Big 4 Brand

I'm currently a sophomore and looking into audit/consulting field, doing research about the Big 4. I came across an article (Google: "PwC brand").

Basically, the article states that PwC is the strongest brand among the four. But my understanding is that Deloitte is the most prestigious consulting firm of the four, with PwC being right there, correct? What's your opinion on PwC being ranked the most prestigious of the four?

I've read that Big 4 are pretty much 'the same', but as a novice in this field, I'd like to get familiar with Big 4's prestige levels.

Thank you.

11 Comments
 

Thanks for your reply. I want to focus on your "In audit, PwC is #1" remark.

Many people have told me, "if you're doing audit, they're pretty much all the same", etc. They have a valid point, because I believe audit works, regardless of which Big 4, are all the same (i.e. evidence gathering, testing control, etc).

With that said, what makes you think that PwC is ranked #1 in terms of the audit practice? Is there a general consensus that PwC's quality of audit work is better than that of the others?

 

No worries. You are correct, as far as the work goes, they are quite similar between the four in terms of quality of work.

I should qualify my statement by saying that PwC has the largest audit practice, which is why I said they are #1. Having the largest practice results in larger clients in many locations, which can affect the work experience one gets.

That being said, between the four for audit your best bet is surveying that specific local market and understanding which of the firms is stronger there - for example, in my hometown, PwC dominates the market, but Deloitte has the largest practice in where I currently live.

 
Best Response

I disagree with this. If you're doing operations work Deloitte vs PwC is negligible, since both are strong in the field. However, PwC badly botched it's acquisition of Booz, whereas Deloitte has had tremendous success with its acquisition and subsequent integration of Monitor. Deloitte is widely considered much stronger in the strategy space than PwC.

 

It depends mostly on a region you are interested in. For instance, in Asia Pacific or CIS regions these firms have different weight and prestigiousness. Believe me, it is all about the region where a firm operates. The practices differ pretty well.

 

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