Audit or CF

AccountingAndy

Hi all,


I'm a final year accountancy student and in the coming days I need to start applying for grad programs for next year.

I'm struggling to decide between Audit or Corporate Finance in a Big 4 firm, I gained exposure to both during a six month placement and enjoyed them both.

Ultimately in the long run I see myself working in Industry hopefully climbing the ladder to the upper echelons of a firm, CFO etc. (Wishful thinking but a boy can dream)

I'm assuming that taking the Corporate Finance route would make more sense but a few people have told me to cut my teeth in audit in Big 4 and then transfer to the CF dept for experience before jumping ship to industry.

My question really is, is Audit worthwhile if in the long run it won't be what I pursue a career in.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated and I hope this made sense as my head is fried from trying to decide lol!
Andy.

VonBeanie

AccountingAndy wrote: »

Hi all,


I'm a final year accountancy student and in the coming days I need to start applying for grad programs for next year.

I'm struggling to decide between Audit or Corporate Finance in a Big 4 firm, I gained exposure to both during a six month placement and enjoyed them both.

Ultimately in the long run I see myself working in Industry hopefully climbing the ladder to the upper echelons of a firm, CFO etc. (Wishful thinking but a boy can dream)

I'm assuming that taking the Corporate Finance route would make more sense but a few people have told me to cut my teeth in audit in Big 4 and then transfer to the CF dept for experience before jumping ship to industry.

My question really is, is Audit worthwhile if in the long run it won't be what I pursue a career in.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated and I hope this made sense as my head is fried from trying to decide lol!
Andy.

Audit does not sound as exciting as CF. However, I think its a great way of gaining a broad experience of different businesses, different accounting systems, and different finance functions. You get to see the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. If you end up working in industry as a CFO, you'll spend time dealing with accounting systems, management accounts, financial accounts, tax and strategic management as much as corporate finance.

Also, the big 4 have far more positions in Audit than CF.

crimon222

I highly recommend starting in audit as you gain tremendous exposure to various companies, processes and industries as the previous poster mentioned. Audit can be challenging, but its a great learning experience and the perfect place to begin your career. Over the past 3 years in audit, I've had over 30 clients from a multitude of industries. With each client, I have built a stronger network and learned a little bit about each business that I can carry with me as I move forward in my career. 

Another thing to consider is your career progression as you mentioned that you are looking to make CFO. People who jump into industry too soon often face challenges for progression because promotion opportunities are limited. You basically would have to wait until the person above you leaves his or her position before you could take over. However, your promotion track at a Big 4 firm (especially in audit) is often quicker and more structured. I recall reading an American statistic which shows a strong correlation between those who leave the firm as an Experienced Manager/Senior Manager in audit and their chances of moving into an executive level position (ie. Corporate Controller, CFO). I haven't read any statistics on those who move into industry from Corporate Finance, so I can't speak from that perspective. 

With that being said, there are many ways of moving up in industry and people get there in all sorts of ways. I think its important that you pursue what you are passionate about and if that is Corporate Finance, then I'd give it some serious thought. The advantage of being in a Big 4 are the opportunities for you to move around internally, so if you decide to start in audit and want to switch into CF, then you should be able to do so easily.

liamjames1

I disagree slightly with the above posters. Depending on the firm you join, audit can be very limited from an exposure perspective to different industries.

Most firms have specialised departments now (e.g. Financial services) where you could go into and end up auditing banks for 3 years with very little variety (speaking from experience). A lot of the stuff you learn in audit is part of the ACA exams now anyway and it's not vital that you work in audit to familirise yourself.

Systems is an area where you do learn a considerable amount more in audit but I just see systems as an enabler for a business and experience that can even be consulted in even if required down the road. Trainee auditors are rarely establishing systems from scratch anyway so tend to just test certain elements. Firms now have specialist IT auditors and as technology evolves so too will there workload.

If you have exposure to both , the best advice is do what you are passionate about. CF places are limited so you are obviously quite smart if you've been offered a place so I've no doubt either route could get you to CFO if that's the end goal.

Worth noting majority of big 4 firms send CF professionals on secondment to audit where as they tend to rarely do the opposite (send people from audit to CF) during training contracts.