[Maddog81]

Hello all,

I currently work at McGladrey (in audit) and have been here for about 1 year now. The city I work in is a major metropolitan city. The office here is one of McG’s largest offices, and is even the same size as one of the Big 4. I took the job at McG after I completed a summer internship. I went through campus recruiting and received offers from 2 of the Big 4 and McG for an audit internship. My undergraduate college was not necessarily a “target school” for the Big 4, but a handful of people ended up there. I think because my school was not heavily targeted by the Big 4, it was never really preached that we “had to go there”. I ended up taking the McG internship because they sold me on the fact that I would get a lot of exposure to many different industries and would get to see more of the clients than I would early on at a Big 4. I also felt it was just a better personality fit. My professors assured me that McG was “the same” as the Big 4, and that there were no differences between them. I absolutely love working here at McG. I felt as though my work as a first year actually meant something in the big picture, as opposed to a some friends who started at Big 4 who claimed they felt “useless” (I did speak with friends at Big 4 who felt they got good exposure and were useful as well though).

So this brings me to my question. At this point would moving to a Big 4 be better for my career? Now that I’m a CPA and have spent time in the profession, I’m realizing that there seems to be a larger gap between the Big 4 and the McG/GT/BDO firms in terms of prestige and potential career opportunities down the line than I thought there was when I accepted by full time offer at McG. As I said, I love working here, but at the end of the day I work the same hours as my Big 4 peers. Even if I was a little less happy at a Big 4 I think it would a fair tradeoff because I would feel as though I am advancing my career. I would appreciate any thoughts on the matter.

Lastly I was wondering If I were to transfer firms, would it slow down my promotion progression? For instance if I stay here another year and make senior, could I immediately jump to a Big 4 as a senior? Or if I were to leave now would I be able to make senior in 1 year at a Big 4 (2 years if it was PwC)?

[Anonymous]

Good Day, Maddog81:

You're the individual I have been looking for on this thread! That said, would you kindly give me an insiders view of what McGladrey is all about? I.e, their culture, mentorship (if offered) and how is the work-life balance?

What was the most billable hours you recorded during non-busy season versus busy season? Were you trained effectively as a first year? Lastly, would those in the commercial audit travel less or more that the public sector auditor (i.e., gov't/NP)?

I appreciate your input immensely!

[Maddog81]

@CPA 1 Day. McGladrey's motto is “we take our work seriously, but we don't take ourselves seriously”. Meaning people are very serious and passionate about the work they are doing, but everyone who I've gotten to know is pretty laid back, easy going, and perhaps a little more casual than those who I know at Big 4. I think this alleviates some of the stress that comes from working in public accounting. The career mentorship has been great, my mentor always has time for me and makes me feel important. In terms of hours, at least for the city I am in, they are the same as Big 4. Some weeks I may work 5-10 more hours than my friends at Big 4, some weeks 5-10 less (during busy season). In the off season I rarely bill more than 40 hours, but then again I have only worked as a first year. Great training, don't have anything to compare it to, but I felt as though we had great training for first years. And as for travel, it really depends. Some of my co-workers had to travel throughout the country and maybe 1 or 2 went abroad. I personally have stayed local my entire time here. Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

In regards to your question about promotion progression – I work at PwC and if you transfer in, you are almost always taken in at a level below whatever you were at your previous firm. So if you waited a year to make senior at McGladrey, you would likely be an experienced associate at PwC. I'm not sure if this is a hard and fast rule, but it is what I have seen in my time here.

[Maddog81]

@Accrual1102 thanks for the reply. I know that it takes 3 years to make senior at PwC. If I left McG after 2 years and making senior and started at PwC as an experienced associate, would I be able to make senior at PwC after working there for 1 year? What if I left with 1 year of experience, would I be able to make senior at PwC after working there for 2 years? Thanks for your help.

[Anonymous]

It's possible – I've seen people make senior after their 1st busy season when they have come in as an exp. associate. That probably answers your 2nd question as well. With 1 year of experience, I don't know why you wouldn't be bale to make senior after working at PwC for 1 years.

[Author]

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