How hard is Big 4 Tax sophomore to IBD SA?

I'm graduating in 2014 and have an offer for Tax at Big 4 in the UK this summer. How hard would it be to get an IBD SA position for next summer?

I've heard Tax gets pigeon-holed pretty bad. I'm just wondering if I should push for a consulting internship this summer at a smaller firm instead?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

 
FeelingMean:
I thought in the realm of accounting, tax was the big money?

Yeah that's what I've heard so far, but I really don't want be in Accounting. The job sounds boring as fuck.

"So who lost the hundy?"
 
MistaBooks:
I've seen plent of undergrads do internships at Big 4 and then make the switch to an IB internship / full time offer. Most of them were in audit though...

Ok, that doesn't sound so bad. I mean, surely Audit and Tax can't be that different in terms of opportunities for IB. Cheers for the input.

"So who lost the hundy?"
 
TonyPerkis:
You have a better shot of getting serious answers than makin the switch

Oh dear. So far it hasn't proven to be too bad I guess... 2 out of 4 comments were helpful.

But seriously - what do people normally do when they leave Tax?

"So who lost the hundy?"
 

Full time tax > IBD? Unlikely. I could possibly see the transaction side of tax being somewhat relevant, but audit is usually where people come from when they go to IB (from public accounting, which is rare).

Tax people usually go to other tax positions, but I guess you could leverage your experience somehow. Audit gives you more options. And no I don't think tax is the "big money" unless you can set up your own shop and get a hoard of clients. You're going about it the right way by asking these questions early - just keep digging on here and cpanet.com.

 
beancounter:
Full time tax > IBD? Unlikely. I could possibly see the transaction side of tax being somewhat relevant, but audit is usually where people come from when they go to IB (from public accounting, which is rare).

Tax people usually go to other tax positions, but I guess you could leverage your experience somehow. Audit gives you more options. And no I don\'t think tax is the \"big money\" unless you can set up your own shop and get a hoard of clients. You\'re going about it the right way by asking these questions early - just keep digging on here and cpanet.com.

How is this relevant at all? He\'s asking about going from a sophomore year internship in tax to a junior year ibd sa. Did you even read the question?

 
Best Response

^^ Agree with this. There are only 3 ways to make a good living in tax. 1. make partner 2. leave big 4 tax to work in corporate tax dept. - Not sure how high you can make it though, while a lot of people that leave audit for industry and move up the ladder, it is harder to break into the operations side coming from tax. 3 Open your own shop.

If you are not a fan of accounting and it is looking like you are going to have to put in some time at a Big 4 but want to eventually move away from accy, audit is absolutely your best bet.

For example, the client I am on is doing some mgmt. changes and the person next in line to be CFO started as an auditor and left right before he made senior.

While audit is not the most glamarious thing in the world and your not going to impress anybody by telling them your an auditor with a Big 4 firm - there are vast opportunities for those who are in audit and who are smart and willing to work hard.

I went to two superdays when I was an undergrad ( I studied accy ) and I'd say about 20% ish of the people there had either studied accounting or had done an internship at a big 4 firm (in audit)

 

There is no easy answer. To be fair, doing Big 4 Accounting is a pretty solid sophomore year internship. For the most part, most kids going for OCR junior year do nothing or do something rather inconsequential. The Big 4 may not impress too many bankers but it will certainly raise eyebrows when compared to your peers who spent the summer answering phone calls and making photocopies.

That being said, you will definitely be at a disadvantage to those few lucky sophomores who attain BB internships and relatively prestigious boutique gigs. Note, those are the blue chip candidates and there are few and far between. If banking is your goal, finding a boutique investment banking gig may be better but at a big 4 internship cannot hurt you.

 

Voluptatibus cupiditate aspernatur dignissimos est. Numquam aliquam et fuga ducimus non veniam beatae. Aut similique accusantium voluptatem laboriosam.

Quas explicabo quaerat voluptatem. Totam et nostrum minus. Et dolorem et corporis sapiente ratione eligendi saepe. Dolorum quia totam voluptatem qui nobis aut. Placeat unde molestiae sunt atque qui quia magnam.

Dolores voluptas at doloremque natus et. Id dolorem aut odit commodi sunt. Illum aut sunt laboriosam quo enim optio. Veritatis odio minus error quae veritatis ut voluptatem.

Cupiditate aut ut dolores molestiae necessitatibus. Eius repudiandae quasi quo non provident rerum non autem. Aut laudantium facere ut harum. Totam ab reiciendis blanditiis sunt quo temporibus fuga. Voluptate cumque sequi inventore tempore inventore enim beatae explicabo. Deserunt non dicta aut quisquam repellendus molestias dolorum aliquam. Modi laborum voluptatem quibusdam dicta.

Career Advancement Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Jefferies & Company 02 99.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 19 98.8%
  • Harris Williams & Co. New 98.3%
  • Lazard Freres 02 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 03 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Harris Williams & Co. 18 99.4%
  • JPMorgan Chase 10 98.8%
  • Lazard Freres 05 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.7%
  • William Blair 03 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Lazard Freres 01 99.4%
  • Jefferies & Company 02 98.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 17 98.3%
  • Moelis & Company 07 97.7%
  • JPMorgan Chase 05 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

April 2024 Investment Banking

  • Director/MD (5) $648
  • Vice President (19) $385
  • Associates (86) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (13) $181
  • Intern/Summer Associate (33) $170
  • 2nd Year Analyst (66) $168
  • 1st Year Analyst (205) $159
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (145) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
kanon's picture
kanon
98.9
9
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”