Risks of not taking Big 4

Pandoras Twist

Hi all,

I got an offer today for Deloitte, who would be my choice of Big 4, but I also got called back for the 2nd round of interviews for Grant Thornton. I hadn't really considered GT, but they came across brilliantly in the interview, and I got the feeling it would be somewhere I would really like to work.

I've heard from other sources and seen in threads here that there are firms that will require Big 4 experience. Am I shooting myself in the foot for later if I take Grant Thornton?

I applied for audit in GT and tax in Deloitte in case that makes any bearing.

scouser82

Dont be fooled by how these companies portray themselves. About 90% of what they tell you are either lies or serious truth bending. I have not heard good things about GT (not that the Big 4 are much better). Audit in particular is a horrible career. If I were you I would take the tax job you have been offered.

jonnybravo

They'll be very little difference between Audit in Big 4 and audit in the likes of Grant Thorton / BDO. However, there is a big difference between Tax and Audit.

A lot will depend on what you want to do after you qualify. If you want to go into industry as a Financial Accountant it would probably better to do Audit as it gives you more experience in accounting areas. In audit the hours will be long at certain times of the year and you could be based away from home at client sites for long periods.

If Tax is what your interested in then go for tax. Hours will be less and people in general seem to be happier working in tax in my experience anyways.

BeritesBowl

Hi,

congrats on Deloitte, what office did you get an offer for Deloitte I did interviews yesterday and they said that we would not be notified until Monday or Tuesday.

Hard to tell how it went every1 thinks they went well, they did ask me the Budget question and I had that prepared. Caught me out with 1 question but overall I felt it went well

johnn

BeritesBowl wrote: »

Hi,

congrats on Deloitte, what office did you get an offer for Deloitte I did interviews yesterday and they said that we would not be notified until Monday or Tuesday.

Hard to tell how it went every1 thinks they went well, they did ask me the Budget question and I had that prepared. Caught me out with 1 question but overall I felt it went well

What did they ask you about the budget?

Celtise

congrats OP. I took tax in Deloitte when I was offered it last year after a placement so if I can help that's what I'm here for! I think your biggest decision though is between tax or audit.

Pandoras Twist

Thanks Celtise!

First question would be how hard is your day to day work?
How do you find studying for the AITI exams?
Whats Deloitte actually like, aside from all the propaganda?

and

Do you have any friends in audit that you could compare your experiences to?

Jim2007

Pandoras Twist wrote: »

I've heard from other sources and seen in threads here that there are firms that will require Big 4 experience. Am I shooting myself in the foot for later if I take Grant Thornton?

I applied for audit in GT and tax in Deloitte in case that makes any bearing.

I would suggest that the decision between tax and audit is more important than which firm to go with...

While tax can be very interesting and offer regular hours it a specialization and a very limiting one at that - Irish taxation. Auditing on the other hand, although dull and boring, is more easily marketed - easy entry industry, travel and so on.

I would suggest the audit job as you can always specialize in tax later if you wish.

Good luck with that,

Jim

Pandoras Twist

I would be doing the FAE's aswell, so while my work experience would be tax related, would it not be possible to move into industry later?

Jim2007

Pandoras Twist wrote: »

I would be doing the FAE's aswell, so while my work experience would be tax related, would it not be possible to move into industry later?

It's always possible, but probably not as easy as someone who has spend 3+ in audit or even business services experience... If you were the employer, who would you pick first, someone who has already proved themselves in a related field or someone who has worked in an unrelated field??? This is the same as well if you want to travel and work abroad for a while....

In my opinion it is far to early in your career to specialize... what happens if you don't like taxation???

Good luck with that,

Jim.

BTW, my background is big four, but I did about 12 months in each of tax, audit and corporate finance, before finally finishing out my time in management consulting. Once qualified I left the accounting world as such and these days I spend my time as a freelance consultant working on various financial modeling projects among other things.

george507

BeritesBowl wrote: »

Hi,

congrats on Deloitte, what office did you get an offer for Deloitte I did interviews yesterday and they said that we would not be notified until Monday or Tuesday.

Hard to tell how it went every1 thinks they went well, they did ask me the Budget question and I had that prepared. Caught me out with 1 question but overall I felt it went well

Hi, Did you get the reply from Deloitte about the outcome of ur interview?
I have an interview at this week, so I am wondering how they asked about budget? Which question did you got caught? Much appreciated

scouser82

Jim2007 wrote: »

It's always possible, but probably not as easy as someone who has spend 3+ in audit or even business services experience... If you were the employer, who would you pick first, someone who has already proved themselves in a related field or someone who has worked in an unrelated field??? This is the same as well if you want to travel and work abroad for a while....

In my opinion it is far to early in your career to specialize... what happens if you don't like taxation???

And what happens if you don like auditing??? Its not like you get good variety in that line of work. You do the same rubbish for 3 and a half years. An it doesnt get more interesting as you progress to senior believe me (contrary to what managers and partners will tell you). Its just as boring, except you have the added bonus of more pressure! More responsibility, yes. More interesting, no way.

Seriously just pick the area that interests you most, and what you think will make you happy. Life is too short to be miserable in a job you hate for 3.5 years for the SLIGHT possibility that you will get a better job afterwards (I dont buy that argument by the way, I dont see why a tax professional wouldnt have as good a chance as a qualified professional from an audit background.)

Jim2007

scouser82 wrote: »

And what happens if you don like auditing??? Its not like you get good variety in that line of work. You do the same rubbish for 3 and a half years. An it doesnt get more interesting as you progress to senior believe me (contrary to what managers and partners will tell you). Its just as boring, except you have the added bonus of more pressure! More responsibility, yes. More interesting, no way.

I would agree with you in many ways, but given that your description could be applied to most areas of accounting the question becomes: is it the right profession for you?

scouser82 wrote: »

I dont buy that argument by the way, I dont see why a tax professional wouldnt have as good a chance as a qualified professional from an audit background.

As I said, it is not impossible, but it certainly will not be an easy sell!

good luck with that,

Jim.

Celtise

Hey OP, sorry been insanely busy this week. Will pop you a mail tomorrow if you are still making the decision?

Pandoras Twist

I've decided to go with tax but I'm still faced with the decision between Deloitte, PwC and KPMG so any light you can shed on the matter would be greatly appreciated! Thanks a million

Jim2007

Pandoras Twist wrote: »

I've decided to go with tax but I'm still faced with the decision between Deloitte, PwC and KPMG so any light you can shed on the matter would be greatly appreciated! Thanks a million

So you now have an offer for tax from all 3

aca101

From my experience PwC seem to be the most highly regarded of the big 4 at least when it comes to their tax practice.

Who knows what affect the email scandal will have on their rep tho...possibly very little effect

Celtise

Well since I'm contractually meant to be starting at Deloitte next autumn, I vote Deloitte. From having worked there before, they seem to treat their employees better than KPMG (my roommate worked with them at the same time I was at Deloitte).

That PWC scandal may not effect their rep but I'd say they will have far less females accepting offers this year, very bad time for it to appear in the media.

Pandoras Twist

Jim2007 wrote: »

So you now have an offer for tax from all 3

I applied for tax in the Big 4 and audit in GT. I withdrew my applications from GT and E&Y and got offers from other three.

Yeah I was quite turned off KPMG in the interview so I think its more between PwC and Deloitte

I am a bit bothered by the PwC scandal to be honest but I've since heard from other sources that there have been similar things in Deloitte and the KPMG in the past. PwC actually sent me an email reassuring me that the matter is being dealt with. I think they have sent it to everyone.

Celtise

I'd say they sent that out to everyone alright to try and dampen the bad press. Sure there have probably been such things going on in all companies, the problem is that they were dumb enough to put it in writing. A bit of banter between boys is always going to be found.

Would you be starting in deloitte tax next autumn or did you get offered a PG contract? Let me know I might be seeing you around!

Pandoras Twist

Gonna do the masters for defo. You might end up being my supervisor when I get in!

Celtise

Well I'm just doing my masters now so more likely your buddy!

Pandoras Twist

Sweet! Get ready to be pestered!

Celtise

haha get ready to do all the sh!tty jobs I couldn't be bothered to do!