Hey guys, just wanna ask a question here. I am attending an interview at KPMG tomorrow. Is it conducted at the 10th floor of the KPMG Tower and how many interviewers will there be? I heard that usually a Dutch guy will be in charge of the interview process.

This post has been edited by Itu_Dia_Man: Oct 18 2009, 10:23 PM

I applied for the audit assistant post. I applied on Monday two weeks ago and received the interview invite on Tuesday last week. If you have not received a reply within 2 weeks, I suggest you call them up to ask about your application status.

I see. One of my classmates got interviewed by a Mat Salleh, that's why I knew about that. Lol, maybe I am quite lucky because it's a manager who interviewed me. And yeah, it would be good to hear from you what's it like to work under the interviewer, Ms. Ng from Audit M.

Lol, is KPMG seriously in need of manpower now? They made me a conditional offer already subject to medical so I just need to iron a few things out before I can collect my offer letter.

Lol, I sense a lot of sarcasm too in your message . Well, at least I have something 'good' to look forward to when I get there . About the manpower part, it seems that you specifically address only audit M, how about the other divisions? And would you mind telling me from which audit letter you are from ? Thank you for your comments, at least I know what to expect now so that I won't have a heart attack during my medical

Yeah, I do find it welcoming. The story you got there is quite interesting. What I only knew was 8 divisions were trimmed down to 4. So when I ask my interviewer "Was this way more efficient?", she answered "Ya, the resources were used better". Now I know what it really meant, . Thank goodness I join lyn for all this advice, it seems a brilliant idea now . About the last bit, the least I could do is this

Well, I would not know whether I can take it or not until I actually experience it. I have heard countless stories of "life as an auditor" and mostly can be summed up in two words: no life. However, I do see it as a positive challenge to start my career with. Would 6 days count as a record?

Ya I know, as the saying goes, life is not a bed of roses. Well, as a young newbie, if you are not going to slog now, then when will it be right? I do appreciate your bit of advice and insights into auditing because I am a beginner in this field. In short, just need to be ready mentally and physically to take whatever stuff thrown at you. If you can hack it here, then you can hack it anywhere.



Care to explain why ACCA can eat your life away ? I do intend to pursue professional qualifications (has not decided which yet) after gaining some work experience 1st. I know that both working and studying at the same time will put a lot of strain on your body both mentally and physically due to the high pressure involved. It's not worth it, no?



This post has been edited by Itu_Dia_Man: Oct 23 2009, 12:52 AM

Quick question here, is the overtime allowance abolished in the Big Four?

OT hours. I don't see it mentioned in my offer letter. How about the Malaysian Big Four?

Ya, hence 'itu dia' is my favourite way of greeting people, lol. I see, so it depends on the client not so much on the audit firm. Haha, now I can feel a bit of why forumers from Big Four here sometimes use the term 'slave' to describe themselves.

I am no senior but I just started work at KPMG this week. For my interview, I had an assessment which is called Cubiks test. It has three parts. They are numerical test, verbal reasoning test and you have to write an essay. I did my numerical and verbal reasoning test in a laptop provided by them. Basically, you have to answer a number of questions within a time limit for both. So you have to be accurate and fast. After that, I was given a question card and I just picked one question out of two to write on a piece of paper. If you can pass these tests, then you can proceed to the interview session. If you fail here, then you have to go home . As for the interview, I was asked general questions like 'why choose audit', 'why KPMG' and those stuff. Nothing technical there. So good luck to you bro .


Which Big Four?

I am not sure about Deloitte but you should keep your options open for the other Big Three even after you went for the Deloitte interview. I did went for the IMGLAD interview which is conducted by Deloitte using the assessment designed by Thomas International, which is Deloitte's learning arm. Their test is a bit different but the objective is the same which is to see you answer an amount of questions within a time limit. The tests are quite simple in nature but because of the time constraint, you have to be fast and accurate. The tests are like matching the letter 'R' and rotated 'R' and choosing the furthest number from the middle number when you are given three numbers (also got for alphabet). I think the test for audit post should be much tougher but it would go along these lines.

Whether you want to work in a Big Four audit firm is entirely down to what you want actually. Be prepared for long hours and a pressured-cooker environment. A lot of forumers here say to me that its a highly-pressured job and you may have to sacrifice your social life in order to pursue your career goals. However, you do learn a lot and the exposure level will be higher than a normal audit firm. A quote from T Eker here, 'If you are willing to do only what’s easy, life will be hard. But if you’re willing to do what’s hard, life will be easy'. So think wisely about what you really want and good luck .

That I do not know. Sorry for assuming that you applied for an audit position. Well, if it is PR you are looking for, then I can understand that you may want to look at other options first. Perhaps any good Samaritan from Deloitte here willing to give some advice in regards to debbieyss's question? Anyway, all the best though for the interview if you decide to go for it.

This post has been edited by Itu_Dia_Man: Nov 3 2009, 09:38 PM

Well, its not a technical a topic. The title can range from yourself to maybe your experience in handling certain things. I did the question of describing my career goals within 3 years time. The other one is about an experience of persuading someone to change their mind about something. Make sure you tembak the last few questions if you can't make it in time cuz you can see the timer one and you can see which questions you have not answered. Just read the instruction carefully, no time will be accounted for that. And thanks cuz I got some advice too from senior lyn forumers here b4 my interview. So a little giveback here from me

.... apa pro pro ni. That compliment should be reserved for lyn's finest . Well, the second day is all about doing the e-training then e-test and this will go on until Thursday/Friday cuz there is a lot to read up. So just sit in the room and stare at your laptop whole day . Training will continue until the end of next week and then the real deal begins after that.

This post has been edited by Itu_Dia_Man: Nov 3 2009, 11:30 PM

Not really. Sometimes it depends on the HR department and how busy they are. Normally they should reply you within two weeks. If not, I suggest you called them up and check your application status. The reply from KPMG was about 1 week after I applied. But don't wait for 5-6 months for a reply like romeolee la. That's over the top

Yup. I was with another guy during my interview. He was applying for an intern position. After the assessment, he went inside a room with the person who invited him. About 4-5 minutes later, they came out from the room and he told me that his interview session is now concluded because he failed to meet the requirements in the test. That's how I know that they will send you packing if you don't cut it at the assessment stage.

They offered me the job two days after my interview. I just know that my interviewer pass her evaluation of me to the HR department and then the HR department will process it and if my application is given the ok there, then only they ask the partner to sign the letter of offer.

How about promotion increment? I heard that usually promotion in KPMG is done on a half-year basis but for some reason, the promotion was withhold during this mid-year.

So there will not be mid-year promotion anymore? I heard that promotions are not withheld in other Big Fours and many in KPMG got frustrated at being underpaid for doing their seniors job. Is it really important that promotion comes in line with the amount of responsibilities given to you? Because of the withholding, those who join later than those actually due to be promoted, will now be promoted at the same time as them for the year end. So there is the timing reason as well in there.

I see, then they have lose their trust in the firm. I think it must be frustrating for those guys having to deal with all of these uncertainties. Could be our turn next to worry once we have reach the promotion period. Sad to see some seniors go before the peak, kind of demotivating actually