Big4 Sentiment for Management Consulting

Hey all, just recently got an offer to join KPMG's Advisory business. Not sure what to make of it. Anyone have any inputs regarding to how the firm is positioned right now in the consulting world? It's pretty late in the cycle for full time, so I'm considering taking this offer. What are possible exit ops from going through KPMG's consulting track? What about the chances of lateral to a better firm (potentially for strategy)?

Thanks in advance guys, appreciate any help!

 

KPMG is solid and has a strong brand. There’s really no difference between the Big4 - people lump them together.

Now the BIG difference comes in the group within KPMG advisory. If you are In KPMG Strategy then your exit opps are basically anything you want (other than the big PE shops). If you are in risk consulting or implementation then it gets much more narrow and difficult, but with a lot of effort you can find attractive exits to Faang, Corp strat, product management, or b-school.

 

KPMG Advisory, like the similar practices at all of the other Big 4 firms, runs a wide gamut. Are you talking about their strategy consulting shop? Forensic services? Corporate finance? FDD? Marketing solutions? HR consulting? The work that they do and the positioning of each part relative to other firms' offerings varies drastically. The CF team does investment banking advisory work, so it does the exact same stuff Evercore or Moelis do, but goes for the low end of the middle market space and doesn't compete with the EBs/BBs at all. Their Strategy team does the same work as MBBDALEKOWblahblahblah, and even wins the occasional piece of work against even MBB let alone the others in a beauty pageant (KPMG is on the cheaper end, obviously). Forensic or FDD/TDD teams are top of the line, which is hardly surprising when you consider how valuable an accounting background is to these specific types of consulting.

 

Unsure about KPMG, but EY's Parthenon is well-regarded from what I understand. I'm sure KPMG might have a team that's similar, so I would gravitate towards that within the overall Advisory line of service.

Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
 

I wonder two things about B4 consulting:

1, I think the promotion path has one more level in B4 consulting. What I see in traditional MC firms, the MBA hire's promotion path is Consultant - Manager/Case Leader - Principal - Partner, while in B4 consulting, the path is Consultant - Manager - Senior Manager - Director - Partner. I feel it takes longer time to be a partner at a B4 MC arm.

2, EY Parthenon tends to pay less bonus. Is it true?

Thanks.

 
Most Helpful

1) Senior Manager and Director are the same, but different firms use different names. They are the Big 4 equivalent of the Principal role. And then some Big 4 firms call their (equity) partners Principals, at least in the US, because of some rules around only CPAs being allowed to be called Partners at an audit firm.

It is true that it can take longer to hit Partner at a Big 4 firm, but it's possible to do it at the same rate as you see at MBB (2+2+2+2 post-MBA, e.g. at BCG it's 2 Consultant, 2 PL, and soon to be 2 Principal + 2 Junior Partner, before making full/equity partner). There's just more variety at the Big 4, and less of an up-or-out culture, so you're far more likely to see people spend 3 or more years at a given level. You can even kinda sit at the SM/Director (Principal equivalent) level for years if you want to.

2) Yes, Parthenon bonuses are smaller, but their base is higher, so total comp is market. Post-MBA base at Parthenon is something like $170 or $175, compared to $150ish for most other shops. MBB only recently (within the past year) moved up to $165 base, so I expect that the market will adjust upwards soon enough and Parthenon's base should go up even more, but yes, bonuses are probably going to remain relatively small.

 

I know PwC redid the structure - now both senior manager and director exist. If there was no director in that practice, now there must be a director level, which is above senior manager. I am not sure about the other Big 4 but I assume either it has happened or it is going to. Yep, only CPAs can be "partners" but I know you got that point.

 

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