Big 4 Audit - Industry Choice
I need to decide if I want to go into the Audit metro practice (manufacturing clients, chemical clients, consumer goods, etc.) or go into the financial services audit practice. Does choosing f/s or metro impact my opportunities in any way? Thanks for the help.
The hours will be worse at the financial services one so it depends on what you want to do as a career
Agree FS hours are ridiculous and the pay is pretty much the same. I'd go with what you'd want to do as a career; i.e.: exit ops
Hours are gonna suck no matter which group you choose. You should be thinking about what your next step is after you leave public. What kind of companies could you see yourself working at? What kind of experiences are going to help you there? If you have no interest in working for a bank, then it doesnt make sense to go into FS, and vice versa. Give it some thought...
Exactly think of next step. FS do some crazy hours, can you imagine how hard it is to audit a bank! But the others will do lots too.
Which Industry Group to Choose? (Originally Posted: 11/28/2012)
I have secured a big 4 audit gig in nyc and now it is about time to choose which industry to focus on. I really have no prior experience that will allow me to make an informed decision, and not many contacts I can reach out to (not in audit anyways). Since it is in the nyc office, there are a lot of choices as far as industry groups go but I guess it really comes down to either financial services like banking & capital markets and Asset Management, or non- financial services like tech, media, or gov't.
I am hoping somebody with prior big 4 experience can give me some info on how the daily job differs in these groups and if there is a major difference in the hours worked throughout the year and in busy season. A few notes, I am interested in compliance and may want to pursue sec/finra type jobs for ft if audit does not fit. Also,I am not huge on travel either so I think that may figure into the decision.
Job is exactly the same no matter where you go, only difference is the name at the top of your documents. In Banking & Capital Markets the content is probably a bit more interesting, you get to work in nicer offices and you never have to worry about inventory or PP&E.
Can't say I agree with the above assertion on all jobs being the same. It really depends on what you plan to do afterwords. For someone looking to move into finance ER, Banking, Corporate Finance; I'd highly recommend Pharma or Tech. You'll get some exposure to an R&D intensive industry as well as the flow of financial statements, some of which would be transferable to an industry group in a finance field. Cost+ type industries (low innovation manufacturing, chemicals/industrials) as well as utilities lack unique products and will often have very sloppy financial reporting (companys with low margins aren't going to spend much on financial reporting). Working in a financial services group in NYC might make sense if you're really looking to do something with FINRA, but otherwise I would advise to avoid those. Auditing an FS based company will likely entail matching 1,000's of public stock prices as reported vs Bloomburgh, taking the $.01 differences in price to determine if client pricing is correct. It's even more boring then regular audit. For reference, in transaction services where we do some fundemental analysis, those with FS experience tend to struggle with a reg company P&L and had very little transferable experience. Can't speak to NYC hours other than to say I've heard they are worse than any other office, whereas pay is only about 10% higher which is already more than offset by much higher cost of living. Seems to make an already bad financial package in big 4 audit far worse in NYC.
I have heard that Financial Services in general has longer hours than others, but I have also heard that the travel involved with some of the non-finance, tech and manufacturing clients makes the hours there just as long or longer.
What about the differences between Banking & Capital Markets and Asset Management? From what I hear, these are among the client groups I can choose within financial services. Also any input on public/gov't clients would also be helpful, as the more info the better.
Planning Ahead... Which Industry to Choose? (Originally Posted: 09/02/2013)
I recently accepted a position in audit at one of the big 4 firms main headquarters. I interned in financial services audit during the summer and I will have the opportunity to list my preferred industry choice for full-time in the next couple of months. Ultimately, I want to work in financial regulation or risk management, think SEC/FINRA type positions. I also would not be opposed to banking positions in these fields.
Basically I want to get some input on which industry group I should shoot for to be able to make this transition in a few years. Anyone have any experience with this
FIG? First thing that comes to mind.
Bump
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