[Anonymous]

I always read about people working for the “big” guys, but how about those of you who work for non-Big 4 firms? what firm do you work for? do you like it? do you have interesting clients? etc etc? I’ve always thought that firms such as GT, Plante & Moran, BDO, and others are pretty cool. Any opinions?

[okcpa1987]

I work for GT, I love it. I got a good mix of public and private clients I've worked on already. The office enviroment is very friendly and I didn't really get that vibe from the other bigger firms. So far, I don't want to work anywhere else! (Associate of 7 months, so its still pretty early lol)

REG - 80 (4/19/12)
BEC - 81 (5/31/12)
FAR - 89 (8/27/12)
AUD - 87 (11/12/12)

[lookin4fraud]

I interned and will be working for a Top 10 firm only dealing with private clients. The hours aren't nearly as bad which helps out with my social life, studying for the CPA exam, and grad school afterward. I'm speaking from my internship experience but I worked on engagements with staff who worked the same amount I did.

[shiggity80]

I never had a Big 4 job. I went to a ~200 person local firm and I'm enjoying it a lot. I get to work with lots of cool people who had Big 4 experience in the past, so they have the knowledge/experience of Big 4, but now are adapted to a more smaller/local firm environment.

I get to work on audits and do every part of the audit rather than get stuck doing 1 or 2 areas only. Gives me excellent experience. Also we get paid OT!

FAR: 87
AUD: 86
BEC: 86
REG: 84! Officially Done!

[Anonymous]

in my opinion its probably more ideal to start with a large non-big 4 firm because you will be able to experience much more areas of an audit and seeing an audit from start to finish. as staff at a big 4 firm you will most likely be working on only a few areas in an audit and won't even touch any planning activities or even work in groups with senior management.

also from what i understand with big 4 staff positions is you will find yourself working 70+ hours during busy season compared to 40-60 in non-big 4 firms, so in other words you will learn a lot more and still have a better work-life balance and not burn yourself out. non-big 4 firms still audit public companies so you will still have opportunity to pursue a career path with public companies if that is your goal. and after becoming senior, you could always transfer to big 4 at that point.

[surfer4life949]

Interned for gt last summer and I'm going to work full time after my masters and CPA in fall 2 0 1 3. The people were great, everyone is friendly and very sociable. Worked on a public client the whole duration of my internship, but it'll be nice to have a mixture of clients. Still a huge firm and have international breadth so I'm glad i picked a mid tier. Also the associates tell me they don't work N E AR the u n g o d l y hours that their friends in big 4 work

B-85 OCT 2012
A-84 NOV 2012
R-90 JAN 2013
F-89 AUG 2012
Ethics-92 (3rd try)

I am DONE BABY!!!
Used Roger 2012 + Wiley + NINJA Notes

[surfer4life949]

Interned for gt last summer and I'm going to work full time after my masters and CPA in fall 2 0 1 3. The people were great, everyone is friendly and very sociable. Worked on a public client the whole duration of my internship, but it'll be nice to have a mixture of clients. Still a huge firm and have international breadth so I'm glad i picked a mid tier. Also the associates tell me they don't work N E AR the u n g o d l y hours that their friends in big 4 work

B-85 OCT 2012
A-84 NOV 2012
R-90 JAN 2013
F-89 AUG 2012
Ethics-92 (3rd try)

I am DONE BABY!!!
Used Roger 2012 + Wiley + NINJA Notes

[Anonymous]

I work at McGladrey (#5 in rev). I interned in the Spring of '11, just started back in International Tax. The large “Mid-Tier” firms seem to be way more laid back than any of the Big 4. I'd talked with multiple Big 4's, but I didn't get the vibe I got from the people I worked with while I was interning. I get great experience dealing with everything from small, to extremely large clients, but unfortunately I don't have the flexibility of getting a little exposure to everything (i.e. Audit, Tax, Forensic, etc). Probably more likely at a smaller Mid-Tier firm though.

[Author]

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