I have a grad position with the Big 4, which I start next year.
I was thinking about looking into opportunities to switch from Risk and Governance to Tax and Legal, (because it's what I know), but after speaking to a professor who used to be in the same Big 4 as me, he said in T&L there's not much chance of promotion, because you get stuck there.
He also said my first six months will be photocopying and making coffee, which terrified me given that I'm interning at a consulting firm at the moment, and I'm doing proposal writing and looking at annual reports and doing real stuff, three weeks into an internship, and I've got past management experience, so I'm a little worried. I'm also older and have more past experience than many graduates.
What areas of the Big 4 would you recommend trying to get into, to get into as much out of this experience as possible, and also make some money in the future. The pay is average (ie. a lot less than the consulting firm), so that is also a concern.
I mean, I'm grateful I have a job lined up, and the Big 4 Job should help me with working understanding a balance sheet, but I really don't love accounting. I come from a sales and marketing background, so I think I would prefer FO type jobs, where you're actually dealing with people, but really want to gain as much out of this experience as possible to work my way into Upper Management/C-Suite as quickly as possible, and leverage the experience.
What sort of advice would you give me?
professor sounds pretty ignorant, and your career goals conflict. FO / C Suite?
Exactly my thoughts. Don't put any weight on what your professor says. Even if he actually knew something at some point, the world and the Big 4 aren't anything like they were a decade ago.
Here's some good Big 4 career advice: non-tech advisory/consulting>audit>tax and everything else.
Thanks for that. I wasn't sure. He told me not to even tell people in business about my law degree (even though I study corporate/finance law), so I thought that he was strange.
My long term goal (ie 15+ year plan) is to become a Director somewhere if possible, but no one's really sat down and helped me plan out a way to get there, so I'm running blind. I know a lot of CFOs are getting put up as CEOs on boards, and also a lot of lawyers get onto boards, but don't really know how people get there, or how to get the experience I need. I also imagine I'll get my exec MBA/JD by then.
This is why I'd okay with the Big4 Job, because I know under the increased responsibilities for directors I'll need to know exactly what's going on with the financials, but I want to work out how to get promoted as quickly as possible, and get to where I need to be, because I'm a few years behind most kids who are graduating. I also need to work out how to build a solid experience base.
It seems that if you're bringing in $$ for the firm, you're likely to keep your job, and I have a solid sales record with other jobs, which is why I thought a transfer to FO might be good in the Mid-term, for security, but I imagine this is a whole different playing field.
However, atm I'm going to be starting in Risk and Governance, and I don't know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing in terms of a career. I would try to stay at the consulting firm I'm at, but I've already signed with the Big 4 to start in January.
Everyone says advisory then audit, then the others, but I didn't get into advisory, so I'm wondering how do I work with what I've got to still learn as much as I need and to get where I need to be. I've got two years in Risk/Governance, then I assume we can transfer, but I guess I'm wondering if anyone has advice for how to plan any of this out.
Plus I've seen people saying only Deloitte really do advisory anymore? I know I hear a lot about Accenture, not so much about the Big 4.
Yes pay at big 4 isn't as glamorous as banking, but I'm in an advisory position (first year) and I have not made anyone but myself photocopies or gone on coffee runs. As for accounting, I have done zero in my time at the firm so far and it doesn't look like I'll be doing any in the future.
Go into big 4 advisory/consulting for a couple years and transfer if you don't like it.
Which department under advisory are you in? What do you do at work if not accounting? (Please pardon my ignorance.)
Is your law degree a pre-law bachelors or a JD? At what kind of consulting firm are you working now? More info about your background would help me weigh in on your options.
If you stick with your current track at Big 4, you will most likely be a director in the risk/governance service line in 15 years. However, I see a lot of older people joining the Big 4 and taking a step back in their careers because what they do at Big 4 is too different from their previous experience. You may not have any involvement in procuring new business until 6 or 7 years down the road.
Before Enron and SOX circa 2001-2002, there was Big 5: Deloitte, PwC, E&Y, KPMG, and Arthur Anderson. Because of legal action, new legislation, and the current environment, the consulting arm of Anderson split off to become Accenture, PwC's consulting was sold to IBM, E&Y's was sold to Capgemini, and KPMG's was split off to become BearingPoint. Deloitte is the only one that didn't sell off its consulting practice. As a result, Deloitte now has the biggest consulting practice by far. However, the other firms have been getting back into the mix for a while now. A large portion of the "consulting" is technology consulting, but the Big 4 are expanding in the other areas too, buying up a lot of smaller tier 2 or 3 consulting firms and growing organically using their position as service providers to the F500 to leverage into new consulting contracts.
Thanks for your reply.
I'll be outling myself if I reveal where I'm at, although it is one of the consulting split offs that you mentioned. I also am not studying a traditional "law for lawyers" course, but it is it at Graduate level. I'll PM you details.
I'm in risk, we doing internal auditing, SOX work, etc. Basically testing processes to make sure they are controlled or helping develop those controls,
When I say I don't do accounting, I mean I'm not in A/P or A/R making entries and that garbage.
What areas of the Big 4 would you recommend trying to get into, to get into as much out of this experience as possible, and also make some money in the future.
bump
Laudantium dicta ut aut vel non. Impedit eos ut amet et hic adipisci sit beatae. Ea cum qui alias reiciendis dolorum animi maxime. Maiores qui tempora iure voluptatem sed optio sit. Voluptatem quo quos similique quam omnis rerum. Quasi veritatis consequatur repellendus esse tempore voluptatem error. Modi rerum consequatur blanditiis et veniam est.
Delectus ipsa dolorum nihil et omnis autem qui. Aliquid quia commodi numquam consequatur consequatur. Dolore dolor laboriosam quia et cupiditate veritatis deleniti.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...