[philagirl5]

Hi everyone,

I am currently an incoming junior accounting student at a university in Philadelphia. I have been very blessed to have been extended internship offers from PwC, KPMG, and EY (we don’t have contact with Deloitte). I will be a tax intern during the busy season. I am aware that an internship will most likely lead to a full-time offer, so I was wondering if anyone could help and give me some advice.

I am no longer interested in EY and am focusing on PwC and KPMG. Both have accepted me to attend their national leadership programs (attended PwC’s and am going to KPMG’s soon). I know that it is important to look at the people and the culture of the firm that you choose, but I enjoy people from both firms and am stressing about making this decision. I will be working out of the Philadelphia Center City office and was wondering if I could get some guidance from anyone who has had experience with the firms or has known people who have worked for them.

I am wondering about topics such as:

-loation-specific advice (Philadelphia)

-salary

-work/life balance

-whether it is more worth it to remain at the firm and try to move up to partner one day at any specific one more

Thank you so much!

[Anonymous]

Hey, I'm at PwC – Boston, started in January (right in busy season) and honestly there isn't that big of a difference between any of the Big Four. They all offer similar salaries, benefits, and etc. I can't speak to other firms about work-life balance, but at PwC, during busy season you really won't have much of a life for 2-3 months. It's probably the same with the rest of the Big Four..In late spring/summer it is really slow and they are so open to work-life balance. You can work from home as you like, take off early, and etc…Whether you want to stay at the firm and become partner is really how much you like it at the firm you choose. Once you get through a couple of busy seasons, you will have a better understanding of what you really want to do.

Pick the firm you enjoy the most and think will be best for you. I choose PwC over other the Big Four cause I had close friends there. It makes working there much easier and enjoyable throughout the days and busy season.

[WaivingMyHands_ALOT]

Generally speaking, all big four are the same. The biggest difference as far as work/life balance, salary, etc. is going to be what part of the country you work in, and what sub practice you work in.

I work at a big four in South Florida, and there is a big difference as far as hours worked between those working in banks/financial services (the busiest hours), those working on high net worth individual/partnership/estate/etc (in our office they have pretty hellish April/October busy seasons), and those working in a diversified practice (your standard busy season hours).

Depending on what sub practice you are in, your hours are going to vary from 60-80 hours/week for busy season (maybe more since you are in a bigger city. Some of the people I know in financial services in Philly work some outrageous hours).

As far as picking a firm, the biggest factor has to be the people. You are going to be spending long hours with the people on your team and in your office. Actually enjoying being with them or speaking with them will make the work much more do-able.

Salary is likely going to be the same, so is prestige/reputation, benefits, bonuses, etc.

I know PWC has a 3 year standard to make Senior, while the other big four typically use the 2 year standard. IDK if that would factor into your decision.

In regards to thinking about making partner, I would put that on the back burner for now. It is very difficult to make partner, and it takes a ton of time.

Odds are you will leave the firm way before you should even be thinking about making partner. But if that's not the case, and your are an accounting stud, and you do make partner in 10-15 years, you'll be in the top 1% regardless of which firm you are working at.

AUD 99
BEC 96
FAR 94
REG 96

[fuzyfro89]

From an external perspective, people view all big 4 as the same in terms of prestige/experience/etc. People like to bash among the firms, but honestly they're just comparing d*ck size.

Salary is comparable at all firms, and goes through cycles. For example, if PWC loses a big client in the office, their raises the next year may be lower if they are trying to lower headcount more through attrition. Conversely, if PWC takes on a huge new client or poorly forecasts their needs and under-hires, raises may be very good that next year or they may try to hire more people. This will sway over time, so no way to predict in advance. At the end of it all, they all pay very similarly, and also tend to pay a premium in order to bring over experienced hires from other firms (obviously, since you wouldn't leave another big 4 firm to learn an entire new methodology without more money…).

Work life balance sucks everywhere. How bad it is depends on which client(s) you get onto. This also changes over time. All of a sudden, a few years ago, bank audits became crazy ridiculous due to capital requirements and tons of new reporting. You never know which way regulators will move.

As far as progressing/making partner… Well, I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but don't try and plan your life out 15 years ahead. It's not possible. It's good to have goals, but don't think that you can reasonably predict what will happen so far away. The industry could change, for better or worse, a LOT in that time… and you'll have to readjust your goals. More partners tend to be lifers at a single firm, but there's also quite a few that have switched firms. It depends a lot more on your specific situation. For example, if you specialize in real estate, but your firm loses market share in Philly during the time you are there, it may make sense to move to the firm which has a stronger presence in your area of expertise in order to move up.

Enjoy the summer programs. They are a lot of fun! Remember, you need to always be professional, and learn as much as you can.

[Last Chance CPA]

@WaivingMyHands_ALOT – From your scores, you are going to be Partner one day…impressive!

FAR - 76
AUD - 75
BEC - 75
REG - 76

Now I need some experience!!! And some networking...

[Author]

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