Been enjoying the AMAs on OzB and figured there may be questions about us Suits.
Will not disclose firm names but am currently working at a Big4 firm and considering a move out of consulting.
Ask me anything!
[AMA] I've worked in both a Big4 and Mid-tier accounting & advisory firm - AMA!
closed Comments
Do you still like pineapples?
Are you CA? Have you experienced secondment overseas with an affiliate firm?
Yes I am a qualified CA.
Have not undertaken any secondments. They are also much more complicated to obtain than the firms advertise.
I’ve been on a few, they are actually easy - depends on field. I’m in assurance. Commonly if you reach out to the affiliate directly they will assist - commonly the home office that makes it an issue.
Also big 4 (audit)
I find a lot of it is luck, but generally you'll only get if you do the legwork.
I was an exception and had a 3 month stint in Canada offered to me, but this is probably more because I was no longer doing a usual audit client at that time of year and so had a huge gap to fill up.
Was there a huge difference with charge/bill rate between big 4 and mid-tier?
In terms of our percentage utilisation as employees (hours charged/hours worked) or rates charged to clients?
Rates to clients, using a fresh graduates rate as example.
From an internal perspective it gets complex as each company has different gross charge out rates and 'realisation' percentages.
At the end of the day, the cost of a graduates times is generally only marginally higher at the Big4 firm in my experience.
I stayed at a big4 once. My favourite part was the jumping pillow.
Do you have a jumping pillow at your big4?
lol
Those memories, when it turned off at night and slowly deflated.
How can i join Big 4? I would like to know how it is like to be part of big 4.
I am working as an accountant atm and tried to pass my CPA for last 5 years now but completed 1 so far. :(
Suggest please.
Shall i give up on accounting world as without being CPA or CA, i dont think you can earn much.
Currently on 50k salary.
TIA
I've joined 2 out big 4 bank and also joined one of the big 4 accounting/advisory firm..to be honest with you, it's nothing special..it's all about the image and much less to do with earning potential. I guarantee you they won't offer you the salary you think they would at their size, It's actually reverse - you get much lower offer since the competition is too great.
The benefit in working with those big 4 is when you come out of there and onto the next job, you will find it easier since everyone knows the big 4 don't just hire ppl off the street and usually are smart, so you got that going for you.
Big 4 accounting firms are brutal places. And honestly I don't think you'll survive. You'll be managed out of the firm if it took you 5 years to pass one CPA subject.
I think you'd be managed out of most firms if you took 5 years to pass one CPA subject
I would mirror a number of the above comments. Big4 would likely be a challenging environment.
Whats your average hours/day?
7.5 hrs a day. 5 days a week.
If you are hoping to work 7.5 hour days at a Big 4, I estimate that it will take approximately 1 day before you are yelled at by a manager and/or let go for "not being a team player"
How long do you think i have to work?
@loveishell: If you are in financial audit/assurance during busy season (aka three months after financial year end of your client), you can expect to do anything from 60-80+ chargeable hours per week.
@loveishell: Probably depends on which area you work in, but generally "until the job is done". There is no magical number of hours. The Big 4 business model is based on the assumption that employees (grads especially) will be willing to work long hours of unpaid overtime. Woohoo, free labour! If a grad isn't willing to do that, there's thousands of other grads waiting in line who will. The tradeoff is that if you can stick it out for a little while, you'll be able to get a more lucrative second job elsewhere because employers are attracted by the name value on your CV.
Unpaid overtime is a reasonable expectation in most professional services industries these days, but Big 4 accounting have a reputation for being worse than most in that regard.
Very dependent on the service line, team and projects you are working on.
No issues walking out after 7.5 hours of work when it is quiet or there is no immediate deadline. However when duty calls it can be upwards of 12h+ days.
What are your thoughts on pineapples?
Is bonus discretionary or in the contract? How much on average can u get bonus for each year?
From memory eligibility (based on your level) is in the contract but the not the amounts, that is discretionary year on year.
Some service lines end up providing 20%+ and some none at all.
Which service lines are lucrative? Which one stingy? I want to avoid those lol
What happened to your previous AMA I like pineapple, ask me anything.?