I am currently a rising senior at a non-target school and have recently received an assurance offer from a Big 4 for an internship next summer within financial services.
My plan is to eventually get into banking especially within M&A or ECM. I am currently interning at a BB within prime brokerage client services and I do not think this experience will give me much leverage for full time recruiting.
By accepting this Big 4 offer, I will be forfeiting my full time recruiting in the fall and I will have to stay in school one extra year for my CPA.
I am double majoring in finance and accounting and my current gpa is 3.85 with a major gpa of 3.89. Would I be able to go into a top MBA with work experience in assurance in the financial services?
Are you a black/Hispanic female disabled veteran...?
'cos that'd really help if you're planning to go from Big 4 Audit -> M7 MBA.
I went from Big 4 audit to M7 (H/S/W). The risk/return simply isn’t attractive in this situation so I would advise avoiding the Big 4 position on a full-time basis, if possible.
My honest opinion, however, is that you have plenty of time for additional recruiting opportunities for internships next summer. Next summer is a full year away and a lot of things can happen in the interim given you work hard. Regardless of what you do this summer or next, you should be networking constantly.
If you are risk averse, accept the Big 4 offer and continue to network and look for other opportunities. The contract you signed should be cancelable by either party, and, if it were me, I would have no problem reneging on one offer in favor of another given it more closely aligns with my career goals. This may sound harsh, but do you think the Big 4 firm or a bank would even hesitate before canceling your offer if there is a downturn right before you start? They would not. And they did not. I had countless friends during the financial crisis have signed contracts disappear right in front of them.
Can you elaborate on why the risk is not worth it? I always assumed that accounting provided strong job stability.
Also, what if I tried to transition from audit into TAS? Again this is a summer internship for the big 4 that I have received after participated in their summer leadership program
The reason I bring this up is because by doing the internship I will do my 5th year for the CPA. Otherwise I would not do a 5th year and go straight into FT recruiting.
I guess since my objective is to break into a M7 eventually, which job would give me a better placement? 2-3 years at audit in a Big 4 with a CPA or going through FT recruiting this coming Fall and possibly landing a middle office role at a bank or FO at a small boutique for 2 years.
I would try and use the contacts from your BB internship to land a FT position in banking. You can also accept the offer and continue to network and apply for banking jobs. I'm not sure if there will be any repercussions from reneging on your offer, but if you got a FT offer from a BB I think it would be worth it.
What is your long term goal? You mention you want to do an M7 but what are you looking for after that?
I would like to try out IB after going to a M7. And then eventually go into PE and afterwards maybe start my own company.
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