Which big 4 is the best

After the collapse of Arthur Andersen formerly a member of the Big 5 , EY took over much of the global operations of the dissolving firm. EY Glassdoor page. As with all the Big 4, the firm grew in the s and s through a series of mergers. It is the only member of the Big 4 with its headquarters outside of London, and is based in the Netherlands.

KPMG Glassdoor page. The Big 4 have faced scrutiny for tax avoidance, and for conflicts of interest between their auditing and consulting businesses over the past few decades. The Big 4 advise on tax policies, and on business strategy.

In practice this often means helping them to minimise their tax bill which has been the source of controversies and legal battles in the past. In addition, the Big 4 have been criticised for conflicts of interest. In simple terms, they were paid to improve the profitability of clients, while also being responsible for auditing the financial records of those clients. During the early s, there were massive accounting scandals at Enron and WorldCom, which led to the collapse of Arthur Andersen previously one of the Big 5.

Shortly afterwards, the U. This led to the sale, or separation, of internal consulting businesses for most of the Big 4. However, in the last decade, the Big 4 have been re-investing heavily in consulting.

The first two audit and tax are generally considered different types of accounting. The 3 rd service provided by the Big 4 is consulting. This can take a variety of forms, such as management consulting, technology consulting, and more.

Are you interested in being an auditor, a tax accountant, or a consultant? Looking at each one will help you make an informed decision. The Big 4 are best known for their auditing services. Say you just landed a job at Deloitte as an auditor congrats! Tax accountants are much more specialised than auditors. Where auditors have general financial expertise, tax accountants have deep knowledge into the specifics of tax legislation. Tax and auditing are closely related, but consulting is a different ballgame.

The Big 4 all provide consulting services, but they are better known for accounting. So if you want to pursue a career in consulting, then be sure to check-out our list of the most prestigious consulting firms in the world. Consultants are generally hired to improve the business strategy and operations of their clients. There are a lot of different consulting specialisations, but as a consultant you would typically meet with clients, understand their challenges, analyse potential approaches, and provide recommendations.

You might also be involved in the implementation of solutions. Out of a hundred applicants, 5 to 7 typically get offers. The most competitive and highest paying roles at the Big 4, are in consulting services. For consulting roles, candidates are assessed through a rigorous interview process.

This can be intimidating, but good preparation can give you a huge leg-up on the competition. You have a calculator on your phone, we get it. Prestige-wise , MBB firms have been standing head-and-shoulders above the rest of the consulting industry, including the Big 4.

Note: This list is compiled by Vault using surveys of working consultants, who rank the prestige of consulting firms they know on a scale of 1 to They are not allowed to rank their own firm. Nonetheless, Big 4 firms are also respectable career launching pads — offering the same kind of exit opportunities as MBB, although the quantity and quality pay are usually lower. To help increase your chance, I offer you comprehensive consulting prep materials covering every step of the consulting recruitment process — from resume-writing , to test prep McKinsey PST and BCG Potential Test , and finally the case interview.

Click on the links to find out about each product, or subscribe to our Youtube Channel and newsletter to receive more consulting news and free materials. Kick start your consulting prep with our Prospective Candidate Starter Pack Over 50 tips and tricks, 12 sample tests, a framework dictionary and an example from our premium Case Interview End-to-End Secrets Program. With all that said, Deloitte, KPMG, PwC and EY are all respectable names — as their consultant, you will still have the bragging rights, the high income, and the learning exposure better than most jobs out there.

And because all consulting firms look for the same qualities in their candidates, you can do consulting prep for both groups at the same time. Read more: Comprehensive consulting salary report for It also possesses a strategy branch called Monitor Deloitte created from the acquisition of the consulting firm Monitor Group.

PwC offers consulting positions in five main areas: strategy, technology, growth, human capital, risks-and-regulations. EY offers consulting positions in six main areas: strategy, technology, service, risks, finance and analytics. Unlike the other Big 4 firms, KPMG is the only one to have not acquired a boutique, dedicated strategy arm. Together with the Big 4 and MBB firms, it is one of the most prestigious and largest firms in the consulting industry.

So large, in fact, that it is the largest consulting firm by employee number — at a staggering , in , the firm is even larger than the Big 4. But where did this giant come from? The last time we left off with Arthur Andersen, it was facing demise following the Enron scandal.

On a side note: among the top 8 consulting firms discussed here MBB, Big 4 and Accenture , Accenture is the only public company — all others are privately-owned. For applicants who wish to specialize in IT consulting , Accenture also offers attractive careers, with salary on the same level as the Big 4.

The firm also operates in strategy consulting , as with virtually all top consulting firms. These firms are global or regional, and often specialized to a degree.

These firms also offer salaries comparable to McKinsey or Deloitte , excellent learning opportunities and exit options compared to most jobs on the general market — or even within the field of consulting , and probably a more suitable workplace culture for you in the long run.

Learn about the career tracks and opportunities at 10 of the top management consulting firms in this article - McKinsey, Lost your password? Big 4 Consulting Firms. Who are the Big 4 Firms? Generally, you don't burn bridges.

Keep in mind that the Big4 will lay you off in a heart beat if there's a huge swing down in the economy again, so you don't owe them any more consideration than they give you. If you get an offer from MBB , accept it and reneg on the B4. Even if you don't get a full time offer from your MC internship, with that experience, you can easily segway back to one of the other 3 of the B4 full time after graduation.

I am thinking about leaving my big 4 firm to start my own independent consulting business. I have a good network and have had several speaking engagements, but I am not sure that if I will be able to maintain my current contacts if I separate myself from the big4 brand.

First off, if that is your real name, change it. It's impossible to say, what do you consult on, what level are you, how are your relationships etc. It's easy if you're a senior level guy in IT to do consulting, particularly if you want to offer superior value to smaller companies, strategy I imagine would be tougher. How do consulting firms view experience in Audit at a Big 4 firm? I had wanted to get my CPA , but through my internships, I realized that the work wasn't for me.

I am looking to pursue consulting in my Junior year and have been actively reading up on case interviews. How is experience in Big 4 viewed by consulting firms in terms of transferable skills? The skills you gained are less important than the branding of the firm at which you worked, especially if you worked in one of their core competencies.

Big 4 Audit is good, just as programming with Google is good. The only exception I have heard of is previous consulting experience at a lesser firm which is generally viewed favorably as consulting internships are hard to come by.

Thanks for you response. I did learn about various industries, mainly financial services, during my time in Audit, although the depth wasn't the greatest. I just don't want to be branded as being too accounting focused. If you've already done an internship with the Big 4 in auditing, you can ask to switch into their advisory practice. I have had a couple friends switch, but very few make the switch until they have gotten their CPA license.

Did you jump from Audit while you were still in school? Did you first start out your full time position in TS and then switched to Consulting? I am just curious how you went about asking for the transition? Also what kind of consulting is your main focus? Thank you. I am doing consulting at one of the Big Four firms in financial services so if you have any questions about it I'd be happy to answer them.

Just message me. I would love to, but I don't have enough banana points to message you. How do you find the hours and work at a Big Four consulting? Do you find it is challenging. I have been planning my life down the road. At the moment, I'll start with Audit at a Big 4 within a year, but I still want to go towards finance. Any suggestions? Sounds Like I'm the same situation you are.

I'd like to go into finance but the best offer I got was from a big 4 audit- banking and financial services most likely I'll also be starting in If you don't mind me asking, which big 4 are you going to?

I haven't really seen an auditor move directly to a front-office finance role. These jobs can pay very well and be pretty interesting at the right kind of fund, but they don't necessarily provide an opportunity to move to front office down the road.

The groups I've seen people have more success moving from are valuation and other transaction-oriented groups but mostly ones that are actually transaction-oriented like due diligence, not post-transaction accounting integration or other groups that are entirely accounting-related , as well as structured product related groups.

If you're passionate about moving to finance I would try to move to one of those groups and work on your CFA. It's not a sure thing, but it's done in the past. I get a lot of people mostly students asking me which Big 4 firm is the best.

Part of the answer is that the Big 4 are identical in reputation. You will never run into the situation where you are a Deloitte alumnus going up against a PwC alumnus for a CFO position, and the other person gets hired because he comes from a better or more respected firm. What matters is your specific experience. If you find yourself in a position as a student with multiple offers or as an experienced professional interested in the opportunities the Big 4 provide, there are two main factors you need to consider:.

At some point in your career you'll probably be leaving the Big 4, and the two valuable things you'll come away with are your experience and your network. Alumni from the same firm as you will look on you more favorably, so it makes sense to increase the power of your network by choosing the biggest firm. However, if your career will be centered in one geographic location, you may want to consider the office size of the different firms in that location.

For example, there are places internationally where KPMG is very strong. This factor is the most important. A bigger size means better clients, which means a higher likelihood of better experience for you. For audit, this is easy - google F firms in your city, look up their Ks, and see which firm has the best clients. Other service lines will take some more digging, but you can probably get an estimate from whoever your contacts are at the firm.

If you're already at a Big 4 firm, what is the breakout in your city for your service line? Who has the biggest practice and the best clients? Another great post , which firm is best is definitely something me and a few accounting friends have been discussing.

Generally we assumed Deloitte was best because it's considered the largest but specifically part 2 of this post is extremely helpful. As I see it, auditing doesn't really seem that challenging. I'm not sure how much you will develop your own personal skills as an auditor.

However, one will develop some expertise surrounding the accounting numbers, balance sheets etc. Working as a consultant you probably get tossed around in different projects and you become quite versatile. So thats why I wonder what's the most tactical of auditing and consulting - as a stepping stone - in one of the Big 4.

There are many consulting positions that are much worse than audit for transferring into IB , and there are some that are better i. If your grades are good enough to get into Big 4, they're good enough to get into a boutique. Dolores eum quia culpa doloribus ullam velit. Dignissimos consequatur quaerat libero possimus et eum. Aut ipsum id delectus vero inventore harum. Quibusdam eius quibusdam laudantium ut. Consectetur mollitia autem nobis omnis voluptates. Pariatur et adipisci corporis et temporibus nulla qui hic.

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