Big 4 TAS: Valuation or FDD to transfer to IB?

Which is more relevant for IB? I have offer for both. I plan to work 2-3 years then exit to IB (as in my country IB rarely recruits college grads). In the end I went with Valuation but I still have time to reconsider.

Valuation Pros: - experience with modeling (DCF/comparable company/precedent transaction) - hours are more predictable, and better - more "finance" than "accounting" - the CFA program is sponsored - slightly better pay (not really relevant but I'll still put it here) Cons: - some of their work also include goodwill impairment, purchase price allocation (are they even relevant to IBD?) - modeling is overly academic and unnecessarily detailed - not everything you do is related to M&A deals - smaller team (6-7 people) - You can transfer from FDD to Valuation once you reach senior associate, but not the other way around

Transaction Support/FDD Pros: - always involve in M&A deals - chance to work with PE firms - dig in deep into companies' financials and learn what the deal breakers are in an M&A deal - you get to learn a lot of accounting stuff so I guess your technical will be very strong - optional rotation to audit projects to learn more accounting - although slightly lower pay, you can claim overtime charge - bigger team (30-35 people) Cons: - more "accounting" than "finance" - no modeling experience - only ACCA (UK) and CPA programs are sponsored - horrible and unpredictable work hours; when you have a project you have to stay up till 2-3 AM for several days, when you don't have a project you just chill for weeks doing nothing

1 Comments
 

Quas tenetur tempore aspernatur quo odio non. Sint et sit rerum sed odio. Qui consequuntur iusto eligendi eos.

Quae suscipit qui ducimus nobis. Repudiandae doloribus minima corporis eum maxime dicta aliquam. Error numquam qui natus ipsum necessitatibus.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan No 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (50) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (26) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
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...”