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ECA track within the PGE: a demanding programme built for real-world practice
Within SKEMA’s Programme Grande École, the Expertise comptable et audit (ECA) track is designed for students who want to specialise in finance, audit, consulting, management control and accountancy. This flagship track combines a strong academic core in accounting, finance and law with a structure geared towards professional experience.
Some discover the corporate world in small steps. Others dive in early through a series of internships. At 23, Louis Maragnon Mandraquiat, an M2 student in the PGE on the ECA track, has already moved from audit at EY to financial transformation at Kering, supply chain roles in Italy within the same group, and now a final-year internship in Hermès’ financial services. This dense path did not happen by chance.
On the ECA track, students follow an initial full-time programme. There is no work-study contract. Internships are possible at the end of each academic year and during a gap year.
It is the result of a clear choice: joining SKEMA’s ECA track, a demanding programme for those who want to understand companies from the inside, numbers in hand. “On ECA, we are on a full-time track. There is no apprenticeship. We can do internships at the end of each year and during a gap year, but it is not compulsory. The real specificity is the M2: we usually start in September, then leave for an internship from January to the end of March, before coming back to finish the year,” explains Louis.
From audit to luxury: a step-by-step journey
Louis built his professional path while still studying at SKEMA. Since M1, he has accumulated experience in varied environments.
“I was employed by a consulting firm and worked directly at Kering on financial transformation projects.”
During his 2024 gap year, he secured a financial audit internship at EY in La Défense, thanks to his involvement in the Junior-Enterprise, SKEMA Conseil. “It was my first real contact with the audit world. I discovered the pace, the demands, the rigour expected.”
Keen to help companies tackle a wide range of issues, he then moved into consulting, joining Juliette Sterwen, a firm specialising in financial transformation. For six months, he was on assignment at Kering. “I was employed by a consulting firm and worked directly at Kering on financial transformation topics. It showed me how you support a large company in broad financial projects, especially with the integration of new digital and AI tools.”
“I was between Milan and a small town in the rice fields, where the world’s largest luxury warehouse is located.”
This experience opened the door to a new opportunity within the Kering group. In summer 2025, he spent four months in Italy, between Lombardy (Milan) and Piedmont (Turin), with the group’s supply chain teams. “I was between Milan and a small town in the rice fields, where the world’s largest luxury warehouse is located. I worked on supply chain topics, fully integrated within Kering.”
“Understanding accounting, consolidation, law and management control helps you grasp a company’s financial issues quickly.”
This immersion strengthened his Italian, already studied as a second foreign language at SKEMA, allowing him to work in French, English and Italian.
An M2 internship at the heart of finance
Since January, Louis has left Lille. He is now completing his final-year internship at Hermès, within the financial services department, working as an assistant in cross-functional financial management project coordination.
When training meets the field
For him, the ECA track plays a key role in fast integration into companies. “Doing ECA changes everything. Understanding accounting, consolidation, law and management control helps you grasp a company’s financial issues quickly.” The M2 structure reinforces this. “The January-to-March internship comes at the right time. You arrive when activity is intense. You are thrown straight into real work.”
A demanding but structuring path
Louis does not hide the difficulty of the track. “It is demanding, with a lot of work and a lot of technical content. That is what gives it its value.” He now sees himself in finance, with an interest in large groups and the luxury sector. “If I could stay where I am now, it would be exceptional, both for the job and the people I have met. I would like to start in these environments, then move into finance roles with responsibility while giving meaning to my daily work.”
Who is the ECA track for?
For Louis, the profile is clear. “ECA is for students who like numbers, analysis and reasoning, but also law and business issues. You have to be ready to work hard and be rigorous.”
