The Big 4 is great. Some people really are rockstar auditors. They may not get paid great, but many understand accounting in extreme detail, are incredibly bright, and highly motivated. Most are just good, bright kids in general.
The Big 4 itself provides a service that people pay for, and makes billions in revenue, and that itself is respectable. The culture is generally very nice and the hours are extremely manageable. The work isn't as glamorous, but not many jobs are.
But truly the worst thing about the Big 4 (and this is prevalent) is the propensity of auditors to wear the same shiny black square toed loafers. (See Picture). They always have visible scuffs and are slightly worn out. But the worst part? These are worn daily, even with jeans.
I'm no fashion snob, but this is an epidemic and the Big 4 is saturated by it.
A lot of people wear them at banks as well, god they are hideous. A square toe on ANY choice is hideous.
From the tone of fashion posts on these boards I would have thought that style would have been weeded out of the banks by now.
I don't care who the person is or what they do. If I see someone wearing a shoe like the one pictured or any ugly, poorly cared for shoe I lose some respect for them. From a friend, auditor, banker, hedgefund manager, guy a night club.
The worst thing I have ever seen is a man and women in a suit/formal clothes wearing running/athletic shoes. No words.
I think you have to take the person's age into consideration before passing judgment. I have seen former "masters of the universe" (e.g. retired hedge fund managers) wear formal clothes (e.g. dinner jacket) while wearing dark running/athletic shoes because it was more comfortable for them. When you are old and mobility is an issue, you stop caring about what other people think and you wear what is comfortable for you.
Do you mean the secretary I-only-wear-stilettos-in-the-office look that Melanie Griffith cultivated to a new level in Working Girl? Yes, it's outdated. As a native New Yorker when I see this on a man this it literally hurts me inside. Were there a real fashion police this would be a felony only slightly less egregious than a badly tailored suit.
Maybe accountants and auditors feel kind of "square" compared to bankers and traders, so this is an unconscious collective manifestation of this idea.
A piece of advice, do not work in Calgary. From November through to May the endless horde of white collar slaves entering downtown can be identified from the ground up by sneakers, hiking boots and even galoshes.
I'm assuming they change into proper footwear in the office though? Canadian weather sucks, I agree.
Senior manager at last shop I interned at wore white (and pink) asics, great to see
No, the worst thing about Big 4 Audit, is actually the auditing.
Ex-auditor?
agreed.
--current auditor.
funny when you do see these shoes they are almost always scuffed, at least a little bit, do they sell them this way?
I think it's typically because the people who wear them just don't give a shit about their appearance anyways, hence the square toed shoe in the first place. It's a vicious cycle, one begets the other.
Apparently it's just easier to quality control so even at fairly decent stores like Macy's square toes are everywhere.
But I agree, they look like shit.
Was expecting this post to be about salary. Big 4 has the trolliest pay curve in all professions.
You get married, buy a house, have kids, send them to school all on sub $150k nyc metro and when you're 45-50 years old you make real money...... right when you don't need it as much. This is all assuming your marriage lasts through the 6-7 day work weeks 4 months every year. They might not be 22 hour work days, but it makes no difference to your spouse considering she will be picking up your slack in the family from 9-5 on Saturdays during busy season.
After having a winter audit internship, I can say auditing sucks and provides little (if any) value. The only reason why companies pay for these services is because they are required to under SOX. 99.9% of the time the numbers are going to be right. And if they are wrong, they are usually not material anyways.
Yeah, we should just take corporations words when it comes to their financial statements!
Not a fan of audit myself, but don't you think that might be due to the auditors? Places would pull more shenanigans if they knew there weren't some smart auditors coming to check their books.
You got an off cycle internship (which are MUCH easier to get) and now you're the expert. If they let you do anything it was the worst if the crappy jobs. Did they let you "audit cash" - aka verify bank statements?
So busy season (Jan-April) is off season? Compared to the normal summer internships where they sit on their ass all day?
Yes, I audited cash. But I also did pretty much everything else on the balance sheet. So no, I didn't get the crappy job. I am actually trying to talk about my experience.
Also a current auditor, and while I'm far from satisfied (and currently doing something about it), it's not that bad. But it is bad. And I totally agree about the salary, very troll-y indeed.
And yes, the shoes are always scuffed. I just don't get why people think they look good.
The worst thing abour Big 4 audit is the work. Sure you learn accounting and excel and the hours aren't the worst, but you still sacrifice a lot of time doing boring work which ultimately has no added value. Ultimately the constant knowledge that what you are doing is completely irrelevant gets to you. All of the work you do will culminate in a two page audit report full of vaguely worded bullshit which basically nobody will read. You do pretty formidable amounts of work which will not be used for decision-making, and will have zero effect on anything. The psychological effect of this is so demoralizing.
HAHAHHAHA. I can relate. Spot on! Current auditor, clients don't give a rats rear about what we do. We seem to be given the lowest priority. "Come back later." "Not now I am busy" "you can't have a softcopy. Not even the hardcopy. You can only sight it" and lots of other bs.
Drives me nuts. Strange type of service we provide. Clients pay us to give them problems.
Accounting folks, didn't you know what you were getting into? I feel your pain though
I use to have nightmares about the possibility of ending up at a big 4. I'm talking cold sweats. The psychological toll of spending 4 years at a non-target is all too real.
Wow, you guys care way too much about some things. Get a hobby or something.
You're just mad, because now you can't wear your new shoes.
I can imagine that doing a boring job can get old. Is audit worth suffering through for a few years with options that are regularly opened....or is that it. Sure some audit folks go into TAS or whatever, but where do the majority go?
By far the most common exit ops are Senior Accountants, Accounting Managers, Directors of Financial Reporting, and Controllers. Senior accountants and accounting managers can be anything from AP, Payroll, AR, Revenue, Tax, etc.
Another really common one is internal audit in industry.
And... how did a thread about shoes turn into an anti Big 4 thread? Lots of people enjoy their jobs at Big 4. And, the higher you get (Senior Manager, Partner) the more you get to source work and look at big picture things, not to mention your pay begins to catch up. Not for everyone, perfect for some, and adequate for the rest who stick around.
cannot believe this is on the front page. very stupid
EDIT: no offense at all to OP...just how the thread has gone, does WSO really just front page accounting bashing threads
If "your shoes define you" does that mean accountants are squares?
who gives a shit whether your shoes are squared or rounded...especially if you sit at a cubicle all day
http://www.themensroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/necklines.png
Squared is hideous.
"I use to have nightmares about the possibility of ending up at a big 4. I'm talking cold sweats. The psychological toll of spending 4 years at a non-target is all too real."
This.
This is beyond ridiculous. Who on earth is so emotionally and mentally frail that they have nightmares and cold sweats about a career choice that is 100% in their power to avoid?
A wise man once told me, "WSO has many members who are not well endowed down south."
Makes me wonder how they got into finance in the first place. Not that most of those types are even in finance yet. Because they aren't.
"I use to have nightmares about the possibility of ending up at a big 4. I'm talking cold sweats. The psychological toll of spending 4 years at a non-target is all too real."
This.
yea dude, thank the high heavens you were able to secure your much more prestigious post of....corporate finance intern?
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