In your opinion, which one of the big four accounting firm is best to work for, for fresh grads? Which one can learn more things and have good working environment and culture?

FYI, i am planning to join the audit line and plan to work in big four Penang.

Anyone can contribute some useful tips or advise on which firm to join?

Deloitte...

u mean deloitte penang ?

y deloitte?

yeah deloitte in malaysia is not the top firm... i also would like to know y delloitte...

i have fren (in ur line oso) telling me, to learn more is not to start in big four or watever big big company....should start in a small firm cos the workload is more, u will learn li tat...so when u move to bigger companies a lot of things u already know lor.

i guess deloitte is the easiest to get if you wan to compare with EY or PWC...I might agree with you that they are not the top firm in Malaysia...but it is still a big firm rite ..

i agree that fresh graduates should start off by working at smaller firms. i've seen quite abit of issues in big firms.

I have friends working in all of the big 4 companies. PWC is rated the best among the four here in Malaysia because of the volume of companies which hire them. In 2nd spot its a close battle between KPMG and E&Y. Lastly comes Deloitte.

But in terms of work culture, I noticed that PWC is the worst as my friends from PWC complain the most compared to those from the other big 4.

u mean small company in penang or kl? Cuz some say penang small small company is really small n cant learn much compared to kl's...plus small companies dun reali have a complete procedure for u to follow...so u wouldn't know what you're doing is right or wrong...while for the big companies, they actually have written procedures which tells u what to do step-by-step...this is what i heard from my dad lar...he is against me starting working in small companies...hehe

I also got alot of feedbacks from other ppl stating PWC's working culture is not that good...alot of politics, employ pretty girls who dunno how to work...etc...

So, where is the location you preferred? Penang or KL?

No doubt that working in big 4 is much better than in small firm. Not to say that working in big 4 can't learn much thing. But as fresh grad, do you think you can handle things like planning and discussion with management and also giving your opinion to the clients professionally? So to start off at small firm or big firm, it makes no different in the learning process.

In big companies, not only big 4, in those medium firm as well, you can learn as much thing as you want. Big firm not only have a lot of clients which their clients are mostly MNC and PLC, but also the benefits for your future career advancement.

do u all have fren in big four?
the perception of learning in small firm first and go to big four later is no longer applicable.... i can tell u.. the entry level to big four even audit the whole company....

hmm maybe they employ pretty gals to give motivation to guys there ..... as i know the first few years u have to work late until midnight almost everyday .......

This post has been edited by DarReNz: Sep 15 2007, 08:49 PM

I prefer to work in Penang...KL is too complicated for me, for now..

Will there be trainings provided in all the big four companies? I mean do we have to attend their trainning classes before we actually start auditing a company?

Will try to help out you guys as much as possible....

In terms of going into small or Big 4, definitely going into Big4 is better. To be frank you can't really learn anything in small firms. In audit, the more knowledgeble ones will ask themselves one question. What industry do you want to specialise in. Manufacturing? Banking? Telco? Insurance? Securities?

If you're into Banking, don't go into Deloitte. Try PWC or EY as they have more banking clients. If you're into Securities, EY is the best. Hope you all get the picture.


Don't expect too much training to be given. Only if you're lucky you'll get a senior or a manager who's willing to spend some time on you. Majority of the people in Big4s are very challenged for time and they will not have a lot of time to teach you.

if u r working in either big4 in KL,
pls be prepare to work from 8am-12am, no weekend, no holidays, no pak-tou, no yam-char..

not all departments are like that...

depends on two things.. who you work for.. and which job you're on

I'm still an ACCA student in Sunway, I'd say to get exposure in the big four first.For me,i'll definitely work in one of the big 4 for 3 yrs so that i'm an official member of ACCA and MIA.But you see,when you look for such posts in job ad,very often one of the requirements are the experience in working one of the big four.

Not that people can learn more in small firms,however,yes in the sense that the company structure maybe small and one person have to multi-task and probably an auditor in that firm is responsible to handle other stuff.But it's always better to work in ur specialized field first,like tax consulation,banking...and big four is the place to train u up.

Working in big four is still the best way to enhance ur portfolio.

Which big four.....i'm sure everyone knows the ranking...in remuneration terms these four firms are the same.Workload,stress and job scope are also the same.But seems like those who happened to work in PWC has a lot to complained about their working environment,especially office politics.No surprising for me since elites all go to PWC and back stabbing is very common in this dog eat dog world.

If you don't want that much competition,can go to ernst and young or deloitte.Don't know about KPMG.

i heard the big fours revised their salary to rm 2150 (in penang)? is it true? i dunno whether the rate is the same for kl....

y no one give opinion about kpmg?

Its about 10-15% more in KL.

are u sure 10-15% more?

Sure

all Big4s in KL's starting pay is ranged between 2100-2300.

went for deloitte's interview last week n kpmg's interview tis afternoon. stressed laa.... waiting their reply with agony

which dept oyu applying for ??? hope you pass the aptitude test?

how is their interview? wat are we supposed to do? anything accounting tests?

there's some tests you need to take for Deloitte... KPMG there's not tests just interview.

The title got me confused. I thought you all talking about this Big 4. I am interested in working for them though.

I think PWC is the best
I have friends in KPMG, E&Y and Deloitte. No complaints from them either

i think for all the big 4, there'll be peak and off-peak periods. there'll be times when u work til early morning for weeks/months and times when u can take leave for a few weeks/months in a row. either way big 4 is the way to go in terms of exposure to bigger clients. better job prospects in the future as well. as an auditor PWC / EY would be the best places to go based on the clients they have.

how bout for tax? which company shd we go in?

My company offer RM2100 for entry level. But if you have a first class honour, you will get RM2300. and if you are award winner, you will get more than that.

i applied assurance for both firms.


i sat for 3 assesment tests for both firms respectively, and i find kpmg is slightly difficult than deloitte's.

still waiting for their reply though, waiting wif agony

I do not agree with working with a small firm you can "learn" more.. This is merely a perception. Me myself intern with one of the big four and a small-medium audit firm. Both work load is the same. Just the seniors and the methodology is different. So it depends on your own. But i would highly suggest a big four firm for an entry in fresh level is better than a small medium size firm.

Let's say you join Chan & Lee Associates - a small medium size accounting firm. Then when after 3 to 5 years, you are bored with audit and you resigned hoping to look for a multinational company for an top accounting post. Here comes the dilemma for the multinational company. Say 2 people apply for the job. One is you and the other is from one of the big four. The multinational company will of course hire the guy from big four since it is the BIG FOUR rather than Chan & Lee Associates. So this is also the perception of the company.

Since big four and a small medium size firm has the same work load. Why worry? Go for big four if you can. Good luck and cheers!