oh thank you, just got an assessment from ey and application form, asking for expected salary so i should put around 3-2 to 3.4k right ?

What wold you say are the typical exit opportunities for someone working in M&A for one of the big four? I was thinking of either doing M&A or trying to get into strategy consulting. I know I am very unlikely to get into M&A in one of the big banks so M&A in the big four is my next best option. As for consulting, I will probably try for Deloitte consulting or BCG. This is all assuming that I get in. And yes I know consulting is a lot harder to get in.

This post has been edited by Ballsbreaker: Feb 23 2019, 01:14 PM

How valuable would you say due diligence experience is when looking for exit opportunities? Do people highly value someone who has experience in due diligence work?

With only background in due diligence, simple answer is no. With diverse background yes. For example, if you have worked long enough in Corporate Finance in IB, you will be exposed to the following:
1) Familiarisation with laws (Ie: SC, MMLR, CA and maybe BNM). Companies like to hire those very familiar with regulations.
2) Exposure to deals / project management. Handling various stakeholders are vital in many conglomerates.
3) Drafting / preparing documents / framework / presentation. Saves time and resources if you can do it yourself.
4) Valuation / modelling. At least you can do preliminary work before hiring adviser.
5) Research skills. Useful anywhere

So if the CEO / CFO comes to you with a M&A question like can you buy X company at Y country at Z amount. If you know all 5 above, you can do the work. Companies normally have an internal M&A / CF department but the team is normally small, technical and experienced. Even the fresh grads need to learn very quickly. You can also look for investment holding companies. For example, you have Usaha Tegas (Maxis) and Axiata (Celcom).

Thanks for the answer. So let’s say I wanna break into investment banking and do M&A there. What’s the best way to do it assuming that I start off from the big four? Would working in valuation help more than doing due diligence? I know I’m probably not gonna get into IB straight out of university. So I’m trying to lateral into it. I have a few contacts from a few big fours from my internship and they said that they are willing to help me.

This post has been edited by Ballsbreaker: Mar 6 2019, 08:41 PM

Valuation skills will set you apart from the auditors. Based on my observation, IB received a lot of application from big4s (and reject most of them). Heavy emphasis is on good paper qualification background as you will be dealing with regulators, clients and advisers. Second, you need to have a strong core background. Finance (knowledge) and law (drafting) will help a lot.

Now IB is no longer a place where you can stay for long term. Most treat is as platform to jump to other greener fields. IB does give better opportunities that Big4. IB will normally meet with rich Dato and Tan Sris in deals such as IPO, M&A and privatisation. Some Tan Sris love the bankers so much they will poach to join their company with huge jump in pay & position.

Singapore and HK are financial hubs. They can hire highly skilled foreigners and not restricted with local quota like Malaysia. Unlike Malaysia, foreign investment banks have huge presence in Singapore like Citibank, Standard Chartered and JP Morgan. Faced with higher competition, all IBs need to step up the quality. However, SG is lagging in capital markets hence their IB is also serving other regions rather than just SG alone. The next rung is HK where they serve mostly China and the rest of Asia (ex-Japan). Their offices are mostly foreigners.

If you think it’s hard to join IB in Malaysia, imagine competing with the foreigners in SG. Most of their associate have Ivy league MBAs. In addition, Singapore laws make it very difficult for foreigners to join their local banks. So that leave market leaders such as DBS, UOB and OCBC out of the picture.

Hey guys, I’m currently a part qualified acca student, left with P papers. I’m wondering if big4 accept part qualified students. If yes, how much do they pay

most likely they dont accept or they tekan u

EY is offering 3050 for degree, with ACCA 3250. They recently just had a revision of salary a few months back.

Depending on the firm, I had a colleague in EY getting starting pay 2k for partial ICAEW. I heard they recently revised to RM2.4-2.6k

The problem with partial papers is that it may be difficult for you to cope. Depending on how many P papers you have, they may also bond you.

A lot of people come into BIG4 with degree and the BIG4 will force them to take professional papers in assurance. So you won't be stressed out alone.

Hi everyone. I am an ACCA graduate who have completed all the paper on dec. I've been unemployed since then and been thinking of a career path for me. So far, I'm highly interested in transaction service whereby I perform financial due diligence work. What worries me is that I will not have a good exit opportunities few years down the road if I join TS as a fresh grad. Secondly, I heard that its difficult to get into TS big 4 as a fresh grad. I do think I should qualified to join TS seeing how I've completed my ACCA papers all in one go. May I get some advises from experienced seniors from this forum. Thank you very much in advanced.

This post has been edited by Misselizaclarke: Apr 2 2019, 09:57 PM

guys, i've already done the assessment part and fill up the application form for audit assistant for EY on the 2nd week of february, however i still didnt receive an email for interview, is it that i've been rejected?

1) You definitely will qualify for TS since you have ACCA, and that you are able to articulate your thoughts well during the interview.

2) With regards to exit opportunities, i have seen some TS peeps or Deals Advisory peeps (what pwc calls it) move into investment banking. But this is rare as the amount and quality of work in TS in BIG 4 is not comparable to a full fledge investment bank like Maybank or CIMB. To increase your chances of getting into investment banking after TS, get a CFA.

3) Aside from Investment Banking, some peeps in the field also managed to secure Big 4 placements in overseas such as Australia and Singapore.

3) Or you could enter commercial and join the finance department.

4) or move into management consulting or strategy consulting like mckinsey, bain, bcg. Again, this is very tough due to their vigorous case interviews process

In the end, exit opportunities for corporate finance (CF) peeps in BIG 4 is abundant. Although the level of CF in BIG 4 is not as robust and intensive as a full fledge investment bank, it is still sufficient to grant you some high paying job opportunities in the future.

This post has been edited by Financier: Apr 1 2019, 01:32 PM

Which department would best help me if I were to have investment banking as a goal? I am currently talking to people at Deloitte and I am thinking if I should work in M&A, valuation or due diligence.

I know I don’t have the grades right now to break into IB and that’s my fault so I will just have to do it the hard way. I also know it’s not guaranteed but I’m just wondering what’s the most likely pathway through the big four to land a place in IB.

This post has been edited by Ballsbreaker: Apr 3 2019, 03:45 AM

Big4 koolaid still going strong I see.

All three are part of corporate finance. Boils down to what u enjoy doing. Google each one and see what sort of cf u prefer.

Get a CFA while working in Big 4 to really increase your chances. Although, this is very very tough..and there is still no guarantees u will get IB.

This post has been edited by Financier: Apr 3 2019, 08:57 AM

As a fresh grad with no intern experience, I find it extremely difficult to join TS within the big 4. How would you recommend for me to join TS? Currently, I'm thinking of joining audit then try to internal transfer to the TS line. What do you think about this?

Get an internship experience in TS then before converting to full-time. I would highly recommend you to network with recruiters and make it clear you want an opportunity at TS.

Or

Like what u said, join audit and ask for a switch to TS after a few years. Its quite common, in fact one of my supervisor did this. She joined audit, got her acca, then transferred to TS after a few years as assistant manager.