Big 4 starting salaries

iwishihadaname

I'm just wondering does anyone know generally what the starting salary for a graduate position is in any of the big 4?

the long lad

21,500 is the standard this year, with an extra grand if you're in tax and another grand if you've got a masters ie 23500 in tax with a masters.
afaik, deloitte are a tad less and e&y are a tad more, but nothing worth talking about.

Pandoras Twist

Wow, I didnt think they differentiated between tax and audit in training contracts.

I wonder why they give you an extra grand if you did the masters? Does that still apply if they paid for the masters?

bensboys

That is good money - back in '94 when I graduated I started on £60pw or €4000 pa and I thought it was fantastic:D

jdooley28

I was wondering why itwas 22500. 1 of my frinds said his was 21500 and we couldnt figure out why. now we know its cos of the masters! oh thats for ernst & young. Pwc didnt even say yet

jamieh

the long lad wrote: »

21,500 is the standard this year, with an extra grand if you're in tax and another grand if you've got a masters ie 23500 in tax with a masters.
afaik, deloitte are a tad less and e&y are a tad more, but nothing worth talking about.

Deloitte are the same as the others...21.5-22.5k

Celtise

These figures make me happy...was hearing some lesser ones! And I'll have a masters and be in tax so thats double extras!

iwishihadaname

the long lad wrote: »

21,500 is the standard this year, with an extra grand if you're in tax and another grand if you've got a masters ie 23500 in tax with a masters.
afaik, deloitte are a tad less and e&y are a tad more, but nothing worth talking about.

thanks! I'm doing a PDA and then joining in 2012, so I'll probabaly be on the lowest figure possible better than nothing tho! does your salary go up each year of the contract?

defiantshrimp

iwishihadaname wrote: »

thanks! I'm doing a PDA and then joining in 2012, so I'll probabaly be on the lowest figure possible better than nothing tho! does your salary go up each year of the contract?

Yeah, goes up as you progress through the exams and get promoted to the different levels.

instofhorror

What about belfast - anyone know?

Lorchii

i got a contract from KPMG (and soon to have one from deloitte) but the one I have said it wont specify the salary until closer to time of starting. It will be decided based on the current market (which is bound to not be great next year).

is this pretty standard for the big 4, or am I in for a shock if I accept it now? I'm almost afraid to see how little deloitte say!

Celtise

When I got my deloitte contract last year it said pretty much the same as your kpmg one so don't be surprised.

An Citeog

Lorchii wrote: »

i got a contract from KPMG (and soon to have one from deloitte) but the one I have said it wont specify the salary until closer to time of starting. It will be decided based on the current market (which is bound to not be great next year).

is this pretty standard for the big 4, or am I in for a shock if I accept it now? I'm almost afraid to see how little deloitte say!

Yeah, it's pretty standard. Even if there is a figure specified, it could change within the next 1-2 years.

xyz2294

Lorchii wrote: »

i got a contract from KPMG (and soon to have one from deloitte) but the one I have said it wont specify the salary until closer to time of starting. It will be decided based on the current market (which is bound to not be great next year).

is this pretty standard for the big 4, or am I in for a shock if I accept it now? I'm almost afraid to see how little deloitte say!

What department in Deloitte have you been offered?

Lorchii

cfo consulting up in dublin!

xyz2294

Lorchii wrote: »

cfo consulting up in dublin!

Congratulations! Had my interview for strategy and operations over a week ago. Starting to give up hope now.

Johnny_Fontane

very surprised that people in tax get a grand extra.

Its a very specialised area, unless you are 100% sure that you want to go there, I would avoid it.

An audit senior can always go into tax, but a tax senior after qualifying can in most cases only go into tax.

EDudder

Therefore pay a little more to sweeten the deal.

After all the reason people think trainees will accept low salaries is that the career prospects are worth it in the long term. If the career prospects are seen to narrow a little...increase salary a little to attract people.

Well, thats the only reason i can think of. Either that or because trainee tax is harder.

npj85

jamieh wrote: »

Deloitte are the same as the others...21.5-22.5k

My god! that seems so low compared to the UK. I have an offer from a UK big 4 in London and from one in Dublin and am trying to decide which to go for. Unlike the Dublin offer the UK give guide salary in the contract, £27250.
Is there any difference in pay if your training in Dublin as opposed anywhere else in the country? London trainees get more than those training elsewhere in the UK.

defiantshrimp

npj85 wrote: »

My god! that seems so low compared to the UK. I have an offer from a UK big 4 in London and from one in Dublin and am trying to decide which to go for. Unlike the Dublin offer the UK give guide salary in the contract, £27250.
Is there any difference in pay if your training in Dublin as opposed anywhere else in the country? London trainees get more than those training elsewhere in the UK.

You have to factor in the fact that people on low incomes barely pay any tax in Ireland (that might change in December though...), whereas they do in the UK. See for yourself at http://listentotaxman.com/ and www.hookhead.com/Tools/tax2010.jsp and that London rent and commuting costs are higher. But don't get me wrong, salaries aren't great here.

Canis Lupus

No idea why I'm in this thread but you can live more than comfortably on 27.5k in London (I live here although not an accountant )

I've lived in Dub but London is an awesome city and I'd grab the chance to spend some time here if you can.

Padkir

Right, so the average will be about 21-22k for Big 4, give or take. What does that include, are the course fee's then taken out of that the or what? Because I just received a contract offer from a Top 10 firm, detailing the salary, and it's 14.5k basic salary and then 4.5k for course fees... just a bit confused!

ted2767

What exactly are you supposed to do with 14.5K??

Padkir

ted2767 wrote: »

What exactly are you supposed to do with 14.5K??

Not sure!! It seemed very low, I know they pay your fees and give study leave and all that but even so...! Just wondering from someone working with Big 4 now, after everything, wat is the take-home pay per week, roughly!?;)

SL10

Its 21-22k and then they also pay for your exam fees, books, course fees etc in the big 4. (so you wont have to pay for exams etc in the big four unless you dont get them first time)

SL10

In the big 4 take home is about 1600-1700 per month I think for first year.

sternn

One of my friends got an offer in deloitte consulting, and on the contract it has more than €30k.

I have an offer from pwc consulting, but yet to receive my contract. Anyone have any idea?

ari101

sternn wrote: »

One of my friends got an offer in deloitte consulting, and on the contract it has more than €30k.

Seriously? :eek:

Stabshauptmann

sternn wrote: »

One of my friends got an offer in deloitte consulting, and on the contract it has more than €30k.

I have an offer from pwc consulting, but yet to receive my contract. Anyone have any idea?

That 30k isnt for a first year on the grad programme.

Padkir

SL10 wrote: »

In the big 4 take home is about 1600-1700 per month I think for first year.

Thats pretty good! I didnt think there would be such a difference between them and a different Top 10 tho!

sternn

Stabshauptmann wrote: »

That 30k isnt for a first year on the grad programme.

Well, he is going on the grad programme and does not have a masters behind him.

SL10

I think in Deloitte consulting there is two streams.

One that goes in and does the ACA/CIMA exams and starts on the same as the audit people do and then a stream that go in and dont do exams and so start on a higher level.

Stabshauptmann

Is it the 3 year Analyst programme? Is it an IT consulting job, or an accounting training contract?

dudara

sternn wrote: »

One of my friends got an offer in deloitte consulting, and on the contract it has more than €30k.

That would be reasonably correct. As anothe poster has said, people starting CFO services in consulting in Deloitte are typically on training contracts (low €20k). Graduates starting in the other streams such as strategy & operations, enterprise applications etc will be offered higher salaries (~€30kish).

This isn't manna from heaven however, there is a long interview process for these positions.

Cookie33

Got 2 job offers from EY and Deloitte for grad audit department

EY offer €22,500 but deloitte doesn't state it. Both pays for CAI.
I assume Deloitte's salary will be similar..

Its really hard to choose between them as the contracts are similar.. Anyone know of people working in Deloitte or EY, what they think of it?

Lorchii

all consulting positions have the same interview process, or is the strat one even more complicated? I think the difference in salary is due to the difference in the nature of the contract..i could be wrong (only guessing) but I got the impression they don't do professional qualifications (or at least don't get the time off to do it) whereas CFO must do Cima or ACA - so said the brochure anyways and hence the lower salary.

defiantshrimp

sternn wrote: »

Well, he is going on the grad programme and does not have a masters behind him.

It would be for Deloitte consulting and not an accounting position. You can't get away with paying normal graduates our wages!

wcp1200

Can someone explain this whole Big 4 thing. Say I finish my 3 year degree of business in accounting, im I then almost guaranteed a place in one of these companies?

Thanks

Pandoras Twist

Ha no, definitely not almost guaranteed a place.

- You need to have a good academic record
- Relevant work experience is a plus (internships, accounting practices etc.)
- You need to be able to demonstrate an interest in the field (whether tax, audit etc.)
- Be aware of current and commercial issues
- Know the company inside out, what services they offer, who their big clients are, and what differenciates them from the others (theres not much between them so you need to be decent at waffle here)

iwishihadaname

Pandoras Twist wrote: »

Ha no, definitely not almost guaranteed a place.

- You need to have a good academic record
- Relevant work experience is a plus (internships, accounting practices etc.)
- You need to be able to demonstrate an interest in the field (whether tax, audit etc.)
- Be aware of current and commercial issues
- Know the company inside out, what services they offer, who their big clients are, and what differenciates them from the others (theres not much between them so you need to be decent at waffle here)

I had no work experience nor a degree relating to accountancy. Also never got asked a question about commercial awareness or about the company. Guess I got lucky with my offer :P

Hackysack

Cookie33 wrote: »

Got 2 job offers from EY and Deloitte for grad audit department

EY offer €22,500 but deloitte doesn't state it. Both pays for CAI.
I assume Deloitte's salary will be similar..

Its really hard to choose between them as the contracts are similar.. Anyone know of people working in Deloitte or EY, what they think of it?

I would really recommend researching some of the threads in this forum about EY.

Long story short, it's got a reputation among trainees working in the Big 4, for working people excessively hard for absolutely no payment/acknowledge of the overtime you will inevitably do.

At least Deloitte, KPMG & PWC have time in lieu policies of some sort. This is a big thing to factor into your decision.

More than likely Deloitte will have a similar starting wage to EY, the only compensation is that as you further progress through EY I think you tend to get a slightly bigger payrise than the others, but generally, according to the people I know in there, I wouldn't recommend them unless the rest of the Big 4 didn't offer you the job.

Pandoras Twist

iwishihadaname wrote: »

I had no work experience nor a degree relating to accountancy. Also never got asked a question about commercial awareness or about the company. Guess I got lucky with my offer :P

So they never asked you why you wanted to work for the company? What interested you about your area of choice?

I haven't heard of a single other person who didn't get asked commercial awareness, or about the company so tbh sounds like you were lucky.

If you don't have an accountancy degree then its reasonable you wouldn't have had accountancy experience.

iwishihadaname

Pandoras Twist wrote: »

So they never asked you why you wanted to work for the company? What interested you about your area of choice?

I haven't heard of a single other person who didn't get asked commercial awareness, or about the company so tbh sounds like you were lucky.

If you don't have an accountancy degree then its reasonable you wouldn't have had accountancy experience.

All they asked me was why was I interested in getting into their area as opposed to other areas in the firm. The rest was really a chat, I was surprised by the lack of commerical awareness questions too. I think every interviewer approaches it differently

Pandoras Twist

You got off pretty handy so! Who was your interview with? Did you only apply for one?

jdooley28

it must have been a very short interview. As was already said luck is very important as well as the interviewers impression of you.

Lorchii

wcp1200 wrote: »

Can someone explain this whole Big 4 thing. Say I finish my 3 year degree of business in accounting, im I then almost guaranteed a place in one of these companies?

Thanks

no..i am doing a degree that is totally irrelevent to accounting but still got offers. they want a certain type of person, but if you happen to have a suitable degree, it definately won't play against ya

colbags

got offered a job on a big 4 grad programme for next year....
(currently doing a masters).
i feel like ive been working my bolix off for the past few years and now im seeing the pay scale (not stated in the contract) and im thinking wat was the fuking point. ive friends with poor leaving cert getting nearly twice that for the past few years since they left school and they can have a decent social life. Ill be getting that crap pay while studying my hole off for exams and then more than likely gettin the chop after 3 years!!!

and they talk about the long term prospects and all that lark...'it will all pay off'.... sure ive been hearing that tripe since i dont no when. When is all this studying etc gonna start paying off.

im doing a masters at the moment and i have no life and i cant see that improving for fe1s fe2s etc.it not even an accounting related masters so ill have little to no exemptions

thinking of just packing it all in and moving to hawaii !!
Rant over!

PS does anyone know if a person holding a MSC. Finance will get an exemption for FE1 finance exam?

npj85

colbags wrote: »

got offered a job on a big 4 grad programme for next year....
(currently doing a masters).
i feel like ive been working my bolix off for the past few years and now im seeing the pay scale (not stated in the contract) and im thinking wat was the fuking point. ive friends with poor leaving cert getting nearly twice that for the past few years since they left school and they can have a decent social life. Ill be getting that crap pay while studying my hole off for exams and then more than likely gettin the chop after 3 years!!!

and they talk about the long term prospects and all that lark...'it will all pay off'.... sure ive been hearing that tripe since i dont no when. When is all this studying etc gonna start paying off.

im doing a masters at the moment and i have no life and i cant see that improving for fe1s fe2s etc.it not even an accounting related masters so ill have little to no exemptions

thinking of just packing it all in and moving to hawaii !!
Rant over!

PS does anyone know if a person holding a MSC. Finance will get an exemption for FE1 finance exam?

Dude, FE1s and FE2s are law exams. The accountancy ones are CAP1s CAP2s and FAEs.

colbags

exactly why i shud b goin 2 haiwaii!!!

Hackysack

If you do well enough in your masters (and it's recognised by the Institute), you should be exempt from CAP1 and CAP2.

That'll leave you with only your FAEs exams to academically qualify. But from the sounds of things, you should consider yourself fortunate that you're doing a masters that'll exempt you from CAP2. I assure you, working a five day week and studying / hitting weekend and midweek lectures is a lot more difficult than the masters you're doing.

About the money, unfortunately thems the times we live in. Best advice I could give you is to either nut up or think of another career... but I doubt any career's starting off salaries are going to be overly extravagant.

Congrats on getting offered a place anyway.

colbags

cheers!
accenture 31000 (i heard) and central bank 28000(definite) starting salaries...obviously not accounting jobs

my masters is in finance so i will defo be taking the CAP1 and 2....i was wondering if id be exempt from the particular finance exam on the CAP1?...ill have to take the rest..