Two grad role offers, both in the UK. I'm from a non-target, and have 2 BO/MO internships under my belt from a BB.
BB MO - (Regulatory control, product control, treasury etc.) -Starting salary is 20% higher than big 4 offer -Have completed 2 internships within the firm so have a strong network + good rep -Offer ACCA (arguably not as prestigious as ACA) -Rotational, 2 or 3 12 month rotations -Great firm culture -Work isn't exactly exciting, very limited networking ops with FO -Good chance of getting stuck at middle management
Big 4 Audit -Lower starting salary (not a deal breaker though) -Offer ACA (seems reasonably well respected, particularly for ER / TAS) -Heard stories of how horrendous Audit is - particularly on here! -Ability to move to TAS / Corp Fin after ACA qualified (3 years) -Client contact - greater variety of projects (possibly some financial modelling down the line) -Opportunity to travel
I realise this topic has been discussed before but most of the threads I've found are 3-4+ years old.
Thanks for any responses.
Even you know the answer, take the better and don't look back. Audit is horrible.
That bad huh? Suppose the question then becomes, is it worth sticking it out for a few years in Audit to move to a better Advisory group; i.e CF, TAS. And how do the career prospects/salary in those areas compare to someone with substantial experience in a MO group.
B4 audit is better. This thread rips on audit a lot; granted it's not IB or consulting, but after these 2 options Big4 is your best long-term option. You will be treated like a second class citizen in MO, audit you will directly generate $$$ for the firm so people will treat you better, invest in training you, etc. For MBAs they are probably about the same, but Big4 will give you better training and exit opps.
Audit really is that bad. Take the MO and dont look back.
The people who rip on audit in this thread are typically American and familiar with the Big4 market in the states--as CPA here I can tell you a fair bit of that is accurate: the work is boring, you don't get a whole of of respect if you want to transition out of accounting, etc. etc.
In the UK, however, audit is a different story. If it like the ACA in other countries, you have a three year contract while you get your credential, and then doors open up. I know people with an ACA who have gone on to get really interesting jobs with asset managers, join their firm's TAS group, and so on. In the UK, I think I would take the Big 4 offer. The somewhat lower salary will will be offset in the long run based on the opportunities you will get once you have your ACA. If your goal is FO, I think Big4 would be your path of least resistance, not to mention if FO doesn't work out, you can always fall back on your ACA.
I'd go with B4 Audit- some worldwide opportunities if you do the well there, and way more respected in the UK than the US. I wouldn't count on being able to transfer into the TAS or CF group unless you're top rated. And even then, you might have to get an offer or threaten to leave first. I think Big 4 is your better option here in the long term for your career.
I appreciate the well though out replies. Seems like the smart option would be to choose Big 4 Audit and work my ass off to try and keep the options in terms of transferring to TAS / CF. Worst case scenario, I'd imagine someone qualified with ACA could transfer back to a MO relatively easily.
If anyone else has any other comments or perspectives to add, please feel free.
BB MO vs Big 4 audit (Originally Posted: 05/31/2014)
So, the situation is I started looking very late this year for an internship and FO places where either all late in recruiting or had closed applications all together. Through networking, I've managed to get 2 full time summer internship offers. One is in audit at a big 4 office and the other in is MO at one of the good BB's doing risk reporting.
My end goal is to get into ER, and obviously this is not ideal but it's better then nothing over summer. My question is which offer would allow me to better leverage myself into ER next recruiting season?
I would go for the MO role. Honestly neither role is relevant to ER, but the BB brand name could help, whereas the B4 brand name would not. Since the content of the roles themselves is has nothing to do with ER, at least choose the more relevant brand.
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