Many DON'T take drastic pay cuts or pay cuts at all, unless they were itchy and joined something not related to finance.

To those who are just looking for a job with pays well and surprisngly linear enough, become a manager in b4 then move to a finance role (M, FCs, Internal Audit etc.). Pay cuts will be extremely rare barring the fact the person has bad nego skills. Most gets a decent pay rise instead.This is a faster method then just staying in the organisation itself in the back-office trying to move up.

It is when you try to move to the front-line roles from external audit, that's where the paycut comes in.

This post has been edited by Sesshoumaru: Dec 24 2010, 08:53 PM

They may or may not be reluctant, but in the end if the auditor is any smart he'll get the job with a payrise. All my colleagues left with a good payrise. At the very least, it is just matching salaries because these companies know that offering a paycut is never the solution. The auditor will just reject it.

If you tell me that even when moving to commercial, you get a paycut, then the whole point of slugging it out in the audit firms is not justified.

Here are some examples of people I know personally who made to the following positions when moving.

M-> M in Internal Audit, local anchor bank.
SM -> GM finance in a foreign bank.
M -> SM finance, local anchor bank.

This post has been edited by Sesshoumaru: Dec 24 2010, 09:08 PM

Banking is also commercial. But I understand you are taking it from that point of view. I highly doubt you are wrong again, but I can't back it up firmly yeah =). Anyone who played their cards right wouldn't be taking drastic paycuts, or even minor paycuts anyhow.

Slightly more difficult. Understand that they would recommend you to go audit 1 year first then switch, but going in fresh is common enough that if you're determined enough, no issue there.
Also don't expect you will be the one doing any 'consulting' in the early years. Grunt work forms a big portion of it and no prizes for guessing which level does them.
You are first a 'consultant' (rank basis) when you become AM.

Buaya.

There's the thing with audit firms. So hierarchy, rank-and-fileish when honestly the difference in age between a typical associate and senior associate is probably 1-2 years. Weakness of a structured progression system, where unless you suck beyond suck you'd definitely make senior in 2 years.