Big4 TAS or Corporate Finance?

Hello, I'm currently a senior and have 2 offers. One is for Big4 TAS, and the other is for corporate finance at a F500 firm. Any opinion on which is better to start off at?

Both are related to the industry that I want to be in - Real Estate. My end goal is to simply be good at what i'm doing in this specific industry, and hence would like the job that would give me the best experience for that! Any thoughts?

Thank you.

 

I can't comment on Big 4 TAS, but I came directly into corporate finance out of school and I tend to think it is good to get broader experiences before settling into the "corporate ladder."

I also usually do the "if I do A for 2 years, will it make it easier to jump to B" test...I think that test would point me to TAS vs. corporate finance.

Probably somewhat depends on the firm for both, though.

 

Hi roberto, thanks for your response! I actually interned at the F500 last summer and my main issue was the lack of "exposure" - hence, inability to contribute to discussions like the senior analysts. May I ask what are the opportunities from corporate finance? Will I eventually learn more?

From what i'm reading, it's more common to make a move from Big4 TAS --> corporate finance.

In my case, I feel like i'll be giving up "something of better opportunity" if I were to go to TAS, over that F500 job. I know this is super silly. Any thoughts?

 

Corporate Finance in a Big 4 is very different from a Corporate Finance function in a company.

Corp Fin in big 4 operates like a MM IBD; Corp Fin in a company entails things like FP&A, Treasury etc.

To the OP: If your goal is real estate (RE), then,

Take the RE F500 directly.

Since you already know what you want, specialist > generalist.

 
Best Response

Depends what you want to do in real estate, but make sure you understand what you would be doing in this corporate finance group. At some RE companies, corporate finance is intimately involved with asset and portfolio level underwriting, acquisitions, dispositions and sometimes portfolio management/asset strategy. In other companies, it could just be FP&A. With a big 4 real estate tas group, you will get a good basic understanding of real estate valuation and underwriting across a wide variety of geographies, asset classes and risk profiles. Exits are good (including REPE) but no reason to stick around longer than 2-3 years.

 

both look like solid gigs. What are your long-term goals? Do you want to go to b-school? If you do, I would give being a manager at a Big4 valuation practice a slight edge. You're right that a manager position that early in your career is a definite differentiator on your resume, and depending on your other stats could give you a shot at a top 10 school. If you're looking to leave professional services and work your way up in a company, with slightly better work-life balance, industry is the way to go. Your role looks legit too, lots of analysis and business strategy as opposed to drab accounting work. If you're trying to move elsewhere later on though, the industry option may not look as good because the company is small. Everyone knows what the Big4 is all about. Oh and another note about TAS, it gives you a great shot to break into IB if that's something you want.

 

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