My question to you would be why? In terms of pay, exit options, or experience, you are likely to get a nearly identical experience at any of them. You should go where you seem to fit in with the people the best. Each office location is going to differ in that sense.

 

The Big 4 were huge at my school, and basically I saw two tiers with respect to where the "talent" was going.

Tier 1 - PwC and E&Y Tier 2 - Deloitte and KPMG

in that order, based on tax & audit functions. Maybe some other people can chime in on the Transaction Services divisions of each; I don't know a whole lot about them.

 

Andersen used to be head and shoulders above the rest of the competition but PwC is the strongest of the surviving Big 4, followed by Deloitte, KPMG, and E&Y.

I am really surprised to hear people list E&Y as top tier - they missed out on the land grab after Andersen and made a critical misstep with the Cap Gemini merger.

In any case, the Big 4 is similar to IBD in that each company has its strengths and weaknesses. So, it is hard to make a blanket assessment of the companies.

 
jkh:
In any case, the Big 4 is similar to IBD in that each company has its strengths and weaknesses. So, it is hard to make a blanket assessment of the companies.

Agreed, best to not get caught up in the minor details between the firms, at this stage the work is nearly identical; the only thing that should matter to you is how you fit, not the name on the business card--because everyone will recognize any 4 of those names.

 

The Big 4 recruit heavily at my school. Of the students who go to the Big 4, the best typically go to E&Y and PwC. Deloitte is a step behind and KPMG seems to get little recognition. As far as experience goes, I can't imagine one would be particularly better than any of the others. I'd say go with whatever one you meshed with the best.

CompBanker’s Career Guidance Services: https://www.rossettiadvisors.com/
 

I'd say pwc is a step of ahead of the rest in terms of desire by most undergrads, then EY and Deloitte, with KPMG a few steps behind but not off the map. EY seems to have a more professional atmosphere while Deloitte from what I've read/heard from friends is more a "fun" place to work. Not that any accounting is fun, so maybe less mundane is a better description.

 

In some places EY is the shit in other's it's PwC or whoever.

The best part of big 4 life are the, generally, "blank check" expense accounts and the trainings.

At my senior training I saw all the girls in my start class and a couple of 30+ year old manager chicks get hammered and dance tables.

Then I saw some dude that was engaged make out with this chick that he worked with (she knew he was engaged.)

Unfortunately, those experiences in big 4 are few and far between. Most of the time you are digging through stacks of checks and invoices and dealing w/ surly AP clerks. And everybody you work with hates it.

Why are you worried about how theyre viewed on the street? Do you want to eventually work on the street? If yes then go deloitte consulting. But if you're sticking with accounting they are all great, with maybe PwC or Deloitte having a slight advantage

I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.
 

To clarify, I want to work in the Audit practice and maybe switch over to Forensic Accounting (at the same firm) after a few years of experience in Audit. I am not considering switching over to an investment bank or other financial institution. I just wanted to get another perspective. Thanks!

 

all big 4 are viewed the same on the street. it just depends what you do there.

KPMG and Deloitte have solid Corporate Finance groups. and Deloitte has a great Consulting arm.

I'd go with KPMG internship and if you eventually want to end up on wall street I'd go into their corporate finance group. I'm assuming this internship is for audit/tax...but I've seen kids intern in audit/tax and interview and land offers from other groups in big 4.

 

To answer your question - Yes, they are viewed pretty much the same and for audit they are all very good companies (Deloitte & pwc having a slight advantage) BUT their culture's do vary.

KPMG = Audit first mentality, their main concern is to keep flourishing there Audit business E&Y = Generally a less social culture; a lot of the Sells Awards (top 10 CPA scores in nation) go to their first year hires pwc = Very Big 10 loyal culture (from what ive seen) - social, hardworking and progressing with their other business besides Audit Deloitte = Probably the best by a long shot, offers the widest variety of services and does very well to integrate their other businesses around their Audit business - Well established and competitive culture

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