Careers at Mazars
Mazars was established in Europe in 1945, and from headquarters in Paris, France, is now a global financial firm offering audit, accounting and consultation services. Throughout the world, Mazars employs about 42,000 people in more than 90 countries.
In the UK, Mazars has offices in 15 locations and employs 2,300 people, making it among the largest firms in the sector and the leading auditor to Public Interest Entities. The business areas that make up Mazars includes:
Accounting and outsourcing: providing cloud accounting, payroll, financial reporting and company secretarial solutions
Consulting: solving business crucial and complex problems for business from retail to government and into education.
Audit: Audit services are available for small private and entrepreneurial businesses, right up to listed UK and global companies.
Tax: bespoke tax advice for individuals, business owners and corporate organisations, including dispute resolution and advice on multiple jurisdictions.
Financial planning: from financial health checks to investments, wealth management, pensions and tax planning.
Financial advisory services: forensic and investigative solutions, including business valuations and restructuring.
Business Services: all the other business areas needed for a company to run efficiently, from HR and Marketing to IT and Operations.
For applicants, Mazars has career paths for early careers - school leavers, internships, placements, and graduates - as well as experienced hires and those returning from a career break.
Mazars Application Process
Mazars understands that the application process for some businesses can be lengthy, and while there might be a delay between each stage, they aim to let applicants know if they have been successful within 10 days of the final assessment. The process starts with a simple to use job search on the Mazars career site; choosing the right level and role type as search filters will help.
Mazars Online Application
When you have found an appropriate position, you will need to create an account with the careers portal so that you can access all the information that you need throughout the application process.
The online application form is a standard collection of your information, including your CV and details about your experience and qualifications as well as some questions about why you want to work at Mazars.
If your application meets the prerequisites that the role requires - like most graduate roles that need at least a 2:1 degree, a minimum of 112 UCAS points based on the 2017 UCAS tariff, and a grade B or above in GCSE English Literature and Maths - then you will be invited by email to the next stage of the process.
Mazars Online Aptitude Test
The online aptitude assessments that Mazars uses are published by Kenexa and include both a numerical reasoning test and a verbal reasoning test.
Mazars Numerical Reasoning Test
The numerical reasoning test consists of 20 questions that must be completed in 20 minutes. In this assessment, you will be presented with some numerical data in the form of graphs and tables, and will need to make some calculations based on this data to find the right answer.
The maths content of the assessment is not challenging; the calculations use basic operations as well as percentages, ratios and fractions - but nothing harder than would have been taught at GCSE level. The difficulty of these tests is that there is such a short time frame to find the answers.
Mazars Verbal Reasoning Test
The verbal reasoning assessment also has 20 questions that need to be answered in 20 minutes. In this test you will be presented with five different passages of text, usually formal in style with a focus on financial content, and each passage will have 4 questions based on the information in the text.
The questions are posed in the form of statements, and you must use the information in the text to decide if the statements provided are true, false, or you cannot say.
The secret to success in verbal reasoning is to take the information provided in the text as true, rather than using any previous knowledge that you might have. To answer the questions efficiently, you must be able to quickly read, understand and analyse the information provided.
Mazars First Interview
If you achieve the desired percentile score on the aptitude tests, you will be invited to take part in a first interview. This takes place by telephone, and is usually conducted by a member of the Mazars recruitment team.
During this interview you can expect some questions about the contents of your CV and application form, as well as some 'getting to know you' and competency-based questions.
This might be the first time you will meet any of the Mazars team, so it is important that you make a good impression. Try and think of good examples of your competencies to be able to describe them to the interviewer. This is a great time to demonstrate any research that you have done into the company and the financial markets as a whole by asking interesting and insightful questions.
Mazars Assessment Centre
After the first interview has been completed, you will be invited to an assessment centre if you have the required competencies. The assessment centre will take place virtually, and consists of a number of applicants - often for several different roles - all coming together for a full day of assessments. There are several activities and exercises that will take place at the assessment centre.
Mazars Partner Interviews
This is a face-to-face interview that will involve a Mazars partner. In this interview, you can expect more competency-based questions as well as more information about the position. Asking your own interesting questions will help you stand out, but make sure that you are ready with any further information that is needed about your CV.
Mazars Presentation Task
This is a fun part of the assessment day - even if it does involve public speaking. For the presentation, you will have 10 minutes to prepare a five minute discussion of a subject of your choice.
Mazars Group Exercise
This is an assessment of communication and teamwork. As a small group, you will have a task to work through and come to a conclusion as a group.
Mazars In-Tray Exercise
This is an individual challenge which for some companies is completed online, but with Mazars it is paper-based. Each candidate will have a number of emails, tasks and memos to prioritise and deal with as if they were already employed - and this can be quite overwhelming as there is a lot to do.
Once the assessment centre has finished, Mazars aims to get back to all applicants within 10 days so there is not too long to wait to find out whether you have been successful.
