Hey guys,
I was just curious if anyone on here has recently gone through the Big 4 Audit -> TAS/FDD -> PE route and if they have any advice to share? Is this route a possibility or is it far fetched to think that an accountant can move into the generalist-esq finance field of PE? Just trying to get some perspectives as I just finished getting my CPA and am recruiting for TAS/FDD roles. Any and all opinions would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Can't speak for the US but totally realistic in London, depending on realism around size / prestige of fund and skills. Also, to the extent that your firm has a private equity team to do FDD at, that's the best way to do this
BUMPS
Not somebody who made the move and not in PE yet, but this seems like it's too far fetched. Why hire you when they can hire somebody with your same exp. + banking exp., or even just somebody w/ banking exp.?
I remember some guys at Roark Capital had a TAS background. This was before they exploded though so they must have been early hires of the firm.
It’s do-able. When you’ll start looking into PE roles, rebuild your resume to focus on TAS experience, deal exposure/experience, modeling skills and the key soft skills for PE. I did Big 4 M&A (CF) > PE associate after less than 2 years in M&A. I apparently stood out during the modeling test, beating IB-background candidates with more experience.
Same case for me in audit now and seeking to join for TAS.
Unfortunately I can’t offer much in the way of advice as I am currently in the process of transferring from audit to TAS.
Based on conversations I’ve had with folks in the industry, if you can’t go direct from Audit to IB then I think Audit to TAS is the next best and logical step to get to PE.
At the analyst level of MM PE it is totally possible. Most of our analysts come from that background, or valuation services. As an analyst you usually have to put up with shit work to get to the sexy stuff, and we like people from consulting (my background) or TAS/FDD/Val because they are excited to work in PE and cost less than a banker.
Can you describe how you moved from consulting to MM PE?
Educational background: state school, b.b.a. accounting m.s. finance. 3.65 GPA; 730 GMAT.
Consulting background: Boutique shop in Houston. I built sector specific experience (oil and gas) through various projects that were all related to PE/transactions. A couple IPO's of PE backed businesses, a divestiture, a recently backed company. Process design, pricing strategy, ERP implementation, etc.
Reasons (I think) I got hired: 1. My network and understanding of the industry were both strong for someone with ~2.5 years experience. The small firm allowed me to get face time with client executives, and experience leading projects/workstreams just a year in. 2. I was a value. I've seen the resumes of my competition with the notes from my MD and he always wrote their base and bonus on the top. I believe they thought I could do the job based on my degrees and GMAT, but much cheaper than a banker and also more willing/excited to do shit work like reporting and admin. 3. Consulting requires you to have to learn a company in depth on the run, so they were in the middle of multiple deals and I was the only "analyst" for the NAM office which had a decent portfolio already, so I pitched my ability to add value with minimal guidance.
Thanks everyone! I just accepted an offer in TAS so hopefully the dominoes will begin to fall after some experience in FDD. Does anyone have any recommendations on how long would be the best to stay in TAS and how/when I should start reaching out to PE firms?
I started interviewing about a year in, took about 3 months to land something. Generally speaking, I wouldn’t go too fast unless you get significant deal exposure early on. You don’t want to be too early and look bad during interviews with key firms.
What size fund did you end up at? Was it with a fund you worked with during your time in TAS? Currently have 2 years of audit & 2 years of FDD experience and looking to make the jump PE soon
Yes, but you have to be very sector specific and have a solid understanding of the industry of a certain locale
Was in a group that does TAS work (not at a Big 4) and was able to reruit for a lot of different things. Even from a target, wasn't really able to get a shot at PE firms (they really wanted a Banker or consultant), although a Merchant Banking position opened up and I was basically told to apply by one of the principals. Not going to say it's impossible, just probably not likely. You might be cheaper, but most often they'd rather have a banker since it's a known quantity. However, if you can get in the door, you have a chance. I'd just imagine you're gonna have to wow them. I'm thinking networking is probably what's really important here.
I wouldn't mind hearing from the folks here, and I know this topic has probably been discussed previously, but if you are in Big4 audit, wouldn't a move to TAS be effectively the best option on a career toward IB/PE/Corp Dev? Assuming you can't land a position in those areas direct from Audit.
I'm on a similar path right now and hoping to transfer to our TAS group, however, I also am hoping to get an offer from a startup for a director of finance position. So, I'm pretty tore on what path may be the best if my end goal would be VC/PE.
I actually just recently jumped directly from Big Four Audit to a Buy-Side Private Equity Associate role. Middle market firm in the US. I thought about going to TAS, but I knew I wanted PE directly, so I just kept looking and spoke to about 50 different recruiters/headhunters.
It was near impossible, but I got very close with this headhunter and he decided it was worth a shot to put me in front of the Partners at my current firm. I went through three long-winded case studies with them, 5 rounds of interviews and got the job.
If your end goal is to make a move to PE, what group within Big 4 TAS would you choose and why? I'm transferring from US audit to TAS in south america and the partner asked me what group in TAS I wanna join . I'm tending to say valuations because of the financial modeling skills, but I'm interested to hear what you all think. Maybe CF M&A or financial due diligence could also be a good move?
CF m&a for sure
What exactly do you think makes CF M&A better than Valuations? From my understanding, Valuation gives more technical knowledge and has better exit opportunities to PE, while CF M&A it's similar to an IB boutique (at least in South America) and would open other opportunities in IB.
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