Previously from EY for 7 years. Cant comment for Deloitte, but generally, this is based on the appetite of the partners if they wanna take up engagements and also if the team has the expertise for such services.

If you want to be involved in deals, the company must be a principal adviser registered under SC. Only Investment banks can submit all type of corporate proposals to the SC. None of the Big4 qualify to be a principal adviser. That’s why you don’t see their name / logo in public disclosure document.

Investment banks also have all the license below:
• Dealing in securities;
• Dealing in derivatives;
• Fund management;
•  Dealing in Private Retirement Scheme;
•  Advising on corporate finance;
• Investment advice; and
• Financial planning

Big 4 only have the license to advise on corporate finance that’s why you see they mostly do due diligence related activities only.

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).

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.