Tomatochuckers (Offline)  

Yeah mate, I'm doing the AAT for 2 years then the ILM Level 5 certificate in Business support. Then in year 4 I might start on the ACA, however KPMG are being a little confusing with the whole thing. Apparently because I'm working in FRM then the ACA is not needed and they say you should do the CFA (which is more relevant to IB), so if I really want to do the ACA then I'll have to move dept or something. But that's three years away, so I'm not gonna get worried about it now. CIMA or ACCA are also options, KPMG have a dedicated professional qualifications dept so I'll go to them in a few years to ask for advice.

It does matter what service line you're in tbh, say you were in advisory and applying to an audit position somewhere else, even though you have an ACA they'd still want to see you had experience. That said, it really depends on where you're applying.

Hey mate. Well done on the EY offer, and I hope you take it, they're a great company to start your career at. And of course becoming a partner after industry is possible. For example, today at my induction I met two people, one had previously worked for EY - he then went into industry and then joined KPMG and is now COO of FRM (Financial risk management) at KPMG. Another worked for Arthur Anderson, then went into working for the FSA and then joined KPMG and made senior partner in just four years. You don't need to stick with the company for a million years to become a partner. IMO your career and life overall will benefit far more from moving about into different areas of finance in both practice and industry. I myself do not plan to stay at KPMG forever just to become a partner. Life is too short, and diving into new experiences proves that you're happy to live your life as it should be lived, with new challenges awaiting you. This will make you very attractive to people at places like KPMG, Deloitte, EY and PWC. They'll see you as a natural leader who is not afraid to face new experiences. This is what they look for when they choose their partners, not just how long they've been at the company.

As for the induction, it was hot and cold. I love my colleagues and think they're a great bunch of people who reflect both my work and play ethic. The cold part were the rather boring presentations - they're standard practice for induction but IMO they're rather pointless in places, I'd much rather start working right away and induction should just be used for getting to know your colleagues.

Good luck at both KPMG and EY, it looks to me you've got a great career ahead of you if you play your cards right. And yeah, the Canary Wharf office is pretty awesome, having such a nice environment to work in is a huge benefit because it motivates me to come to work every morning and do my best.

There's nothing wrong with being naive mate, everyone is naive at one point. And sadly no, I'm based in Canary Wharf. Regarding the salaries, the big four are the big four, the difference in salaries are negligible because they all compete for the same talent - EY wouldn't want their hotshot management consultant going to Deloitte because they're paying him less, would they?

Another example in the way the pay is negligible is how PWC might pay 20K a year and KPMG 19K, but KPMG offer a £3 a day lunch allowance which works out to a little over 1K a year - Thus balancing the pay scales. I can imagine this idea being the same as you go up the ranks.

It doesn't quite work like 10 years at a firm and you get a promotion to partner status. Being a school leaver you would have three years extra experience compared to grads, that experience may give you a competitive edge when trying to impress your managers. Say for example you came across on problem a few years back as a school leaver training for the ACA when at this time your present colleague was still at Uni... the way you solved the problem because you'd come across it before might impress your manager and could help you get that promotion. Of course this is a very over simplified way of how it works, but I'm sure you get the idea.

So overall I'd say the experience over the grads that the school leavers have can prove very useful in the race to partner status, provided you know to use it.

Good luck at KPMG, and being an intern there would put you in a great position to apply to their own school leavers program which is excellent in my opinion... Although I might be a little biased Also good luck with your EY interview, be sure to apply to PWC and Deloitte too - Although I'd be wary of PWC's program, I don't rate it at all as it doesn't directly help you get the ACA that you need if you want a serious career in consultancy, tax or audit.

I start induction on Monday mate. As for moving into industry, yes you can expect a slightly higher salary compared to practice. However, that is more a short to medium term benefit, if you were willing to stick it out at somewhere like KPMG you could make partner after about 10-12 years and be earning hundreds of thousands to even millions a year. So it really depends on how you feel, is a 50K salary at 25 worth more than a 120K+ salary at 40? That said, you could still move up the ranks in industry, a lot of accountants use their ACA to move up the management ranks, which is why you see a lot of ACA's in boards of big companies.

Hi mate. Didn't see this till now.

From what I understand of the audit scheme is that on the face of it, it is very similar to that of the big four ones. In fact, there are some clear benefits that come with working in the public sector, such as better job security.

However, the NAO firstly does not come with the same prestige in name value that you get from a big four firm. For example, if you were thinking of going into another side of finance. The other reason is you wouldn't get the same opportunity to move around from audit, working for a firm means you could potentially move into tax, and consulting from risk to management.

A guy I met at KPMG actually left the NAO scheme last year in favour of the KPMG scheme of this year. If you want I will definitely ask him more about how he felt on the scheme, when I see him on Monday.

not all, but by all means, if you're able to do night shifts say so. Good luck

Hi sent you a pm

do you still have those solomon trig worksheets and solutions. PM me plzz

hello,
tbh i'm the wrong person to ask. Your best bet is to phone up Warwick admissions or ask someone who is currently on the MORSE course

sorry i couldn't be more help

Thanks! Me too. Just thought I'd add, you don't really get limited chances at the exams. In theory you could take them over and over. It's just that different companies have different policies - at mine, you don't have to pay for your first attempt but if you fail you have to pay for the retake. And obviously if you keep failing it's bad for your career! But it's generally acknowledged that many people fail some, so it's not horribly pressured.