Well, for those of you who are interested, PwC currently is split into three main lines of services; Assurance, Advisory and Tax.

Assurance is the audit arm of PwC, with a large client base ranging from Telekom to Maxis, Genting to CIMB, Shell to Esso. The Assurance practice is split according to industry, namely Financial Services (for banks and insurance companies), EUMI (for energy, utilities, mining, telcos), CIPS (for consumer industry products) and MMG (for small to middle-sized companies).

The requirement for fresh grads, simple put is for them to have at least a second class upper and good results in SPM to illustrate a history of academic achievement. But of course, results are just to pre-requisites. The potential candidate must also be an all-rounder, active in extra-curricular activities with achievements in sports being a bonus. The interview will gauge a candidates maturity and attitude, and is very stringent in the sense that they are required to sit for aptitude test which will result in a detailed profile of the candidate.

For Advisory, the practice is split into three main areas; Performance Improvement, Crisis Management and Transactions. Performance Improvement mainly deals in process type work, ranging from corporate governance, risk management, business process improvements, process transformation, human resource advisory, Sarbanes-Oxley and dispute analysis and investigations.

Crisis Management work mainly deals with business recovery, i.e. receiverships, liquidations, financial and debt restructuring, business reviews, divestment advisory.

And the Transactions is split into two main areas: Corporate Finance and Transaction Services. Corporate Finance's range of services include business planning, economic feasibility studies, structuring privatisation proposals and public-private partnerships, M&A, project financing, funding and capital structuring, divestments, business and asset valuations, financial modelling & analysis, and independent advisory. Transactions mainly do due diligence and deal structuring work.

The requirement for Advisory can be more stringent than Assurance or Tax as the recruitment is focused on experienced hires. However, fresh graduates are also recruited from time to time (but not in large numbers as in Assurance). For fresh graduates, the requirement is also 2nd class upper and above from reputable universities. The acceptable degrees would be of course in Finance, Accounting, Engineering, Business and Actuarial. The interview process differs from unit to unit, but expect to sit through a few short exams and case studies. The focus of the interview is to assess the candidate's thought process and ability to handle certain situations.

And of course, once you pass the interviews, be it in Assurance, Advisory or Tax, it's just the beginning. For Assurance especially, the nature of the work can be demanding at times, but that goes with the territory with working with one of the Big Four. The hours will range from time to time, depending on project and of course the famous peak seasons (usually from January till early March). The work itself is challenging, but to be the best, you have to work for it of course. The training and support is top notch, and as many people will tell you, Assurance is a good stepping stone if you would like to launch a career in Finance. However, please be come in prepared, too many new joiners come in expecting something else and won't last the distance.

Forgot about that one. Yeah, am currently attached with PwC.

currently at wisma sime darby on jalan raja laut...but the firm is planning to move to kl sentral in the near future

I think if you were to join the Big 4 today as opposed to a few years ago, you'd find that many things have improved. Sure the hours are long, but that's to be expected. Any top tier consulting or MNC will entail you to work long hours, that goes with the territory of joining the big boys.

The key thing here is that there has been an effort in the last two years or so to improve the quality of work life. Work-life balance may still be out of reach, but steps have been made in the right direction.

Nowadays, as an audit associate, comp time is allowable. Basic salary packages have improved to be more competitive. You have things like ex-gratia and early bonus payments to keep those spirits up. You also have more considerate and thoughtful approach to work by your mentors and supervisors, which is always a big plus especially for those who have experienced those dark times in the old days of audit.

I think, especially in PwC, the Leadership Team has shown that they are aware of the push and pull factors and are making a considerable effort to make changes for the better.

The only unsolved riddle is how to achieve that elusive work-life balance, the fabled holy grail of auditing/consulting. But really, the answer is that any large firm can never achieve that. The thing is to judge for yourselves whether the hardwork and effort put in has a pay-off for your careers at the end of the day, and whether you can cope with it. If not, than surely there are other lines of work out there that is more suitable.

well, it ain't a too shabby place to work at, for now at least

been working for a few years in advisory...r u in the firm as well?

hey, when compared to being based in a building just across the street where transvestites ply their trade and drug addicts do their thing...i'd definitely take the added hassle!

haha bro, at least u got away without being violated...well other than transies and drug addicts, you've also got the occasional psycho wandering abouts there...i've seen a fella practice the opening moves from wong hei hung there before...

by the way, look for recruitment ads for pwc coming out in the star sometime next week, get those cv's ready

Actually, depending on which line of service you're in, you can draw that much as an Assistant Manager (this position however does not exist anymore in Assurance). To get to AM level, it will take anywhere from 3 to 4 years, depending on how you perform.

For PwC Assurance, you have to go through a pre-qualification session and an interview. One of the basic academic requirements is that you have a 2nd upper, which is the minimum to be shortlisted for the pre-qualification session.

PwC takes in ACCA graduates, we've had a few of them over the past few years. It all depends on how you fare during the interview, of course extra-curriculum activities and sporting achievements are a plus. Having a good command of English and being able to express your thoughts is quite important as well as the interviewer will be looking at these qualities during the interview.

Well I have to disagree with you in saying that working in audit is better than tax, it all is relative to what you want to accomplish. It's true that audit experience will open opportunities for you to go finance or accounting type of work, but tax will give you other opportunities as well, especially in tax advisory areas like transfer pricing or indirect tax.

In a sense, tax experience can be perceived as providing the base line for you to expand to more value-added sort of work as compared to audit.

It's quite unfair to state that the audit working experience offers more than audit or vice versa, they're just different. Personally, I wouldn't choose one over the other.

Guys, if you're interested in joining PwC, look for the ad out in the Edge (placed there for obvious reasons). Cheers

that's the norm, but last year the bonus range was from 2.5 right up to 7 months if you believe that...but the higher bonuses is usually for those in Advisory

Actually it's not limited to audit only, it's a firm wide initiative for ALL levels to re-align salaries to match commercial rates. This mainly arose due to the fact that newly recruited experienced hires were getting market rates when they joined the firm, creating a disparity between their base salary and those already existing. The re-alignment was creating to eliminate the disparity between the two, and was done on all levels. But the ones that will have a difference will definitely be those who have served the firm for a few years (i.e. AMs and above).

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Added on February 5, 2007, 1:04 pmI think it's just about being professional. You can't expect to go to client's with long flowing hair or dreadlocks and expect to be taken seriously right? Likewise if you were to dye your hair bright brown or orange. The key word here is being neat and tidy, and is not limited to your hairstyle but your clothing as well. The same applies with any other professional lines, except marketing and maybe IT.

This post has been edited by frodododo: Feb 5 2007, 01:04 PM