Hey all, First post on here so I hope I'm doing this right. I'm a rising senior interning at a Big 4 right now on their transaction real estate team, and although I love the people I'm not sure the company culture fits my personality well. I'm going to be doing some MBB / banking full time recruiting, and eventually want to transition into REPE. I'm graduating May 2022 from a well-respected real estate program with a data science certificate so I have a pretty robust technical skillset. Would love to hear people's thoughts on top REPE firms in NYC and where it makes sense for me to recruit if
11 Jul 2021
Recently got offered an associate role at a Big 4 firm for M&A Advisory. This is in a relatively stable middle eastern country. They would start me at Associate 2 and fast track to Manager in 1,5 years which is a pretty good deal. Manager is akin to a VP in this group. I would be 27 by the time I'm an M&A manager so I guess it is somewhat impressive? Another very important thing to consider, the M&A role is unlike what big 4 does in the US which is due diligence and integration consulting. It is pretty much traditional investment banking. Because big 4 has a big footprint in this country and
09 May 2021
Starting a Q&A thread for any Big4 Auditors or Advisory folks looking to transition to a top MBA. I leaned heavily on WSO to complete the journey up to this point, and want to give back to those currently mired in the Big 4 grind. I cannot thank WSO enough for giving me the knowledge and confidence to achieve what I once thought impossible. Quick Background - Big 4 FS audit for 3 years --> Advisory for 2 years --> Attending a Top 15 MBA next fall. Very hard to take this path but it's doable. Goal is to enter investment banking after my MBA. Feel free to ask anything - Big 4 culture/stereotypes
01 Nov 2018
I graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a 3.64 GPA in Economics & Accounting. I am 7 months into Audit at Big 4. I know I want to work in Investment Banking. For the last few months, I have been spending all of my free hours studying technicals, building models, and networking. I have gotten a couple of interviews but didn't work out. I need advice on what the most effective use of my time would be between the following, and which ones I should forget about: 1. Get CPA (in order to move into M&A TAS in my firm it is necessary, but would also have to stick around for a couple more years in audit
11 May 2021
Over the years I've seen several posts on people considering jobs at Big4 corporate finance / M&A / TS departments, or people making statements about these jobs which have some pretty large inaccuracies. I'm going to try and clear up any confusion over the topics here.... Big 4 corporate finance The corporate finance departments at Big4 essentially offer MM boutique bank advisory services. You will do sector research, deal sourcing. deal advisory, act as sponsor / Nomad (in the UK). You'll do a lot of work with PE firms, especially if you're in a capital markets role. Many of the people here
07 Feb 2016
Hi all, I've been looking around WSO for a while now but haven't gotten around to posting anything substantial/giving back. I'm doing a Q&A for the next two weeks give or take to answer questions/thoughts you might have. Hopefully I can help despite my limited background, given the seeming lack of information on big 4 diligence groups. Maybe this will help someone decide that this is the career for them. Going on a few years now I have been working in a transaction advisory services group at one of the big four professional services firms in New York. The work varies significantly from one big
23 Dec 2018
Background: - Currently a senior consultant at a big 4 with a handful of projects under my belt. - Hoping to write CFA level 3 in May, I was planning to write it this summer but it got delayed because of covid. I am acing the mocks consistently now so I am pretty sure I can pass it. - Completed the FMVA - Undergraduate in finance from a non-target - I have a stack of trade thesis I write to trade my personal savings (mostly swing trading in FX and indices) I can show off in interviews and I made decent returns over the years. The analysis is all in macroeconomics. I know this is more hedge
11 Nov 2020
Hi guys I have an offer from KPMG Global Strategy Group - Deal Strategy. My career goal is either to move into Investment Banking after a few years or directly into Private Equity. How do you guys rate the following position in terms of exit opportunities? This is a position in Europe. Participate in various projects in the deal strategy space: portfolio review, operational / carve-out / commercial due diligence (sell side & buy side), JV strategy, integration / separation planning and execution, synergy assessments. Perform analyses on a broad range of operational, financial and strategic
20 Dec 2020
I have to decide between big 4s for management consulting. I have offers(associate) from 2 big 4s and soon i'll ace the other 2 too but i still cant decide which one to join. I value work culture and entrepreneurship. Also, im aiming for a top 10 mba in future. I've heard deloitte and pwc are better. Views?
10 Dec 2019
I work in Big 4 audit and applied for a role in my firm's Corporate Finance group through the internal careers website. I spoke with an analyst and an associate in the group, and one of them put me in touch with a VP. I have a virtual coffee chat with the VP soon and am not sure how to approach the conversation given I've already applied for a job there (have not heard from the recruiters yet). How/When in the conversation should I tell them I've applied, how should I word the purpose of the call ("to learn more", "to discuss a transfer" etc), what questions should I (not) ask them (especially
20 Jun 2021
Someone was asking me about this in PM and I wrote a long and detailed reply about what it is like to work in Big 4 and what advice I would give to people thinking about interning / working there. Thought it might be useful for others so my reply is below. Happy to answer any questions. [quote] I currently work in the Financial Services (investment banks, brokers, retail banks, corporate banks, spread betting companies) sector at a Big 4 firm in London. I started back in October 2012 after doing various investment banking internships. The market for hiring full time in banking just wasn't
01 Jun 2013
I know this is a question the community has seen before, and yes I have read them all, but times change and new insight is always appreciated. I am currently a Big 4 Auditor in the firms Financial Services market in NYC. I only note NYC because it adds to by experience with high finance. I have been with the firm for 3 years since I graduated, and have advanced to a Senior role. I always knew I wasn't looking to stay until Partner, but the experiences and opportunities have been valuable enough to keep me around a few years. That being said, I am looking to transition my career into Finance. I
14 Mar 2021
If you had to choose between the following two offers which one would you choose and why? Alvarez & Marsal Valuation Services - Sr. Assoc. - 20-25% year end bonus based off hours billed. EY TAS - Valuation & Business Modeling - Senior - 10% year end bonus, however EY is offering 10k more on the base salary A&M work is primarily focused on Alt. Investment Portfolio Valuations (HF, PE, Credit, Distressed) for quarterly and annual reporting purposes. There is some work regarding valuations of Complex Securities too. A&M is also viewed as more of a finance shop. While valuation is not the main
29 Nov 2019
Nowadays, as the competition steadily increases and fortune 100 entry-level positions become inexperienced college grad's new goal, what must one do to get ahead. Just a few quick questions about the Big 4: What is the Big 4's stereotypical entry-level candidate? -Google, Apple and Facebook hire ivy league pedigrees. Whereas Big 4 hires ________. How difficult is it to get hired for entry-level positions at the Big4? Who is the competition? What does having 3+ years of Big 4 experience mean for one's professional life (later down the road)? Why do people talk so much trash about work/life
18 May 2018
Any idea about Big 4 TAS Salaries for the following in the US? FDD Commercial Restructuring Valuation
17 May 2021
Trying to figure some things out for the long term and would like others input. Currently in ER (Im a CPA), wondering if it would be smart to try and get into TAS at the Big 4. I see it mainly as two paths: (1) stay in ER, most likely start studying for the CFA (2) get into TAS (hopefully M&A), see where it leads within the firm, try to pivot to banking. Does anyone have insight into long term salary at both places (Big 4 partner vs Equity Analyst).
06 Jun 2019
What's the better firm? Also, whats the differences in: Leadership/Mentoring People Working enviornment Which is Better for Advisory - KPMG or Deloitte? Our users highlighted that Deloitte is generally considered to be more prestigious across the board. User @lou", an investment banking analyst, shared that Deloitte is generally considered to be the most prestigious.
I think most would agree Deloitte is better than KPMG in all practices and in terms of prestige. Though, the prestige does come with douchebags.While this sentiment was shared by
05 Sep 2018
Hi, I get my MSc in BA and econ in 2 months from a non-target Scandinavian school. During my studies I have been working at local branch for a tier-1 Scandinavian bank. The job was deputy client executive, mainly assisting client executives administrative stuff, preppin for credit memos and assisting in transactions. Customers range from revenues of $10m to $100m. I have now been offered a FT job as client executive after graduation in this medium sized city. I have as well been offered a Big 4 audit position within financial services in the capital city. I aim to first break into some sort of
03 Apr 2019
It has been a long time since I've posted something constructive on these fora but lately, I have been getting a lot of questions on LinkedIn about Big 4 valuation, especially from those in MSF programs and recent MSF grads. Like most MSFs, I was completely unaware of the diverse career paths that finance has to offer. I knew that there were hedge fund managers and bankers but that was basically it. There has been increased attention devoted to this field on here as well so I think it would be helpful to contribute and to share my experiences. This post is intended for current/recent MSFs as
08 Feb 2016
I'm a third year, I want to work in finance in the tech industry when I graduate, and I'm not interested in a career in accounting. For the summer I have an offer for Big 4 Audit and an offer for F50 Corp Fin. If I want to work in finance it seems logical to go for the F50 position but I've received a lot of feedback that big 4 would be a great brand name on my resume(Big 4 as opposed to Kraft, Caterpillar, Intel, Best Buy). My concern was that the difference in the name won't compensate for the fact that acc and fin are two different fields and it might create more hurdles for me when I
24 Dec 2012
I will preface this by saying yes I've read TONS of threads on this question. I am hoping for some more advice for my specific situation from the WSO community. I'm currently a Big 4 auditor in a major market and want to make the switch into Investment Banking like many Big 4 people would love to. My plan is to start networking like crazy right now, develop some relationships, and see if I can get interviews for the coming recruiting season. Background Info: - Been in Big 4 for about a year - 3/4 way done with the CPA - 3.95 major GPA and 3.85 Overall GPA at state school (Northern Illinois University) - Very small alumni network in investment banking So my questions are: 1. Is cold calling/email/LinkedIn contacting going to be my best method of networking?
28 Jul 2014
Hi, I currently have a Big 4 Pre-Interview social (virtual) coming up. I was wondering if anyone has been to one of these? What to expect? Is it informal and what kind of questions should I ask? Never been to one of these, thanks!
28 Sep 2020
Recently, I was thinking of gaining some international exposure by moving to London. But the salary differential is really too large for it to be a consideration considering London is as expensive as where I'm based out now. In NYC, fresh graduates in big 4 consulting start on 70+k and MBA SC hires start on 135k. In London, fresh graduates start on only £32k which is equivalent to 50k. Managers in the big 4 I'm working start on only £60-65k, thats less than 100k. There is no noticeable difference for IB and Biglaw. Do you guys think it is possible to ask the big 4 in London to match my salary
30 Jun 2015
Hey everyone, I am new to the board. I have a job offer from an F100 as an industrial engineer ($80k), but my real passion is business strategy. I wasn't able to lock down anything at MBB or Deloitte, but I did get an offer from KPMG for their strategy team. Does anyone have any feedback on this segment and future doors it may open? The goal would be one day MBB from a top MBA. Would the KPMG Strategy team be a good starting point? I know it's not the most prestigious of the big 4, but will that be a strong weakness? Or would I be better off as an IE and then try for MBA?
27 Sep 2014
Background: I'm a 2nd year analyst at a prominent non-big 4 firm doing TAS (valuation / M&A DD) and I just got an offer for a boutique bank (I'd solely be doing middle market M&A) in a second tier city, which I'm currently working in. FWIW, this is the first banking offer I've gotten. I have a few hesitations: 1. Comp seems low 2. Exit opportunities - I'm hoping to jump to a MM PE firm after my analyst stint but given this is a growing IB (has been doing extremely well), I'm worried about the weight of the name. I met with a good amount of folks and it seems like a solid culture but my main
23 Feb 2017
Hi, a lot of you may think I'm an idiot just for asking this, but I think it may be a good idea. I have not being able to get an IB SA internship. This is my last summer, and I was thinking about saying I was gonna delay my graduation by one semester in order to secure an internship in a Big 4 acct firm. The only want students with at least 2 summers left. The internship is a split between auditing dept and advisory. I think doing this is better than doing an internship at Merrill Lynch (pwm). My intention is not to get a FT position but to get a Decent internship thus last summer. What do you
13 Mar 2015
Hey guys, I recently started in Big 4 Audit in Canada and was able to transfer to Financial advisory. I have always been more interested in finance but didn't go to a University that would give me a realistic chance at a good finance job. I went the big 4 route instead with a plan to transfer into FAS later on. Recently, there was an opening for an Analyst in what they call the Transaction and Business Modelling practice. We essentially help clients we help advise clients to make decisions and then possible pass it off to corporate finance if the client wants to move further. There is also a
10 Apr 2016
Big 4 Interviews (KPMG, Deloitte, PwC, E&Y) can be stressful, but if you prepare and practice enough it will make it a much easier and relaxed experience. The Big 4 firms are looking for polished, professional, and hard working students to fill their slots for new hires. How to Act in a Big Four Interview? They want professionals that they feel comfortable putting in front of their client. Students who rocked their accounting courses, focused solely on school and got 4.0′s meet their match at the first interview: The On-Campus Interview. It is the first round of the interview process and is
01 Jul 2013
Let me start this off by saying I'm not sure if I selected the right "forum" topic, so if anyone can direct me let me know. About me: So I interned this past busy season at a Big 4 accounting firm in the south east (I won't say the exact city for privacy reasons). The office is in the gulf coast (Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana region), and is fairly average-sized. I have one more year of my masters of accounting credits this year to complete, and then I start full-time in September. I received an average rating for my internship performance review, so I must have one well enough for one
18 Jun 2015
In this 4 part series I'll be covering in depth the differences between a typical career in accounting starting in (Big 4) public accounting, and a typical career in finance starting in investment banking. First up in the series is a long term look at the career paths of each Accounting – Career Path The most common and desired entry level position for an accounting student is in (Big 4) public accounting audit or tax. Public accounting gives great exposure to a wide variety of areas in a business, good training, and management experience early on. You will learn how business work and dig into
18 Jul 2013
mod note: this very informative q&a was originally posted on 2/12/12 UPDATE 2/22/12: Over 20 questions and 50 responses added so far, keep 'em coming! I also took the bold away from the questions by popular request
31 Dec 2012
eFinancialcareers published an article where they surveyed 6,500 consulting professionals globally on the ideal professional services firms to work for and the Big 4 surpass both Bain and BCG. The Big 4 consulting practices have gained a lot of prestige in the last couple of years, does anyone think there is any truth to this ranking? I still hold MBB way above Big 4 consulting. EDIT: Realized the picture is too small to see the rankings 1, McKinsey 2. PwC 3. Deloitte 4. EY 5. KPMG 6. BCG 7. Bain 8. Accenture 9. Grant Thornton 10. Oliver Wyman
26 Feb 2016
Hey everyone, I'm wondering what's the protocol I should follow about changing jobs and/or moving after recently joining a new company. I graduated from a good midwestern school a year ago, and moved back to my east coast home city because my college GF was also moving there. My first job out of school wasn't great, and it took me many months to find a new one. I started at my new company in April, and it's a great job at a well known, highly respected consulting firm. Problem is, I need to move. The long term relationship ended very sadly/badly, and I just can't live in this city any more. I
08 Jul 2016
For post-MBA offers: PwC MBA Signing Bonus: $25,000 (+$10,000 if you interned) Base: $140,000 Relocation: $2,000 Performance Bonus: up to $27,000 Ernst & Young MBA Signing Bonus: $20,000 Base: $120,000 Relocation: $2,000 Performance Bonus: up to $30,000 KPMG MBA Signing Bonus: $15,000 Base: $130,000 Relocation: $2,000 Performance Bonus: up to $22,750 Does E&Y still pay $120k or did they increase that to match others?
01 Dec 2014
Hi guys Background - Big 4 Audit followed by close to 3 years in Strategic Finance Analyst role in leading corporate. Currently on 60k PS and most likely going to get bumped to 65k in Dec but high chance to 70k & promotion to Manager role. Exploring Corporate Development opportunities. Have had interviews for multiple manager / analyst roles at 70-75k however despite positive feedback miss out to ppl with T/S or traditional banking background. Some roles that recruiters have approached me with from SMEs / several hundred m turnover companies are on 55-60k. Is it worth taking such a side ways /
17 Oct 2018
Hello all. Just wondering how common it is, or how plausible it is, for someone coming out of the big 4, likely in audit, to eventually obtain an executive/upper level position at an F500 after the jump to industry. Also, would Big 4 advisory have a better chance at this? I'm a junior accounting major, and have recently been regretting the fact that I wasn't knowledgeable about the whole concept of target schools for consulting/IB and the like before I applied for colleges. I had grades that at least would've been competitive for a target school, but instead I went to a florida university to
25 Jun 2012
Hey guys, I want some input on deciding between Duff & Phelps and a big 4. I got offers from a Big 4 and Duff & Phelps for their valuation. Ultimately, I want to do private equity in the long run and willing to take any route I can to get there, which offer should I take?
20 Oct 2016
If I have an internship offer from both KPMG and PWC in tax for NYC which should I take? I liked the people and environment much more at KPMG and they also offered to pay me more. KPMG offered around $30 an hr and I know friends who just accepted fulltime offers with a starting salary with a Master's in tax of $72,000+(5k signing bonus). PWC offer was about $27/hr and starting salary was low 60's. I really just didn't like the environment or people at PWC. My only fear is the PWC has a much better client base and KPMG I think is having tough times. Do you think accepting an offer at KPMG is
29 Nov 2008
I recently completed a phone interview with a campus recruiter at PwC. The interview ended quicker than I thought leading me to believe that I might have got rejected. I am not an accounting backgroud so I will not have enough credits to sit for cpa upon my graduation but I'm willing to achieve it since I have plans of going to grad school depending on if I get this job and stay on this track. I mentioned that bit in the thank you email I sent the recruiter after. The job I applied for have had many people from finance backgrounds who also did not go for the cpa get hired. My uncle was also a finance major who got into Deloitte achieved his cpa then and became senior manager but did not make it to partner so he moved to a different company for a higher position.
10 Dec 2014
I am going to try to keep this short . I just finished the CPA exam, and will start a big 4 gig in audit this summer (NYC). I want to be in equity research in the next few years (does not have to be a BB, I just want to break into the industry). I am considering focusing on the GMAT(for a top MBA) or the CFA to make the move more manageable and possible. I was wondering if anyone had any insight on this route, and if a move to Transaction Services would help at all? Thanks!
08 Mar 2012
Curious if anyone has ever done a 6 to 12 month rotation between competencies at a big 4 firm. I'm specifically interested in Valuation or FDD. I understand this can be common coming from audit, but interested if anyone has seen it done from someone on the consulting side. Rationale is that I'm extremely process focused and would like to build out my technical finance/accounting skill set. Slight cavet - I'm expecting a promotion to manager in the next few months, I would wait until this went into effect before having this discussion, but wondering if this would make a rotation more difficult.
26 Apr 2017
Hi guys, so this is my second post so far, and I'm thoroughly enjoying the feedback I've been getting from ya'll (especially from DickFuld). This particular subject involves entrepreneurship, so I decided that posting this in the VC section would be best. So I've come to ask your opinion about a friend's future business plan. He's currently enrolled in a top-ranking community college in SoCal; he plans to transfer to a state business school (the school is among the top twenty business schools in the U.S.) that happens to have strong connections with all four of the Big 4 firms. He wants to
19 Jun 2015
Quick back ground, I'm currently in audit and am leaving after this busy season. The university I went to is small and not prestigious at all, getting into the Big 4 is an accomplishment where I went, I did get a masters in accounting though. This is only my second year with the big 4 in smaller office. I'm by no means a high performer, audit is awful, and I have not yet tried for the CPA and don't have much intention to. I got accepted to a decent MSF program, think Vanderbilt or UT. I also started applying to oil/gas analyst positions and have a final round interview in a Strategic Finance
11 Jan 2015
A family friend is a partner at PwC in their Structured Fin group, I might get an internship next year is it worth A) making a friend jump through hoops B) Doing it as I come from a nontarget? The money looks good, I suspect this guy brings home 1.5-2MM and he loves his job. Can I go from there to IBD?
12 Dec 2010
Hi All, I narrowed down what I would like to pursue and the jobs that are currently available online that I would like your advise on applying for. I have been working in the financial services group within a big 4 accounting firm and specialized in compliance and REIT due diligence for a real estate development/management company for the past 3.5 years. Ultimately, I would like to break into the REPE and am seeking advise on how to gain necessary real estate deals/transactions/mortgage/underwriting experience. After doing some Google search, I came across a "Financial Analyst" position for a
26 Aug 2019
Hey WSO, first time posting. I didn't see an accounting sub forum so I decided to ask here. I have a question and that is, does where you go to school for an accounting degree matter in the eyes of the Big 4. I live in Canada, and go to a college, the recruiting last year for the big 4 came from our big university (UBC) around 10 or so, followed by 4 from the second most well known school (SFU) and then 3-4 from either technical schools, community colleges etc. What I really want to know though, is if my GPA is very strong, and I attend some networking events where the big 4 come, do I stand a chance at getting a job there? Does school name carry that much weight in determining a proficient candidate? I don't know how picky the big 4 is. Thanks.
26 Mar 2012
Wondering if anyone has any idea of the health of KPMG Consulting? From an outside perspective it would look like they are aren't being as aggressive on inorganic growth compared to the other Big 4 (Deloitte acquiring Monitor, PwC acquiring Booz, and E&Y with Pantheon(smaller scale but still)) but I've also heard some rumours that they are making huge investments in consulting right now. Are they falling behind or is there something missing here?
13 Nov 2014
Have an interview coming up for the corporate finance with a tiny accountancy firm (three partners). Currently working in Big 4 audit. Would I be mad to leave big 4 for this position? At least I would have some corp fin experience but I imagine the deals are small and nobody will have heard of the firm. I also intend to work abroad someday (Im in a smaller european country) and think this could affect chances of getting a position. Im going to go to the interview to see what the guy has to say but Im still not sure whether to accept if I was offered???? Any help?
18 Feb 2011
I'm finishing up my first year as an audit senior and going through the 'should I stay (until manager) or should I go' dilemma. I know I don't want to do internal audit or financial reporting and I think my target future job would be VP, Finance or Finance Director, or would love some M&A exposure, rather than the typical accounting/controller route. If I stayed until manager, I believe that will give me an edge to get into the c-suite later on rather than if I leave just after 2.5 years in big 4. On the other hand, if I tried to leave as a finance or FP&A manager, the job descriptions look
29 May 2015
It has been my goal since my senior year in high school to become a senior partner at a Big 4. I am now a rising sophomore in The McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas. I am in the Master of Professional Accounting Program and will be graduating in 2017 with my Bachelors and Masters in accounting. Hopefully by the time I graduate I will have sat for the CPA and passed all sections. Now that I'm starting on the path towards a career in the Big 4 post-graduation, I am looking for advice that will help me achieve my career goal.
03 Jul 2014
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