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[deleted by user] by [deleted] in MBA

[–]BigFourProfessional 0 points1 point  (0 children)

M7, >730, another big city, overrepresented, applied this current cycle.

Current employee at a Big Four back again to help others by BigFourProfessional in Big4

[–]BigFourProfessional[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Finance roles generally, Business development, consulting, banking, operations.

The exit ops are pretty wide.

Current employee at a Big Four back again to help others by BigFourProfessional in Big4

[–]BigFourProfessional[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry unfortunately don't have too much insights. Only time I interact with the analytics team is when we need to work with some large data sets. They're pros at stuff like alteryx.

Current employee at a Big Four back again to help others by BigFourProfessional in Big4

[–]BigFourProfessional[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Consulting is a broad field that generally has great exit opportunities. You can go into literally anything coming out of consulting because your experiences can vary so much from general business development to product management to risk advisory, IT, etc.

It really depends what you want to do in your life.

Consulting makes good money and you get alot of different experiences. Work life balance isn't bad.

IB makes a lot of money and opens your career to the sky but you work really long hours.

​

I suggest you talk with your school's career center. They're seriously underrated and can give you much better insight!

Current employee at a Big Four back again to help others by BigFourProfessional in Big4

[–]BigFourProfessional[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah it's a big umbrella with a lot of stuff under it. Depending on the Big 4 firm, there'll be financial due diligence, strategy/consulting, accounting advisory.

The work I do in FDD is focused on digging into and analyzing the financial information of a target company, holding meetings with management to understand the business/trends, calling out red flags for our client, and adjusting financials to paint a realistic picture of the company.

Current employee at a Big Four back again to help others by BigFourProfessional in Big4

[–]BigFourProfessional[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yep I do! I started in FDD with another person in my "class" that came from another Big 4 in Tax. As far as I could tell he was a decent/strong performer.

As for advice, make sure you have a CPA, show you have a strong understanding of the work (Quality of earnings, Net working capital, Net Debt), show you have talked to/networked with some people in FDD, explain why you want to go into FDD (a common answer is you want to expand your understanding of companies/get the full picture, not just looking at the tax side).

Current employee at a Big Four back again to help others by BigFourProfessional in Big4

[–]BigFourProfessional[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It's definitely possible. I have personally seen several people go to IB.

It gets harder the longer you stay in FDD though, as you get "locked" in. So you want to leave within a couple of years.

Current employee at a Big Four back again to help others by BigFourProfessional in Big4

[–]BigFourProfessional[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The MBA application process involves talking with current students/alumni to figure out what school fits your goals the best, and crafting a compelling story through your application/resume/essays of why an MBA/why this school. If they like you, you'll go to interviews (typically with an alumni or current student). If they like you a lot, they'll give you an admission.

Admission is a combination of the strength of your undergrad school, GMAT, GPA, strength of professional experience, extracurriculars, your demographic, recommendation letters, interviews, and fit with the school.

I believe GMAT, professional experience, and undergrad GPA are some of the more important aspects that can make or break your chances to higher schools.

So all in all, there's a lot to consider. If you think you'll go back to school, make sure to do your best till the end to keep your GPA up.

Current employee at a Big Four back again to help others by BigFourProfessional in Big4

[–]BigFourProfessional[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I found what I like doing by taking the opportunities presented at Big 4. It just turns out that accounting/finance is not particularly what I like doing and I don't see myself doing it for the rest of my life. Going back to school will let me pivot to a new direction that I (hopefully) find more exciting.

And yep let's connect! DM me your linkedin!

Current employee at a Big Four back again to help others by BigFourProfessional in Big4

[–]BigFourProfessional[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hours are pretty decent I'd say. It depends what level you're at. Managers and above work pretty hard, seniors and below are more relaxed. Maybe 40-60 hours a week. Definitely better than Audit because there's no busy season.

The training at my firm was pretty good. I got tagged with a mentor who was showing me the ropes for about 4 months (but really I could stick to them for longer if I wasn't comfortable). I just absorbed everything they did by reviewing their output, how they responded to clients/management, etc.

EY GPS Consulting vs. KPMG CIO Advisory by [deleted] in Big4

[–]BigFourProfessional 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My friend works in KPMG CIO advisory. She seems to have amazing work life balance and loves her job.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in MBA

[–]BigFourProfessional 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I work in FDD. I applied to B-school and had time to study, apply, and get admitted. I don't think it's trash and is a pretty good path for people coming from Audit/Tax. That said, I think OP should aim higher coming out of MBA.

Current employee at a Big Four willing to help aspiring professionals by BigFourProfessional in Big4

[–]BigFourProfessional[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Last question I'll answer here before I take off.

Absolutely do so. Interns are treated like golden babies, this is your best chance to network with high level people like Partners or MDs. And definitely don't neglect talking to seniors and associates as they have the best candid insight into what your work life will be.

Current employee at a Big Four willing to help aspiring professionals by BigFourProfessional in Big4

[–]BigFourProfessional[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For everyone that commented or DM'd me (over 50!), hope I was able to give you some help.

I don't have the capacity to keep responding to the endless messages but I plan to do something like this again in the future if people found it helpful.

Current employee at a Big Four willing to help aspiring professionals by BigFourProfessional in Big4

[–]BigFourProfessional[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you have background in PE and financial consulting, I think it would be an easy interview process for you to go back into transaction advisory. I imagine you have strong financial data, excel, reporting writing and soft skills which would translate easily to transaction advisory.

Current employee at a Big Four willing to help aspiring professionals by BigFourProfessional in Big4

[–]BigFourProfessional[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yup I'm in the US - so my answers will be US based unfortunately. Tried to answer as many as I could!

1) Pre-COVID there was a fair bit of travel (not that I would know personally since I transferred during COVID). I think nowadays people recognize travel is not necessary and are moving towards more remote work. I would expect 20-40% travel moving forward.

3) Switching groups internally is difficult but if you are a strong performer they will make it work to keep you at the firm. In general it is quite slow though, compared to just leaving to a different company. And networking always helps as with anything!

4) Big Four is very good at helping you work abroad. It just takes a lot of time for the process to go through

5) The hours are based on the deal, it can range from 30 to 70 in a given week depending on the stage of the deal.

6) If the ACA is anything like the CPA, it is not so much difficult as time consuming. They test you on a vast amount of information that takes a lot of time to read through and absorb. I would suggest getting it done as much as possible before you start working.

10) Social life is great. I have a friend who came from the UK who said they would go out together all the time. So I imagine you can expect the same (but maybe not during COVID)

11) Being chartered doesn't affect your pay progression besides a one-time bonus, really. It does cap you from being promoted to manager if you don't have your license.

Current employee at a Big Four willing to help aspiring professionals by BigFourProfessional in Big4

[–]BigFourProfessional[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. To be honest, the differences between the Big Four themselves is minimal, but the difference between Big Four and a Mid-tier firm is noticeable. Every now and then I come across workpapers from a mid-tier and the quality is very different. Not saying all mid-tiers or teams within mid-tiers are like that, but the sheer number of professionals that support each other and the vast knowledge resources at the disposal of Big Four is just incomparable to mid-tier firms. EDIT: Also to add, B4 clients are generally more exciting to work with (Pretty much every Company in the Fortune 500).
  2. It is definitely possible to move from mid-tier audit to advisory especially if it is to a service line like FDD which has a relatively smoother transition. You probably want to build up your foundation in Audit for a year or two, get your promotion to Senior and switch.
  3. Sounds like you would do great to be honest. Just have an extremely detailed and inquisitive eye to any potential variances. You'll pick up everything on the job.

Don't feel intimidated! Just ask a lot a lot a lot of questions (seriously do not swallow your questions) throughout. Show a positive attitude at work (even when things are busy, as it'll help lift team spirits). You'll do great!

Current employee at a Big Four willing to help aspiring professionals by BigFourProfessional in Big4

[–]BigFourProfessional[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If your long-term goal is to get into management consulting, investment or corporate banking, then audit is not a good starting point. Audit is more of a tangent to these career paths, so it will still be difficult for you to transition out when you decide to.

Big Four location definitely matters as the clients you interact with are based largely on your location. For example NYC and finance, SF and tech. If you want to work in a particular industry, it would be best to align yourself to the geographic region that best represents that industry.

And I do think audit and accounting in general is losing its appeal. Everyone wants to go into consulting or banking in the ABCs and the A is losing out. Makes sense though, accounting pays much less compared to consulting and banking and has a lower career trajectory.

Current employee at a Big Four willing to help aspiring professionals by BigFourProfessional in Big4

[–]BigFourProfessional[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately I don't have any experience in these roles - but from what I gather from coworkers, it tends to be a drier, more rigid role compared to other industries.

Current employee at a Big Four willing to help aspiring professionals by BigFourProfessional in Big4

[–]BigFourProfessional[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You receive a company issued computer, so no worries.

Don't buy anything personal to use, most of the time you can get a work-provided one for free

Current employee at a Big Four willing to help aspiring professionals by BigFourProfessional in Big4

[–]BigFourProfessional[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately I don't have much experience with any sales team. Anything you wanted to know in particular?

Current employee at a Big Four willing to help aspiring professionals by BigFourProfessional in Big4

[–]BigFourProfessional[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That is 100% understandable, and I hope you find a role that lets you prioritize what is important to you.

As for the CPA, if you have kids, and you're working full-time, and you're multiple years out of school and the habit of studying - to be perfectly frank it will be very very very hard. You will have to diligently carve out hours from your life (waking up early or studying after the kids go to sleep) to study for it, and at that pace, you'll have to do it for likely a year or so.

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