[jmp223]

I am currently an auditor at a big 4 firm and I am thinking about leaving. My problem is I dont know exactly what esle is out there. It seems that a lot of people leave and go into internal audit, but if i’m not loving audit, I dont know that I’ll love internal audit. What are some other areas of accounting that people go into when they leave Big 4?

[jelly]

I went from external audit to internal audit to tax at the moment. Internal auditing can be interesting b/c it can be intelligent auditing, and you get to see all the inside guts of how a company works (or just barely). A lot of people go into financial analysis after or a reporting position within industry.

Couldn't pass again!

[Anonymous]

Lots of job postings for corporate financial analyst jobs look for candidates with “Big 4” experience. Seems to me that they like to see a 2 year stint and one promotion is a big plus. If you can check both of those boxes you should be golden to get into a pretty nice analyst role.

I guess the grass is always greener on the other side. I work in corporate finance now and would give me left…thumb…to get on at a Big 4 company. My undergrad was a bit nontraditional and I never had the GPA to get a real look from a Big 4. Now that I'm 3/4 of the way done w the CPA I'm trying to network some more w PwC in specific.

[jmp223]

If it was a different time in my life I think my experience would be much different. I started at age 31, and my wife and I had our first baby during my 2nd month there. So with having a baby at home, it makes it tough to put in the hours they want.

[Anonymous]

@OP, try looking at staffing website in your area. A lot of times they will list openings and salary info. Even if the job openings are old/already filled, at least it lists salary info, experience/education requirements, and job duties.

But from what I've seen, people usually go to:

-Financial Reporting

-Internal Audit

-Consulting (not common but doable with connections)

-Investment Banking (Really rare. Probably top school with connections needed)

-Corp Finance (budget monkey, glorified accountant, or if you're lucky, a an accounting/finance blend with some forecasting/business development)

-Advisory at Big 4 or Mid Tier firm

-Fraud/Forensic Accounting (probably need CPA and CFE/CFF)

@Adam, can you go into more detail on my you want out of Corp Finance and into Big 4 ? I'm curious.

[Spur]

@Doc Holiday – “budget monkey” ha! I've not heard that one yet.

FAR - Bad Fail '11, Fail '12, Fail '13, PASS It's a miracle!
AUD - Fail, PASS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BEC - PASS!!!!!!!!
REG - PASS!!!!!!!! And I'm done!

[Anonymous]

Doc – My corporate gig isn't that glamorous. It's low paying and slow moving when it comes to upward mobility. The work is mostly what you described as a “budget monkey” haha. It's not a bad job and can be challenging and fun (get to do some modeling analysis) but the pay just isn't there.

The experience may be able to help me get into a better corporate job in the near future but my research seems to tell me that a stint at a Big 4 is really invaluable when looking for good corporate analyst jobs. Would you disagree with that statement?

[Anonymous]

You can go to a smaller company as a controller or assistant controller. They are always looking for auditing work because it is a lot of financial reporting. Smaller CPA firms love big 4 employees & if you negotiate right, you can set your hours. Another option is to work for a municipality or utility company. The hours are usually great with good benefits. You will get paid less but kids & family are more important!!

[jelly]

Budget monkey, I love that! I had a brief gig doing that for a municipality.

Just a caution on the internal audit/advisory/consulting side: Unless there is a long-term client (like a gov't agency, hospital, quasi gov't social services, utility company) located nearby, there can a considerable amount of travel for the private industry clients, and you might not ever know your schedule. You could be flying from one end of the country (or out of) every week or so.

Couldn't pass again!

[Mayo]

@OP, what is your level? Senior, Staff, Manager?

I'd ask around from people who have left and see if they can refer you to a recruiter they like and worked with.

Although I'm not leaving anytime soon, I've talked to a recruiter about opportunities that are out there. You just need to make sure she/he understands that you just want info, but you might leave in the future. Otherwise, they'll go into hard sell mode on whatever they have at the moment.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[Author]

Replies