Big 4 audit Vs middle office

Hi, I'm a second year Economics student at a respected uni in the UK. I currently hold offers for barclays finance (middle office) 9 weeks and 38k and KPMG outside of London but decent city in audit 4 weeks and 18.5k. Of course Barclays salary looks a lot more appealing and it's a longer internship so I could learn more but atm I'm concerned with which would be better for later making a shift into financial advisory or wealth management for graduate roles? I was unable to receive an offer at firms within the sector I want to work in so now I have to pick from what I have. Thanks

10 Comments
 

Ja pierdole man, take MM, I would personally highly advise against audit

Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
 
Most Helpful

I would suggest you to take the middle office position instead of audit unless the audit position is transaction related or EY FSO (Like TAS, FDD). But if you do want to work in audit in a long term , pursue your cpa, or work as corporate accounting, then the audit path maybe right for you. This is just my 2 cents.

Life is a non-stopping journey.
 

Do you not think that the client facing experience (at least on paper) you get in audit would be more useful than the middle office work?

 

I don’t think so. Because in banking audit department is considered as back office/supporting role. Audit will be a revenue generating section on in Accounting Firm, outside of accounting firms all audit/accounting stuff are considered as supporting function.

Life is a non-stopping journey.
 

Would KPMG not be a better name on the resume with regards to accounting work? Not what I want to work in but it's surely more respected than Barclays. Plus the client facing skills that you develop in audit which middle office lacks

 

Explicabo beatae quas aut laudantium omnis. Ratione aperiam eius excepturi doloribus porro magni ut.

Aut omnis sint qui non voluptate et assumenda. Et mollitia occaecati recusandae delectus amet sequi iste. Suscipit quas et fuga sit dolorum.

Ab est fugiat quis est. Voluptatem vitae consequatur exercitationem sapiente. Ipsum aperiam quis sit est animi blanditiis. Earum cumque quia tempora qui sit distinctio natus. Veniam cupiditate quis quo eum ad amet.

Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (66) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”