I'm curious because I know a couple interns from last summer (in audit for the big 4) got to work in financial services... is this a route to become a banker?
Big Four Corporate Finance… Path to banking?
You can get a wide variety of project experiences some of which can be spun in an interview. In the big four, there is a notably larger group of peers that you can outperform. Working in an area like valuation will give you great modeling skills.
Pay is comparable to audit. It’s a good place to work on deals when you start. You can get experience on deals in MM IB or other similar exits.
Key Takeaways
- Big four valuation (corporate finance) is a good place to get transaction experience.However they pay will be low.
from certified user @kennypowerscfa
I view Big 4 valuation as a pretty solid plan B, but it's important to realize that it is not a sure ticket into finance. For every person who moves from valuation to a front-office job there are a lot more who want to but don't. The hours are pretty bad (or mine were anyway) and the pay isn't very good (or mine wasn't anyway.).
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You get paid a lot less in big 4 compares to a BB~ Big 4 base is usually between 50-55 and BB is between 60-70
big 4 you get 0-2k bonus and you know the story in BB~
If you work in big 4 transaction service, some staff could be equivalent to IBD~ but im not sure if corporate finance means helping other firms m&a lbo or its just internal finance.
Corporate Finance at Citi is just internal finance.
Big 4 corporate finance usually means the company's investment banking team. they usually do middle market deals. they probably get paid around 55k base, but their bonus is probably north of 15k.
also, audit isn't the way to become a banker. transaction advisory services is the best way. you'll probably need to re-brand at the MBA level either way.
15K? I know a friend doing valuation gets paid 55k+5K bonus and he has a CPA... whichever way, advisory jobs at big 4 are always better than audit or tax. But they prefer people who has audit or tax background before entering advisory.. thats how local offices work, NY probably different since its surrounded by great financiers.
But do you do the same work?
55K? My friend starting entry level is getting 65K base. Guess it differs by location.
is 65K undergrad or grad? I havn't heard many kids work for val right after undergrad, I know a post MBA who got 65k in val at KPMG.
I can confirm 55k at Deloitte starting.
Advisory people DO hire straight out of undergrad-I go to a big 4 target and have had two advisory offers
wait what? Advisory services for Big 4 starting salaries are sub-60? not according to Glassdoor...
I really don't mean to offend anybody but from what I hear Big 4 TAS is a joke. I hear they do poor work in valuations, pitches, etc. but due to relatively cheaper fees compared to BBs they do well in the SME space. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Just to clarify for the posters: Advisory =/= TAS =/= Corporate Finance
Advisory is like the enterprise risk services department; TAS is working with valuations and due diligence on certain projects; Corp Finance is the Big 4's IBD working on middle market deals
out of curiosity would be appropriate to compare TAS to a product group and corp fin as coverage? guessing TAS doesn't do much origination work.
I currently work at a Big 4 Corporate Finance group outside of the US. Base salary is around $65k (relatively favorable exchange rate) with around a 20% bonus. As others have stated, the Corporate Finance group within Big 4 is mid market investment banking.
While our bonuses do not compare to BB's, our hours are much more favorable (I am usually out of the office by 7-8pm) and the work environment allows me to experience a lot more than just modeling all day long. With all things considered, it is definitely not a bad gig.
Can confirm this, with pay slightly higher in the U.S. for a Big 4 CF analyst
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