Breaching Big 4 contract

lopppy

Hey all,


I accepted an offer (audit) from one of the big 4 in Oct 2010, and I'm currently doing a postgrad which they are sponsoring, and also received the €2,500 bursary and €600 book allowance.

I never really wanted to go into accounting or audit as I'm more interested in finance and the funds industry. I intend therefore on applying to the likes of Fidelity, Hedgeserv, etc. I should have done so this time last year but everyone I spoke to said to get the accounting qualification and big 4 experience then move into finance. However, I've been reading up on it more recently and it just seems like a waste of 3.5 years and all the effort I'll put into the CAP 2's and FAE's, especially since I'd like to take the CFA's.

How likely would it be for the company to chase me for the 9 odd thousand I'll be liable for if I do leave the contract? Also, am I right in thinking it's a waste of time for me to do the 3.5 years since I'm more interested in the markets/funds sector?


Really appreciate any opinions/help.

levi

Are you entering the financial services dept of whatever big 4 company you are joining? You'll get a lot of exposure to funds if that is the case... probably much better experience than you'd get as a fund accountant...

tomfoolery60

Quite likely they would look for their money back if you didn't even join. If you stuck it out for a year or so and it wasn't working out, probably less likely.

Jim2007

lopppy wrote: »

How likely would it be for the company to chase me for the 9 odd thousand I'll be liable for if I do leave the contract? Also, am I right in thinking it's a waste of time for me to do the 3.5 years since I'm more interested in the markets/funds sector?

Seriously? You signed a contract with this firm, took 9K of their money and you expect them to walk away...

An accounting qualification is a very general financial qualification, which opens many doors for you including the investment world, where as CFA is a very specialized qualification - why limit yourself so early?

You should also realize that the investment industry is going through some very big changes right now - it is rapidly becoming a commodity industry with feeds being quoted in base points rather than percentages, meaning that bonus payments and salaries are on the way done as the emphasis is on cost cutting. Many thousands all over Europe have lost their jobs and as many of these people have limited skills to offer outside the market, it is very difficult to land a job.

You say you are interested in the market/funds, but what kind of work are you expecting to do? The vast majority of the work is administration or rule based - in most case investing policy is set by a very small number of people and even fund managers have very little freedom to act - they have to follow the policy. As a junior you can expect that a lot of the work will be admin type stuff, without much exposure to the market etc... As an auditor you many get more exposure to the decision making levels of an institution than if you worked there...

As someone who has worked in the financial services industry for over 20 years and comes for a similar background (Ex Big 4 and FCA), I can say that it certainly will not be a hindrance to you going forward and it also keeps your options open should things get tough, as we all expect it will.

smallerthanyou

They are going to look for the money back and to be fair they deserve it back. I think generally they look for 100% back anytime in the first year, 50% in the second year and 25% after that to the end of contract.

I think the Funds industry can be very hard to access in Ireland. There are limited interesting jobs. Going into Funds in a Big 4 can be interesting, as these things go, and a good access to those jobs you're looking to get to.

Emperor1989

Well i was given the following advice and i was pretty much in the same place as you.

I have a close family friend who works in State Street Investment arm in Ireland called SSGA. There is a team of about say 100 people with them.

Basically I was finished in August my Masters and I had a degree all in Accountancy. He advised me that it was essential to get some Funds expierence say about 2 years and get your exams (ACCA as there is no study leave for ACA which you need but ACCA is preferred), get them asap and then do your CFA as soon as you finish and get that as he said asap. If your 24-27 and have both ACCA and CFA Qualified with also the the required experience that is required to get both of these usually 3 years-4. Then you have a superb chance of getting into the actual fund stuff rather than fund admin.

US Companies from what i am told to not really trust Irish Degree's and CFA is exactly the sort of qualification that will give you a massive start.

The Fund Management side is actually non-existant in Ireland more than likely your company will move you to somewhere such as London or now India or the emerging markets. You might be lucky if you can work your way up in State Street.

I am currently in Hedge Serv and its fine but there is no opportunities to grow into the fund management side. Desperate to get into State Street tbh, SSGA really is like the Golden Egg for someone like you and me.

Best of luck in what ever you decide.

Emperor1989

Must also say its a closed shop you have to work your way up a Company and be young and amibitious and committed. That is exactly the person they want so see do you fit that criteria.

Jim2007

Emperor1989 wrote: »

US Companies from what i am told to not really trust Irish Degree's and CFA is exactly the sort of qualification that will give you a massive start.

As someone who has done a lot of recruiting for US companies over the last 20 years, I can say without a doubt that this is not true! In fact the Irish Chartered Accountant is the only one of the three institutes located in the British Isles that is recognised in the USA for practice .

Clanno

Jim2007 wrote: »

As someone who has done a lot of recruiting for US companies over the last 20 years, I can say without a doubt that this is not true! In fact the Irish Chartered Accountant is the only one of the three institutes located in the British Isles that is recognised in the USA for practice .

Hi Jim2007,
It would appear that you give great advice on the forum.
I would very much appreciate if you could provide specific advice going forward. Could you be so kind to drop a pm or email.tks!

Jim2007

Clanno wrote: »

Hi Jim2007,
It would appear that you give great advice on the forum.
I would very much appreciate if you could provide specific advice going forward. Could you be so kind to drop a pm or email.tks!

I'm sorry but I don't do PMs - I just don't have the time to respond to them all. Why not ask your questions here, so everyone can benefit from the answers?

Clanno

Jim2007 wrote: »

I'm sorry but I don't do PMs - I just don't have the time to respond to them all. Why not ask your questions here, so everyone can benefit from the answers?

Hi Jim2007, tks for the quick response.
The situation is a wee bit complex but the general slant is as follows...
The FAE exams are not quite working out, am considering moving to another institute would you recommend this...CPA/ACCA etc..

Jim2007

Clanno wrote: »

Hi Jim2007, tks for the quick response.
The situation is a wee bit complex but the general slant is as follows...
The FAE exams are not quite working out, am considering moving to another institute would you recommend this...CPA/ACCA etc..

Well since I have no experience of the other Institutes exams it would be hard for me to say any thing definitive about them...

They are both recognized for public practice in Ireland and I would expect that their standards would not be very different from that of the ICAI. Having said that their styles of examination are different to that of the ICAI and that may or may not suit you better, I'm not is a position to comment on it. I would suggest that you have a word with your tutor and or training partner, they would be in a better position to advise you as they would have a good knowledge of your abilities.

Do you understand why "The FAE exams are not quite working out"? Have you already discussed it with your tutor and training partner? I could imagine switching from one system to another would require some additional preparation on your part before you are ready to take the exams of either of these two bodies...