Hello Everyone,
I am a junior Accounting and Real Estate major. I am looking into Big four Real Estate valuation services. I understand that it consists of some audit support, financial modeling. Could anyone elaborate in detail what your job consists of as a professional at Big four real estate valuation service?
Thanks,
Eric
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Depends on the firm and location, regardless of what they tell you it's mostly audit support with a mix of "consulting" assignments. I spent over a year in Big4 REAS (i.e. Chicago, NYC, San Francisco), I was mostly performing purchase price allocations on large REIT/M&A deals, valuation work on random "consulting" assignments and audit support. I would estimate that 50% of my time was spend on PPA, 35% on audit support and 15% on consulting. There were people in my group who spent approximately 95% of their time on audit support. An individual's experience varies on skills and background. As you can imagine audit support work is mundane and can be performed by a trained monkey, but you are given the ability to look at different underwriting methodologies performed by clients.
To be honest if you are looking to do real estate, I would look elsewhere because you will get pigeonholed as an accountant and it's difficult to transition into Acquisitions/Asset Management. That being said, if you are interested in accounting and real estate, this would be a good landing spot and the work is exponentially more interesting than other areas in Big4 (e.g. Audit/Tax).
Please feel free to PM with any questions.
I think that it is a good place to learn a lot about the basics of real estate/ valuation. I wouldn't say that it is too difficult to transition to AM/acquisitions role as I know a good number of people who have done it, but as Mandarin25 said above, sticking around more than a couple of years can definitely get you pigeonholed and lateral exit ops are going to be tough.
@mandarin & @bolo up" Thank you so much for your insight. I think I definitely have a clearer idea of the type of work they do. To be completely honest with you folks, I preferably want to begin my career in Accounting firm to qualify for the CPA designation.(Plan to stay for 4-6 years and get MBA
Haha no worries. Echoing @bolo up's comments you will definitely get good exposure and learn from the ground up. Turnover rate is much lower than the other branches, but Big4 is generally regarded as a revolving door. During my tenure eight people left. With the exception of top MBA/Masters Programs, typically people leave for buy-side roles so it's a great network builder to use later.
In regards to advanced degrees and designations, I worked for a MAI and there were a few MD's/Partners with MBA/MSRE degrees (even some mid-level managers), there are people with CFA/CPA's and other designations. Although, I think it's rare for career accountants to have MBA's (at least in my experiences because of the time commitment required), it's more common to see Masters of Tax/Accounting. I currently hold one designation (not CPA) and completed a majority of coursework required for state appraisal license from a previous role (but stopped to avoid being labelled as an appraiser). In order to advance, earning a designation is a requisite. You are planning on earning CPA which in Big4 is still the most important. To be honest, I think your plan is logical and definitely worth pursuing especially if you want to start in accounting. If you still can't PM me with questions, post them here and I will try to get back to you ASAP.
I second the above comments as a former colleague transitioned to a Big 4 real estate valuation role and said the same thing. Just out of curiosity, what is the pay range for those jobs?
@King Stannis for a first year in a top market it's $55-60k, incremental increases are negligible until Senior Associate which is a big jump to $80-85k and bonuses are approximately 3-10% based on rating (and tend to be political). I am not sure how much variance there is on pay between firms, I imagine it's fairly consistent. Although you are eligible for a bonus after completing CPA/CFA which can be substantial if you pass within the time constraints.
Would getting a general certified appraisers license typecast me? I have nearly three years of appraisal experience and 3/4 of the way towards licensure. I want to get it to have something to fall back on as the average age of a commercial appraiser is nearing 60. Though I want to leave appraising after getting it.
Not to say you can't or won't, but the chances of you doing anything else take a nosedive in my opinion. Whens the last time you saw an (insert institute here) appraisal professional outside of a Tax Valuation type firm or maybe a brokerage.
I've seen a few institute members on the institutional side (e.g. UBS, DB, JPM, ADIA), definitely a rarity. I was advised against pursuing MAI from current MAI's because of narrow focus and limited opportunities outside of appraisal. I remember interviewing for Acq./AM roles and was constantly asked "do you plan to pursue your MAI... blah blah" because I had appraisal institute courses on my resume (the answer was always no). I think the coursework is helpful for people starting their careers in CRE but ultimately a very narrow focus as you progress.
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