We enjoyed eating lunch in the sunshine and did a lot of outdoor shopping in Alderley Edge and Wilmslow (two small towns outside of Manchester).  Check out the pics here! We did have a little bit of excitement as we were shopping in Alderley Edge. We saw a jewellery store owner chasing after a woman who had stolen several necklaces, bracelets, and earrings from the store. The store owner took the woman’s purse and recovered some of the stolen items before the woman took her purse back and got into her car. As she pulled out of her parking space, she ran right into the car in front of her. We took down the license plate to tell the store owner. Then as we left the jewelery store, the woman returned to apologize to the store owner. We left before anymore excitement could happen…

Saturday night was the finale of Britain’s Got Talent (which I’ve been keeping up with since I got here!) My co-worker Tamara, had a bunch of us over to her house to watch the finale (I think almost all of Britain was glued to their TVs on Saturday night ) Despite all of the publicity surrounding Susan Boyle, she came in a close second to an excellent dance group – Diversity. Check out their performance here. Their winnings include £100,000 and the opportunity to perform in the Royal Variety Show in front of the Queen.

Sunday, I did some sightseeing of Manchester in the sunshine and tried to capture some of the beauty of the city to share with everyone! Check out the pics here. Afterwards, I met up with Gemma at a nearby Park to soak in the sun. There was a carnival going on and we decided to be adventurous and ride one of the rides. I was glad to have my feet back on the ground afterward! Check out the pics here.

This coming week my friend Victor is coming to visit!  I’m excited to play tour guide around Manchester!

The education system in the UK is a lot different than ours in the states.  At 16, students can take their certificate of general education and then enter the workforce.  If they choose to, students can continue onto college which is similar to our junior and senior year of high school.  In college, students study for their A-Level examinations which essentially help them to prepare to go to the University.  So while we often refer to the time we spend studying at a university as “going to college”, here, everyone refers to their time studying at a university as going to university or “uni”.

I’ve also found it really interesting that many of my Hurst co-workers did not in fact study any type of accounting in the university (or any type of business for that matter).  I’ve worked with colleagues that have degrees ranging from Law to History to English.  Once you have a degree, you can work in public accounting as an “accountant in training” and begin to work towards your ACCA Qualifications.  Given that you do not have to have any type of accounting back ground in order to become qualified, accountants in training spend weeks at a time in “college” taking accounting classes.  They’re given time off from work to attend these classes during the day.  And similar to M&A, these classes are paid for by Hurst as well as the first attempt at the exams.  After each session at college, there are a round of exams.  In total, there are 9 exams plus one year’s practical experience.  On average though, it takes about 3 years to pass all of the exams and become fully qualified.  Just as in the states, everyone is very relieved once all their studying is done and they’ve passed their exams!

This week, my friends at Hurst, took me out for my first curry!  In Manchester, there is a street called “The Curry Mile” which is lined with all sorts of Indian restaurants offering the best curry around!  It’s sort of like an Indian version of “Chinatown” in most U.S. cities.  About 15 of us went out to enjoy some delicious curry!  I tried a “Rogan Josh Chicken” but I think my favorite part of the night was the Peshwari Naan which is a sweeter version of traditional naan.  I highly recommend trying a curry sometime (just be careful if you don’t like spicy food)!!  Check out Curry Night Pics Here!

This weekend was another “bank holiday weekend” (I think it’s just a coinicidence that it coincided with our Memorial Day this year) so I took advantage of having a 3 day weekend and jetted off to Dublin, Ireland with my co-worker, Claire!  We had a great 3 days and saw so much of Dublin including Trinity College, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Temple Bar, Graffton Street, Guinness Brewery, and Kilmainham Gaol.  Check out Ireland Pics Here!

I started at a new client this week that is a company that manufactures machinery.  I’m there with 3 other Hursters so it’s nice to be on such a big team!  Tomorrow night, Gemma, one of my buddies, are joining Simon, the marketing director, for the Beyonce concert in Manchester!  (I’m SO excited!)  Then this weekend is the finals for Britain’s Got Talent so a bunch of us are planning on watching the finale together!  One quick story below that I thought was worth sharing…

“Ambler Gambler”

In the UK, when a traffic light turns “amber” (aka yellow), traffic comes to a stop.  This is very different from what I’ve experienced in the states where yellow normally means put your foot to the floor and try and make it through before the light turns red.  Here, if you go through an “amber” light, you’re called “an amber gambler” so I’m trying my hardest not be an amber gambler!

The audit software is connected to a shared wireless network.  One person on the team has all of the client files on their laptop (plus a back up copy on a flash drive) then we all connect and share and use the files at once.  This allows for real time updates so we’re able to see changes that are being made to the trial balance and workpapers instantaneously.  Also, you can open any workpaper and edit it (unless someone else has opened it first, in which case it will open as “read only”).  All of the “binders” are set up with all of the audit programs, checklists, and lead sheets you could possibly need.  Then, the senior on the engagement deletes out the ones that don’t pertain to the client.  Also, the shared network allows you to send instant messages to each other.

I’m really enjoying my time here and am making some great new friends!  Gemma, Tamara, and I have made a “movie night” a weekly tradition.  This past week we watched The Duchess – mostly to check out the Chatsworth House which we had visited the weekend before.  From what Gemma and Tamara have told me, the “Hurst Gang” tries to organize a night out on their own (not firm sponsored) once a month so I’m looking forward to that as well!

On Thursday night, the Hurst Social Committee sponsored a night out at a comedy club (possible Social Committee event?!) – The Frog & Bucket (Frog  & Bucket Pics).  It was such a great time!  The night included dinner, drinks, and great laughs!  For the most part, I understood the British humour but my Hurst friends helped me out if there was anything I didn’t understand.  Another great event that Hurst did this week was that several of the employees participated in a 10k together in Manchester.  (I thought this would be a great Wellness Committee idea?!)  Everyone supported each other throughout the training by running together or just checking in with each other to see how training was going.  I heard the run was a great success on Sunday!

This weekend I went to London with my friend Emily, who flew in on Thursday to spend a long weekend with me.  We drove to London on Friday evening and then had all day Saturday and Sunday to sightsee.  We rode the London Eye, watched the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, saw Big Ben and the House of Parliament, visited West Minster Abbey, enjoyed ice cream sundaes at Harrod’s, rode the Tube, saw Wicked, ate dinner in Covent Garden, and visited the Tower of London.  On our drive home on Sunday, we visited Windsor Castle.
Check out London Pics Here and Windsor Pics Here.

I’m becoming quite a brave driver…I even drove right through the centre of London!

This week, my friends at Hurst are going to take me out for my first Curry (a very popular food here!).  Then this weekend is another bank holiday and I’m going to spend the long weekend in Dublin, Ireland with one of my co-workers, Claire.  I can’t wait!

Tuesday was my first official day at work, and I spent it in Hurst’s office in Stockport (right outside of Manchester, similar to how Camp Hill is right outside of Harrisburg).  I had your normal “first day” orientation which included a money laundering training which is required training for anyone working in public accounting in England.  Simon, the marketing director, and Helen, the partner that spoke at our IFRS training, took me to lunch at a traditional Irish Pub where I tried a traditional “cheese and onion pie and chips”.  It was delicious (but not healthy!).  I spent the afternoon learning the Hurst audit software (Caseware) and getting to know the people around the office. I also tried to win everyone over on my first day by taking in home-made chocolate chip cookies and Hershey’s chocolates!

The office set up is very different from our office setup.  Instead of cubicles and offices, everyone sits at desk which are separated by short dividers.  Partners, managers, and staff all sit together.  I really like the open feel and it’s definitely very easy to communicate and interact with everyone.  I tried to capture the office look in some pictures here – Hurst Office.  Unfortunately, it was very rainy on my first day of work so I did not get to take any pictures of the office’s surroundings.  I’ll make sure to get some pictures when it’s nice out!

Wednesday thru Friday, I went out to my first client!  It was an investment brokerage company located in downtown Manchester.  I got my car on Friday so I took the bus to get downtown (I feel like such a city girl!).  For the most part, the audit work is very similar.  I updated the system processes narrative and tested payroll, revenue, and expenses.  However, I have been learning a lot of new vocabulary.  Here are some examples:

Revenue = Turnover

Stat Accounts = Financial Statements

Debtors = AR

Creditors = AP

Cast = crossfooted

I’m sure there will be more as I come across more audit areas!  This is also the first year Hurst is paperless.  I’ve been sharing experiences and advice with our fellow Hursters regarding some of the ways our software works and how binders are set up as they’re learning how to best organize workpapers in their software.

I am still getting adjusted to “English phrases” too.  The one day at work, Mark, staff accountant, asked me if I wanted a “brew” while we were working.  The first thing that popped into my mind for a “brew” was a beer.  I was VERY surprised that they would drink beer while working!  So I asked what a brew was and he told me a coffee (made a lot more sense!).  Then I told the team what I had thought brew meant and they all had quite a laugh at the thought of drinking a beer while working.

Towards the end of the day Friday, we went back to the offices to pick up my car!  A lot of people are in the offices on Fridays (wrapping up engagements) so every Friday is jeans day here!  Gemma helped me to get acquainted with my new car (Vauxhall Corsa)

Corsa

and taught me the rules of the road (and driving on the other side!)  I waited a couple hours on Friday evening, until traffic died down, and then decided to go out and practice driving more on the other side of the road.  I’m feeling pretty comfortable driving around here.  The biggest difference I’ve noticed is that the roads are much narrower here.  Frequently, there are cars parked alongside the road so I learned that it is normal to drive down the center of the road and to take turns passing with oncoming traffic.  I practiced driving more again today!

On Saturday, Gemma, Amanda, and Tamara (all girls from Hurst) took me to the Chatsworth House (Pics) which is where Pride and Prejudice and The Duchess were filmed.  It is also the site of the upcoming Warewolf movie which will be coming out in the Fall of 2009.  It is the home to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.  The house was absolutely gorgeous and I cannot believe that people actually live there!  We had gorgeous weather for our day out which was perfect for exploring the beautiful gardens while eating some ice cream.  The drive to the Chatsworth House was breathtaking as well;  lots of rolling green hills and lambs playing in pastures.

I’m starting a two week audit engagement this week in downtown Manchester.  I think I’m going to stick to public transportation while I’m working downtown!  I should get to work on this audit from start to finish so I’m excited to see how the whole audit process works here!

I arrived in Manchester, Saturday May 2nd around 8:00 in the morning.  My flight actually got in an hour early!  (Unbelievable, I know!)  My luggage arrived without any problems but once again it was one of the last bags to unload (DJG can you tell you about my luck with bags…).  Gemma, one of my buddies, was waiting for me at the airport.  She took me to my apartment and helped me to get settled in.  That evening, Gemma, her friend, Jayne, and I went to Didsbury (the zone of Manchester where I’m living) for dinner.  Didsbury is an area made up of mostly young professionals so it is the perfect location to be living!

On Sunday, Gemma and Jayne picked me up from my flat and we met a bunch of the other Hurst girls in the City Centre of Manchester.  We had a coffee and then grabbed a bite to eat for lunch at a pizzeria.  Then we did some sightseeing in the City Centre including riding the giant ferris wheel  and visiting the exhibitions at Urbis  (check out the exhibitions here).  One of the exhibitions, Hidden Manchester, had photos taken by Photographer, Andrew Paul Brooks, which included a series of photographs of “Underground Manchester”which reveal the abandoned cellars, tunnels, and subterranean canals that used to be home to 18,000 people under the city!  These photos were absolutely fascinating!

The city centre of Manchester was actually bombed by the IRA, an Irish terrorist group, in 1996.  Fortunately, the city centre was evacuated before the bomb went off and although the buildings were destroyed, no one was killed.  Because of the bomb, the city centre of Manchester was completely rebuilt and has a very modern look. Check out the photos here of Manchester – Day out with the Girls!

We had gorgeous weather, sunny and in the low 60′s, all day Saturday and Sunday!  The weather turned a little gray after we visited the Urbis on Sunday so we ducked inside of a Starbucks for an afternoon tea and cake.  The girls of Hurst were such good tour guides and hostesses!

Today is a holiday here so I’ve taken advantage of it to get a bunch of errands done.  There is a 24 hour grocery store, Tesco, just a 5 minute walk from my flat.  Across the street from Tesco is a CineWorld, restaurants and bowling alley (similar to the Coliseum).  Check out some pictures of my flat and the surrounding areas here:  Manchester – Flat.

Tomorrow is my first day of work!  Gemma is picking me up and I’ll get my introduction to the office.  After work, I’m having dinner with my buddies, Helen (she gave us the IFRS presentation in January), and Simon (Hurst Marketing Director, like our Jim Rogers).  Then we’re going to head to a pub to watch a Manchester United “football” match!

In just a few days, I’ll be boarding a plane in Philly, crossing the Atlantic, and arriving in Manchester, UK for a 6 week work exchange with our fellow IGAF Firm, Hurst.  I am so excited for this opportunity to experience public accounting in the United Kingdom, learn about IFRS, and get to know the people of Hurst!

I have already been assigned 3 buddies:  Gemma, Amanda, and Alex.  Gemma actually was part of the exchange between Moore Colson and Hurst and she worked in Atlanta for 6 weeks last year.  So she really understands what I’m in for!  They’ll be similar to our buddies when we first start at M&A in that they’ll help to show me the ropes and be available to answer any questions I have.  We’ve already been in contact and making plans for while I’ll be over there.  They’re all so nice (just like everyone at M&A!!!) and they’ve already made me feel very welcome and part of the Hurst team!  I can’t wait to meet them all in person!

My first day of work will be Tuesday, May 5th.  I’ll be arriving in Manchester on Saturday, May 2nd and will spend the days up to my first day of work getting settled into my apartment in Manchester and getting to know Gemma, Amanda, Alex, and Simon.  I believe they have lots of fun sightseeing planned for the first weekend to help me get acquainted with my new home!  Here’s a link to the apartment where I’ll be staying:  http://www.qualitylets.com/printersclose.html.  I think it looks wonderful! 

I’ll also be getting a car while I’m over there and learning how to drive on the other side of the road.  Stay tuned for my road adventures…

I can’t believe I’ll be leaving my M&A family for 6 weeks…I’m going to miss everyone so much!  I am so grateful for this opportunity and I want everyone to share in the experience with me!  Watch for my weekly updates on this blog and please feel free to post comments and send questions!  I’d love for this to be an interactive experience for all of us and if there is anything you are wondering or would like me to try and learn while I’m in England, I am more than willing to give it a shot!

Thanks to everyone who’s been helping me get ready for this trip.  Especially thank you to Terry for setting up the exchange!  Thank you to Katie and Suzanne for making sure I have all the paperwork and travel documents for the trip!  Thank you to Jim and Megan for helping me set up my blog!  And thank you to all of you for your support on this trip!

Stay tuned for weekly updates, pictures, and more!