Thoughts on Becoming a Top Perfomer
delete
Career Resources
WSO Free Modeling Series - Now Open Through
May 31, 2024
9 Free Financial Modeling Lessons
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
+Bonus: Get 27 financial modeling templates in swipe file
+Bonus: Get 27 financial modeling templates in swipe file
Find ways to anticipate what your bosses/managers will want/ask and suggest that you do it/know the answers before they ask. More generally speaking, this boils down to being engaged and displaying a higher level of general awareness than your peers.
My buddy was at PwC and crushed it. Great work, went above and beyond, extra projects, etc. But he had a chip on his shoulder about doing accounting as he wanted a finance or valuation gig. His senior felt it and hated him and he got a shit review. Big 4 is real personality driven. I'd do good work but make sure you are a cheerleader and we'll liked.
Your friend was in audit? I heard Big 4 can be very political and that your experience is largely dependent on your engagement team. I will be going into the financial industries audit group and I was thinking about signing up for the biws fig banking course but I have not heard anything about it yet. I think it seems like a good idea but not sure what else I could do instead.
I don't know man, if you are going into audit and have a pulse I would just learn on the job. I have friends at both PwC and E&Y that 1) hate the job and 2) say they work with morons. Like mind numbing shit. Keep a positive attitude and just do decent work and you should be fine.
And I don't see the huge upside in crushing it. If anything, focus on getting your CPA within Y1. I believe most places give you like a $5K bonus or something for doing it. Other wise your bonus is de minimis.
A couple things to note:
TNA is spot on: get the CPA knocked out ASAP. You can't even get a "1" rating (top) if you haven't passed. Also, first thing you will be asked during any interview is do you have your CPA and why not? Not having time is not an excuse (especially if you are looking for a finance job where 75 hour weeks are light).
What is your career plan right now? Are you looking to stay around audit? If not, don't bother busting you ass. It is the case at my firm, and I am positive at least one other big4 that you do not qualify for a performance bonus until you make Senior. You can get "spot" awards (1-3k) but is it really worth killing yourself for that pittance if you are getting out anyway?
If you are in your first year, there really isn't a whole lot you can do. Assignments are pretty much a crapshoot so whether you get on "good" projects or get opportunities for a unique experience is largely dependent on what you availability happens to be at the time they are picking a first year.
I audit the AM/PE/VC space. don't bother with a FIG banking course. It sounds like you are probably just starting out, your best bet is to read up on your clients, and go through your firms resources and read up on the industry.
If you want to stand out, you will need to look for "step up" opportunities. First you have to get everything assigned to your right. don't make careless mistakes, try not to ask stupid questions, write down everything your team tells you as they walk through audit steps (so you don't have to ask the same questions more than once), document thoroughly, and prove you can get the basics right. then, and only then, should you ask to be testing high risk areas (pricing, revenue, valuation, consolidation, etc).
Volunteer to do the shit your hear people complaining about. My firm recently went to an outsource model where we send a lot of redundant work (particularly on funds jobs) abroad. Everyone hates dealing with the international teams--their work is subpar, there are language barriers, and they ask you annoying questions constantly. Ask to take these kinds of tasks off people's hands early on.
You will be assigned a career coach/mentor -- let them know early on you are trying to be expediate the promotion process and interested in taking on as much responsibility as they are willing to give you. Make sure your mentor is not a first year manager or something - but someone who can throw some weight around the office. they are a good resource if they know what they are doing - awful if not. Make sure yours is in the Asset Management space if that is the field you want to stay in.
Feel free to ask me other questions.
Great response. I dont mean to butt-in but I have one question about where you mention,
"4. I audit the AM/PE/VC space. don't bother with a FIG banking course. It sounds like you are probably just starting out, your best bet is to read up on your clients, and go through your firms resources and read up on the industry."
I am just starting out in the fall, it will be my first full-time accounting/audit job. I was also looking into the FIG course because it supposedly combines bank/financial services accounting with real-life models. Now sure if this would help at all or be overkill. I am an accounting major, and since I will be in the FIG audit group I thought it could be a good idea. Where else might you suggest I acquire some good information to prepare me for full-time?
-Thanks in advance.
I think @"Flake" has a point - you really don't need to do much to prepare. The majority of your job will be "here is a list of numbers. Here is another list of numbers. Add them all up. Agree the totals to some third set of numbers. Then write some dribble to satisfy our regulators."
There is so little technical knowledge required during your first year that it is unbelievable. I lucked out and we had an incident where our valuation team dropped the ball, so I had the opportunity to actually do some valuation work, but that's rare. Look for opportunities where you can do that though--especially if your goal is a transfer into finance.
As for once you start - take a look at what your firm offers in terms of database access. If you are interested in the AM space, get check out "Ignites," "SNL," and obviously read WSJ everyday. You will also get access to S&P or IBISworld - they are great for an industry overview. In terms of company specific info - read the 10k! Not enough people do this.Take a look at the MD&A section in particular, but have a familiarity with the financials (have an idea of revenue by segment, AUM, etc). Also, get access to audit databases early - the prior year will be full of info about the company. In particular there should be some audit steps related to "information about the company and industry" and "assessing firm specific risks." Take a quick read through those.
If you actually do that, you will be well ahead of the curve.
About #6, where are the international teams, if you don't mind my asking? Is this why they have offices in really out of the way places like the 'stans?
Indiana and Argentina for PwC. The idea is that they are can do the audit work (because let's face it, a 12 year old could do most of it) but they can't make decisions. In other words, you generally end up spending more time writing directions and answering questions than had you just done the work yourself. On the other hand, dealing with actual audit teams in different offices can be a bit more enjoyable - made a few friends in the UK and Australia who I keep up with outside of work.
I agree with what TNA said. From what I've heard/read/seen, people are able to be 'top performers' and rise fast into Partner track because they get along well with their colleagues, specifically their managers/bosses. They also play politics better than the others and thus work on average less hours.
So if you're just starting, early on I'd put your head down and learn as much as I can without making mistakes... but always take the time to go to social events, coffee chats, happy hours, talk about stuff unrelated to work, and etc... This applies to almost any job but I've seen it emphasized more for accounting roles where anyone/everyone is capable of doing the job itself, but the ones who are sociable and likeable are the ones that stand out. In sum, build strong relationships with your peers while getting your shit done
I think you just need to be alive and breathing.
Agree with some of the previous comments. As an ex-big 4 employee, I can say that ratings are very much driven by you being friends with the right people. I was one of the top-performers, did everything I was supposed to, ran training sessions, took on extra projects etc. yet was never rated higher than a 2 despite having a peer group full of morons.
.
Top performer =/= highest ranked
It's not just about doing the work. If you give a shit about the ranking process, you need to make the people doing the ranking happy. This is true in every business, big4 just sounds a bit political.
As an ex-big 4 guy I echo what others have said that it is incredibly political and personality driven.
Can also be very group dependent e.g. there was a group at my old place where you would have to sleep with the partners wife to get less than the highest ranking...in the group I was in nobody got above a 3.
My advice is pay little attention to ratings. Do your work, do it well, act professional, look after the details and get out as soon as you can. My two cents.
Just a tid bit of info. Being one of the top performers isn't always the best thing for your career. The further you advance the quicker the jobs dry up. People view those on the top as a threat. By no means am I saying slack off. You just have to cover your ass with tank armor to fend off career assassinations by those below, on the same level and above you whose jobs you threaten.
EDIT:
How big a deal is your ranking in the following scenarios: 1) if you're transfering from, say, audit to TAS 2) transferring to another big4 3) transferring to another industry like ER or consulting
1) Fairly important. You need to show the firm that you are someone they should accommodate or risk loosing. If you are consistently a 3 or below, your chance of a transfer are significantly lower. However, I think the longer you stay, the more likely they are to work with you, even if you are not a top performer. All of the Big 4 are working to reduce turnover.
2) Not particularly important. You need to make an impression (especially if you are applying within the same geographic area) on your superiors in case they are contacted for a reference. The big4 is a pretty small world, so even if you don't list someone as a reference, the new firm may reach out unofficially. That said, they can't ask HR what your ranking is, but the rankings are generally correlated (even if loosely) with performance. It is not ENTIRELY political--although certainly plays a part.
3) Not important at all. No one even knows that people are ranked... or at least how the rankings work. No one asks "oh, well were you a 1 or a 2?" You can put "high performer" or "top performer" and as long as someone would back that up if they were called, you are fine.
As an ex-big 4 auditor, honestly the gig isn't exactly a meritocracy. You need to quickly identify which managers/seniors will give you good ratings and will fight for you (there is always a quota deciding how many people can be given a specfic rating so this is important). Other than this, you should do your homework on clients, and try to do some of your senior's tasks to stand out and not be regarded as a pain in the ass like most associates will be. Best of luck!
Basically, as far as ratings go, it sounds like you should just cover your ass and know whose ass to kiss. Is it just the seniors on your team who rate you or are their HR/Admin in the process as well. Also, I heard it is a good idea to get in well with the person making your schedule. Who does this typically and how do you go about talking to them about getting booked on specific clients/deals?
Ratings come from people on you engagement's - not HR. As an associate it will be whoever the Senior is on your job. I am not sure how it works at all the firms, but at my firm, only you, your senior, and your coach actually see the review. Your coach then presents your file during the evaluation process at which point you are compared to your peers. So a few takeaways: a) make sure your senior like you so your review is good b) make sure your coach likes you because they can spin it however they want.
The scheduler doesn't have almost any say over the jobs your booked on. They do early on, however, after your first job or two you will be requested by the manager or senior on a particular engagement as they have a need. Your best bet is to reach out to the manager of a particular job you are interested in, and let them know that if they need to pick anyone up, you are interested.
I'm going into Audit this summer/fall, and I've done an internship at one of the Big 4 last summer. One of the Seniors (who was being promoted to manager) was telling me how the ratings process works. He was basically saying that it's a mix of actual performance and the perception of your performance. For example, being able to consistently perform work 1 level above your current position is huge and basically guarantees you a top performance rating. But, your seniors/manager have to see this and acknowledge it as well. He recommended that I keep track of projects that I worked on and making sure that my seniors knew what I worked on in advance so they would have no problem advocating for a higher rating if necessary.
I think bank-on-this's comments have been great. I work in Big 4 audit with hedge fund, mutual fund, and PE fund clients.
One thing I would add is to read the stuff your firm sends you. Every day you'll get lots of firm-wide emails. Most junior employees ignore them and go back to work. The expectation for staff is that they know nothing. Though, the ones who do well are more knowledgeable about the latest firm guidance on audit procedures, accounting announcements, etc. Offering meaningful contributions about those things during meetings with the managers and partners early on will help differentiate you. At my firm, a first-year staff can exceed expectations by staying awake and saying something relevant without being prompted during meetings. We actually had one staff fall asleep in two separate meetings this week--one with the partners and another with the client.
I saw someone had asked about VBA. You won't really need it, but if you know it and can use it, you can cut hours off some tasks by automating it. Saving time on something decreases the "cost" to the budget for your time. In the Asset Management space some larger hedge funds and mutual may have 60+ entities being audited simultaneously. If you can automate the formatting for the TBs and GLs, you can save yourself from manually repeating a task 60+ times. This ends up freeing up your time so you can work on more interesting/challenging areas.
Et consequatur odit veritatis veritatis maxime similique quaerat. Ex id libero in est sit sint. Sit in autem fuga minima.
Quis officia provident ut tempore. Necessitatibus provident aut rem est quaerat. Recusandae dolorum quibusdam sunt non natus est inventore error.
Rem qui sed et quaerat enim esse ut. Sed eum quisquam tempore optio quis ut vero. Id eius non laudantium ratione. Necessitatibus quis et earum qui molestias repellendus consequatur. Provident labore repellat qui et et natus dolores. Commodi doloremque dolores sit unde. Consequatur alias accusamus qui minus.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Tenetur ad laborum consequatur quae provident numquam. Ut unde suscipit occaecati laborum accusantium occaecati. Aut recusandae est cumque qui vel et.
Architecto asperiores veniam rerum ut dolor aut sed. Est qui modi sint expedita suscipit. Cum id dolores nihil ut sit nihil eligendi.