Picking the right training firm??

Padkir

Hi I was just wondering if anyone could give any insights on their views of the best accounting firm to do the ICAI training contract with? Any help would be great!

Also, if one of the Big 4 were to offer you a job, usually at the end of november I hear, how long do they give you to decide whether to accept or not? Would they give you enough time to receive offers from other firms and then make your choice?

Thanks in advance!!;)

SL10

I would advise going to all the information days and talking to the people that work in the different training firms. I found that there was a very different atmosphere in them all (ie different ways of working) and do I chose the one that I felt most comfortable in/appealed to me most.

I cant remember the exact timescale for deciding on the firm, but I think I made my decision pretty quickly.

defiantshrimp

Padkir wrote: »

Hi I was just wondering if anyone could give any insights on their views of the best accounting firm to do the ICAI training contract with? Any help would be great!

Also, if one of the Big 4 were to offer you a job, usually at the end of november I hear, how long do they give you to decide whether to accept or not? Would they give you enough time to receive offers from other firms and then make your choice?

Thanks in advance!!;)

There is no "best" firm to train with. Depends on what you are looking for and where you want to go with your career.

The Big 4 all have standard response dates, coordinated by the ICAI. That means no firm can require you to accept at an earlier time than the others, so you can consider all the offers that you recieved.

kilburn

anyone know when the information days are

Padkir

defiantshrimp wrote: »

There is no "best" firm to train with. Depends on what you are looking for and where you want to go with your career.

The Big 4 all have standard response dates, coordinated by the ICAI. That means no firm can require you to accept at an earlier time than the others, so you can consider all the offers that you recieved.

Ok thanks for that. It's just if I got an offer from one of them I wanted to be able to think about it and consider other non-Big 4 offers before I decided!

scouser82

Padkir wrote: »

Hi I was just wondering if anyone could give any insights on their views of the best accounting firm to do the ICAI training contract with? Any help would be great!

Also, if one of the Big 4 were to offer you a job, usually at the end of november I hear, how long do they give you to decide whether to accept or not? Would they give you enough time to receive offers from other firms and then make your choice?

Thanks in advance!!;)

They are all as bad as each other. Avoid XXX though. They dont pay overtime!

numbernerd

kilburn wrote: »

anyone know when the information days are

The big firms will usually visit the various colleges for information afternoons..I know there are some in my particular college around the first week in October..Im sure your careers dept will keep u posted

dbran

Hi

Training with a big firm will add a lot to your CV. Moreover, there are a lot of large companies that almost insist on the candidate having Big 4 experience. But as a lot of folks have found out, they do work you hard so it is not for everyone.

Working for a smaller firm can be a more healthy atmosphere, but depending on the kind of firm and the nature of its clients you may find your training is limited to smaller companys and audits.

Hope this helps


Dbran

Padkir

scouser82 wrote: »

They are all as bad as each other. Avoid XXX though. They dont pay overtime!

Surely there has to be some sort of laws on that???
I thought it isn't pad but you can accumulate it as paid holiday leave?

scouser82

Padkir wrote: »

I thought it isn't pad but you can accumulate it as paid holiday leave?

You would think that, but no. Thats the way they do it in the other big 4 firms. You get leave in lieu for your overtime, and most people end up using it for additional study leave (not for holidays).

Padkir

scouser82 wrote: »

You would think that, but no. Thats the way they do it in the other big 4 firms. You get leave in lieu for your overtime, and most people end up using it for additional study leave (not for holidays).

That is a bit sh1t actually! To be honest though, from wat I can see doin research and stuff, they don't really seem to care as much about promoting themselves or anything! For example, all of the other 3 have been around my college last year on about internships and stuff but they weren't, and even this year they're kinda showin up at the last min, 2 days before the deadline, and thats only because they're at the graduate fair anyway!!!

bazzer86

Padkir, can I ask is it Dublin where you are looking to get a training contract? At the minute it definatley an employers market, compared to a few years ago. I heard last years milk rounds attracted thousands of applicants. So best of luck with getting a job...

The things I would look in particular for are
1. What kind of support do they offer for exam leave. I know that smaller firms offer substantially less time off, and even some of the big4 firms do too, so id research that.

2. Id look for a firm that is tailored as well as possible to you needs. If your looking to get international experience, Id enquire about secondment opportunities abroad as not all offer them.

3. Pay, most are fairly poor but some are better than others.

The general atmosphere in the job should be looked into, I know its accountancy but some places seem to have a better buzz than others

EDudder

They won't tell you the salary until well after you've accepted the job.

Hanley

EDudder wrote: »

They won't tell you the salary until well after you've accepted the job.

The salary will be in your training contract. If you don't like what you see, don't sign.

Padkir

Hanley wrote: »

The salary will be in your training contract. If you don't like what you see, don't sign.

To be honest, unless it was a completely unreasonable offer you'd be a fool to turn it down!

And no I would prefer Galway but I know that might not be possible!!

aka accounts 2010

these days you grab whatever training contract your offered!!!!have you not seen the volume of unemployed graduates???????you cannot afford to be fussy with details such as pay (after all you are starting at the bottom of the ladder).