I won't answer each and every question as I may not have the most up-to-date answer to all of them

Generally, you fit the bill of what Big4 wanted, mainly the fact that you finished ACCA and straight pass. So it won't be difficult to secure a conditional offer (on condition that you pass the final paper)

I don't think any interviewers (who are generally practice managers) would ask you what is your expected salary. The salary offered is standard and to a certain extent, non-negotiable. If you start asking about salary to the interviewer, you may leave a negative impression. Asking HR is fine

In terms of secondment opportunities, I'm surprised you felt that KPMG has the most opportunity, because it certainly does not feel that way when I speak with the senior ppl there. EY and PwC partners present themselves way better. PwC secondment tends to be reserved for high performers and ppl who are earmarked as partners candidate so it may not feel like everyone has equal opportunity. It seems quite easy to get into secondment in Deloitte if that's your primary objective. But you know secondments come with bond right?

In terms of Malays, I think it's quite safe to say EY has the most, especially at partners level. It kinda depends on the group and team you are placed in

Hi guys, I’m on track in going for year 2 associate in KPMG.

May I know how much increment from year 1 to year 2 associate?

(Year 2 auditor is right before entered Senior a
associate)

I gotten offers elsewhere ranging 4.3-5.5 and I not sure if I should make the jump or not.

My pay is 3.6k as year 1 associate btw

My advise is for u to stay.

Higher salary can easily be achieved, but impactful career isn't so. Having KPMG brand on your resume is a huge thing, in the future, I would advise u to jump only to similar big level company (BIG 4, Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc)

guys, there is a friend of mine that receive an iv with deloitte for entry level position in the audit department, however they said that the enrollment only begin in april 2020 as they are currently under restructuring. Would you still go for the iv or not? asking for a friend

My understanding is that you will get an increment of RM1k every year if you meet KPI and get promoted. The quantum will be lesser every year. Say your base is RM3.5k and increment of 1k is 28%. Next year your base is RM4.5k and 1k will be 22%. Say you are a manager and your base is RM8.5k, your 1k increment is 11%. That is still very attractive compared to most companies.

The base salary for Big4 is quite high compared to industry but the ceiling is quite low for senior management and above. A Director in Big4 I understand is around RM20k? In a large PLC or MNC, it will be around RM30k to RM40k easily.
Hence, most auditors will aim to jump ship when they are SM/ Director and above. The problem for jumping at that position is that the skills you learn in Big4 is very limited and less useful outside. Audit skills are a good general skill but its just 1 of the many. To be a SM/VP/ Director of MNC, you are either leading a team or dept, you need to know more than those managers reporting to you. Some Big4 can transfer successfully while majority does not especially if you want to venture beyond financial reporting or internal audit line.

In audit pre-manager, you learn audit or due diligence skills. That is not very useful for most companies as you are not learning to prepare anything or involved in project managements. When you become a manager to Director in Big4, you learn people management, budgeting, review and portfolio management. You will learn more stuffs but those are mostly management related skills and not core skills. Its hard to leverage using those skills in interviews especially if you are applying to big MNCs. Better chances at smaller companies or non-regional companies.

Those that successfully adapt to financial/ non-financial line tend to make the transfer early around senior/ AM level and work from there. Alternatively, regulatory firms that carries supervision or enforcement roles are quite susceptible to auditors as well.

Dont chase money until you hit beyond 30 especially if you are learning a lot. If you are not learning much, keep jumping to learn something new. Start settling for money when you are tired/ exhausted.

Anyway, that’s my 2 cents based on my observation after leaving audit firm years ago. May or may not apply to everybody.

Google, facebook, amazon (or known as FANG companies) are in another league compared to Big4. They have some satelite/ representative office here but presence is miniscule in MYS. An intern in google is earning at least $7k, thats RM30k. I think their priorities are looking for IT/engineering people though.

I agree, that's just an example since I'm an IT guy. Still, my point is it is better for him to just go ahead with the Big 4 firm, build his career for 4-5 years, and the next jump could be massive since he already have a Big 4 brand in his resume.

Pretty much that's what I will do if I join Deloitte for example, work as IT/Cloud Consultant for few years, and then applied as Solution Architect for Amazon or Customer Engineer for Google.

The career path is limitless for consultant/B2B job in my opinion. He could take additional certificate like CISSP or CISA to be more relevant job wise.


This post has been edited by genryou: Aug 29 2019, 09:57 PM

Why not? There is still around half a year before April 2020, your friend could just go to the interview, and once successful, he could just do any other job in the meantime before starting.

I don't think you are bound with employee-employer limitation until you started working there.

Guys, I need some help to get some information regarding employee benefits provided by PwC and Deloitte for a Senior Consultant level.

I get to know Deloitte providing around 18 days of annual leave, 12% of EPF contribution, parking and phone bill allowances. Could some one share what are the benefit provide by PwC? Is it the same or better?

Thanks.

Is it possible for ey to give me another opportunity to retake take online assessment ( situational judgement test which doesnt have time limit)? I think i flunked my test as i misclickedthe next button multiple times and accidentally skipped few questions without answering... do enlighten me pls senpai

Thanks for the input btw, I honestly wasn't even aware that secondments come with a bonding agreement. I'm merely interested in secondment for the overseas experience, but it won't be the only target that I'm aiming for.

I've got a follow up question if you don't mind. Since I've just finished EY's online assessment a few days ago, what should I expect afterwards and how long does it typically take for them to get back to me?

Is it easier to rise through up the hierarchy if you started from intern, then join them as a permanent staff?

Yes, they would actually give preference to their interns. However, if you did not perform well during the internship, they will withdraw your priority when you apply for a position as permanent staff.

how's the experience of transferring from a big4 to another big4?

Hey guys. I'm currently working in a small firm for 8 months. I just finished my last paper of ACCA and my result would be out next month. I'm not a straight-passer. I went straight to CAT after SPM and afterwards ACCA. I noticed on LinkedIn that mostly the people working at big 4 are graduates from oversea. I would like to ask those working in big 4 whether my chances of getting in would be difficult compare to those who graduated from oversea. The current small firm I'm working at is actually pretty good. Willing to teach and reasonable bosses. Although maybe they tried implying that learning experience in small firm is actually more good as compare to Big 4.

When does Big 4 starts their recruitment process? It is quarterly per year? or all year round? And usually what are the interview questions are like? I heard from my friends who worked for Big 4 says they often work more on their clients' offices rather than firm itself. Is this really true to some extent? Although this information provided from my friends have already been quite a long time ago. Is this still applicable now?

And one usual thing for Big 4. It is really worth to sacrifice health, social and family etc for a couple of years just to have it on resume? I'm sorry if I asked obvious question but I am curious to know the experiences for people who went through it.

It's just applying to another company. Think of it like you're a Shell employee wanting to work in Petronas.

Many people say this but I feel this is untrue. You definitely learn more in Big 4. People who say that smaller firm is better probably the ones who cry sour grapes because they fail to get into the Big 4. Getting into Big 4 is not that tough as long as you are a decent student. Think of it as scoring a 60% in any test.

Depends on the firm, country you are applying to and whether HR is recruiting. This question sound so silly like you're expecting people to spoon feed you the answer.

Depends on the interviewer. But an impressive resume will land you the job almost immediately. Normally they will screen you through some tests (Math/English). Once you are invited for an interview, I would say 80% chance they want you. Excellent results and extracurricular activities in your resume is the key. My experience with one of the Big 4 was the interviewer interviewed me for 5 minutes and even told me not to worry and will give me the job.

If you are applying for tax, you will likely do work in the Big 4 office. If for audit, then yes you will go to client's place most of the time. Why? Because you need to see the client's physical documents e.g. vouch Delivery Orders, inspect PPEs etc.

If you are female, do think twice before applying for audit because it is tough work. Some girls regret after 3 years and switch to tax and they have to climb the ladder all over again. Audit requires travel especially outstation (sometimes alone) and this makes parents worry about their safety.

The path to success is not easy. Most people prefer an easy job but doesn't get you promoted in the long run (i.e. dead end job). Audit is tough but you learn a lot and can get promoted faster. Auditing is also an easy ticket out of Malaysia. If you want to work overseas, the demand for auditors overseas is high especially developed countries. Why? Because people in developed countries want to have a life and hate jobs that require OT.

Yes but preferably if you won something and not merely participated. Big 4 prefers results first but also wants some extracurricular activities.
Best if you hold Secretarial/President positions which shows leadership. You can also talk about what you learnt especially when working in teams.

Depends on firm, the country you are applying to, and whether HR recruiting.

I suppose you are applying for audit. They usually won't ask for an entry level position like audit associate. HR is the one who decides not the interviewer.
Also, Big 4 is sort of bound by a gentlemen's agreement to keep salaries more or less the same to prevent people from jumping here and there just for small difference in salaries.

PRO TIP: If interviewers ask for expected salary, tell them: "I'm actually looking at the whole package like health benefits, insurance, claims etc"

Depends on Big 4's portfolio. If many of their audit clients are Malay companies then that Big 4 will usually have more Malay employees.
From what I see KPMG has the least Malays. PwC the most, followed by EY and Deloitte. Also, if you do not know Mandarin I suggest not to go to KPMG because most only speak in Mandarin.

I think most Big 4s have. Not mistaken PwC has it too but it's a 2+4 meaning 2 years overseas (earning foreign currency) then come back and serve 4 years bond in Malaysia.

Sorry if the question thrown you off. I assumed there were more positions right before peak season starts because of the high turnover.

Thank you for replying to each of my questions. I appreciated it.

This post has been edited by Evilliving44: Sep 15 2019, 12:30 AM

Just get A2 post from EY, starting work 2moro, is it reachable by MRT?