Just wanted to clarify a point noted about Big 6 in the old v2 thread...

Back in the days, Big 6 referred to Price Waterhouse, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, KPMG, Arthur Andersen and Coopers & Lybrand

BDO & Crowe Howath were never considered "big"

they asked me a lot about accounting standards, audit standards and audit methodology.....
my answer is not up to their standards especially on audit methodology since I'm coming from small firm, they were not satisfied with the way I replied

More exposure to complicated sections and issues and lucrative industries
You get to audit public listed co or major banks
Higher pay
Better audit methodology

So yes, better career path due to steeper learning curve

Anyone here that could possibly shed some light on which industry that I should go for that enhances career progression?

I'm given the chance to audit either:

i) Banks
ii) Insurance
iii) Asset Management

This will be in the UK if that matters. I did an internship doing Insurance but Asset Management caught my attention when I did some of the work for them. Personally feel that Banking might be a bit worse in terms of working hours and not sure if it comes with more benefits.

Do you guys prefer working in a big four with no life,  or middle size firms with a bit of life?

ahh I am in audit. will prepare myself mentally and pray hard for a good temper mentor to guide me lol.   

Hi there, would require your personal opinion if your were in my case:

I am about to commence as an audit associate in one of the big four, I cannot name it as I scared later I will be targeted lol, I am a fresh grad that is about to commence in June.

I am an Australian PR just because I stayed long enough due to my study period here in Australia.

I have no experience working in the industry that I want, namely the audit industry, besides as an audit intern for three months in a medium size audit firm in my kampung when I visited my family. Lately I have decided to go back Malaysia and work in KL, one of the Big 4.

I can choose to stay in Australia or Malaysia and I already know I m lucky enough so please don't bombard me with how lucky I am without reading it further.

Option 1: if I stay in Australia, due to my inexperience, I do not think I will be able to get a job in the audit industry or big four. Also I don't think my English is good enough, I cannot score band 8 for Ielts, I got band 7 which like most of the Malaysians, and so this restricts my employment scope. I have already thought of my worst case scenario, I will work as retail assistant and live a peaceful life here in Australia, enough to feed myself. By that, I will have to forgo what I did for so many years, degree till master, so many years of study, I feel reluctant to not give it a try to work for big four Malaysia or other big companies in Malaysia, and suffering while working in these companies and earning an amount that might not be enough to feed myself.

Option 2: I always wanted to try out big four, although now I am scared by the late working hours and the underpay problems stated by many of the forumers, but I think that's what I should do after so many years of tertiary study, I know this is kinda putting myself at the cutting edge when option 1 is a better choice with the aim of continuing feeding urself and stay alive. I actually chose option 2 with the aim to finish the professional paper in three years time and get myself qualified on the board before I come back Australia. At this stage, I am planning to not give up my PR and want to come back after getting myself qualified in three years time, and that's the only reason I will want to work for big four with the long hours and underpay. I think with that three years, I might put myself in a better position compared to not having a try and live as a retail assistant forever in Australia. At the same time, I am afraid that I cannot manage to finish my professional paper within the three years timeframe and will need to stay longer in Malaysia which will then risking myself to lose my PR in Australia.

If you were me, what would you do? Please feel free to express your opinion, it is much appreciated.

Thank you.

Regards,
mmm92

Could any sifu analyse in more details about the pro and con for each audit department i.e. FS, EUMI, MMG, CIPS etc.? (I heard that FS and EUMI are harder to audit and more work to do?)
Which is good to join if I don't have any preference on all of them?

And some forumers said that in EY you can do what u want i.e. can go back earlier a bit, after finishing your work, the seniors won't keep pushing more tasks to you so that you won't go back earlier than them.. how about PwC?

What is the cut off date for promotion for EY and PwC? If I were to join any of them in July/ August, when will be my latest promotion date?

Since sometimes auditors work until midnight, can they just sleep at the office till the next morning instead of going back?

If from BIG4 jump to middle firm say after 2 or 3 years, will middle firm discount the experience in BIG4?

Will BIG4 pay for your ACCA annual subscription fees? If yes, by how much?
Thank you for your time!

Sorry for leaving such impression for u, dasecret   , I am just trying to gather as much information as I can here. Have gone through all the threads from v1, most of them are really informative.   But I still have some doubts over the discussions of you guys, so am trying to clear it up here. Of course I know the years would be tough, no pain no gain and I have to put in the efforts.   Would u mind sharing with me on how you get through the tough years though?
Thank you for your inputs

It's to retain employees ... Imagine you going to audit with newbies for big cases due to no other senior staffs during peak period

Hi!

To those working full time in audit and attending classes during the weekends, what is it like? What advice would you give as I will be doing the same thing? Could you maybe share how is your schedule roughly like?

Thanks!

Hey what paper are you taking? Wouldn't taking 2 months off burn your entire leave quota for the year?

Wonder how quick can one be promoted as Manager and Senior Manager.
Managers in Big 4 should be young.

The 2 year Am thing is relatively new (they changed it every few years.). Back when I was still in big 4 it's only 1 year, so by 25 I was already a manager, but as they say, it's not an easy job, and many of us burn out very quickly.

I heard a different story.

What I hear is that basically the firm received too many complaints that the quality of the audit managers were not up to standard. The harshest complaints came from ex-audit managers who have left the firm and joined commercial, becoming the firm's clients. These old-timers were comparing the current audit managers to the audit managers of their era, which were more experienced by the time they hit manager level.

So the firm decided that average AMs should stay 1 more year to gather more experience before being promoted to managers.

Is it a lot of people that left after a year? What is the option thereafter?

my friend says his brother failed his final professional paper and only promoted to AM in his 5.5 years there. He left after half year

I always thought the motivation to stay in the firm is that one day they can leave (to a better place), quite ironic.

Hello just asking, how's the BIG 4 landscape in Malaysia or even better in ASEAN in terms of Consulting/Advisory.

I heard Malaysian clients is primarily dominated by PwC and EY, then only KPMG and Deloitte.

Malaysia:

1) PwC
2) EY
3) KPMG
4) Deloitte

?? Correct me if im wrong

I think BDO got better audit clients than Deloitte.

Is it really that appealing, to work for a big 4 firm?....

I was told they don't pay well, need to work long hours, and many people jump after just a few years....Very low staff retention rate....

It has been a while since I last visited this forum but I am going to reply you anyway since your question caught my attention.

If you seek career mobility, my experience is YES so far - many of my friends who stayed long enough in Big 4 including myself travelled and worked internationally with Big 4s in other countries.

You are right to point out that big 4s generally do not pay well compared to commercial sector jobs, but that really depends on what you seek - money or mobility? If you want to make a lot of money in the shortest period of time in your lifetime, common sense dictates that you should do your own business or be in a sales role. Besides, there is also a lot of good Management trainee programs out there that offers equally rewarding career start too. So let me make it very clear in a very succinct way before I proceed further about my personal opinion - Big 4s are not the only attractive choice nowadays but still attractive on its own. 

If you want the brand name on your CV, the exposure to a variety of professional network and potentially a chance for overseas experience (by way of moving to Big 4 overseas), I will say Big 4 is a good choice. The network that I made connection with and the CV that I built with my Big 4 experience opened a lot of doors (I get headhunters calling every week), and I believe you can only see the real benefit if you have at least 3-5 years experience behind you, which means toiling away the good part of your 5 years social and leisure life.

Would I do it differently if I were to do it again? I would because it was not easy. But is it worth it looking back? Yes of course!

There is really no best choice really, you can only make the best out of your choice - so my advice is, take the leap of faith, and always be willing to go against the crowd and do what you think which may work for you.

You won't know until you try.

Cheers

Just wondering a few things,
1. Since big 4 name on the cv is so prestige, isn't it mean that u will earn more at the end of the day compared to commercial or any sales job?
2. What if I do not have a professional paper, how far I could progress in big 4?
3. Is it true that no matter what position u are at at big 4 u will not have worklife?
4. I heard that the increment was very good like 25% and 3 months bonus. Is it true?

that's what i mean....people use the big 4 as stepping stones to gather experience and CV credits....and then move to better jobs....because there is a "glass ceiling" for most in the big 4....

few find permanency in big 4 employment it seems...