Big 4 V FTSE 100 Grad scheme

You're probably a failed banker..

There is a reason the big four always land the top positions in these graduate schemes league tables. The meritocratic structure at the big 4, means if you're good you'll have a great career. Also, the big 4 is seen as a training academy for future finance professionals, and people leverage these positions by launching their careers into high paying jobs in industry.

The classic path is: Do an ACA at the big 4, then get some low level experience in product control. Then get a top product control job paying ~60k, by the time your 30, when you'll have had 9 years of experience. And if you're really good and went to a top university, you'll be able to land a senior job in industry paying six figures by the time you're 40, when you would have had almost 20 years of experience.

This is a fair strategy, and while the work in Audit maybe boring, for some people, it is merely a short placement in their career path. Starting off in industry (doing CIMA) is silly, and is generally the route taken by people who couldn't land a big 4 job.

What salary do you think a newly qualified ACA from the big 4 (with a 4 year MSci in mathematics from Imperial), could command in industry?

I'm actually quite interested in this. 55-60k seems quite a lot for a newly qualified.

I love the fact that I'm being told about the big 4 by someone who has never worked at one, yet I part-qualified at one and it seems I don't know what I'm talking about. Moron. Your 20 year route to a six figure salary is also laughable, particularly as the very best graduates will be earning six figures in their first year after leaving university.

I wouldn't deny that audit is dull, but you've implied that it has little part to play in a company's success.

That's short sighted.

It tends to be more trivial for owner-managed businesses that are self-funded with little debt and don't care about attracting further investment. But don't forget that for big companies and more specifically, listed companies, the audit is useful for a whole bunch of stakeholders. E.g. any significant loan or investment will require an audited set of accounts - and specifically, it must be unqualified.

For the ignorant proportion of people that think the process is a chore and adds no value to them - quite frankly, we don't care, we're serving the public.

You're probably a failed banker..

There is a reason the big four always land the top positions in these graduate schemes league tables. The meritocratic structure at the big 4, means if you're good you'll have a great career. Also, the big 4 is seen as a training academy for future finance professionals, and people leverage these positions by launching their careers into high paying jobs in industry.

The classic path is: Do an ACA at the big 4, then get some low level experience in product control. Then get a top product control job paying ~60k, by the time your 30, when you'll have had 9 years of experience. And if you're really good and went to a top university, you'll be able to land a senior job in industry paying six figures by the time you're 40, when you would have had almost 20 years of experience.

This is a fair strategy, and while the work in Audit maybe boring, for some people, it is merely a short placement in their career path. Starting off in industry (doing CIMA) is silly, and is generally the route taken by people who couldn't land a big 4 job.

I love the fact that I'm being told about the big 4 by someone who has never worked at one, yet I part-qualified at one and it seems I don't know what I'm talking about. Moron. Your 20 year route to a six figure salary is also laughable, particularly as the very best graduates will be earning six figures in their first year after leaving university.

What makes me laugh is people like you and I with work experience are passing on info. Yet students are telling us we are wrong or silly.

Oh dear.

You could quite easily be a financial controller by 30 in industry earning 80k+ if you worked hard. I don't think you really know what your talking about. Just assuming more than anything.

The only difference from CIMA and ACA that I can see is when you qualify, then look for a job in industry you may get offered 48-50k rather than 45-47k with CIMA.

After that point (Finance Manager, Financial Controller, Finance Director, Group Finance Director...whatever) your promotion prospects come from aptitude on the job and experience and personal skills.

Nobody is saying that auditors are not valued. The point somebody was trying to make is its a dull job. The action has already happened. The decisions have been made. The audtitor just makes sure no rules have been broken.

To give a football analogy and industry accountant would calculate the worthiness of the club building a new stadium or redeveloping the existing one. Maybe decide on player transfer strategy or what markets to move into to get the best financial return.

The auditor may work for the premier league and would inspect the club to make sure they stick to the rules of the premier league.

You can see what is the sexier job.

Yea because you're doing CIMA and the other guy dropped out the ACA, need I say more? I can definitely find better sources of advice than that lol.

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure he 'dropped out' to pursue a more interesting and far more lucrative career in the city.

To give a football analogy and industry accountant would calculate the worthiness of the club building a new stadium or redeveloping the existing one. Maybe decide on player transfer strategy or what markets to move into to get the best financial return.

To continue the football analogy, I recently worked on site at a football club and had direct access to the player contracts. Who and what for is confidential but I can guarantee it was interesting work and I met the FD and other members of the finance team.

I'd hardly say my job in tax is boring.

Me and Steffy both work at a Big Four. We're not uni students. We're telling you our experience and why we believe some of your arguments are flawed. What experience do you have in the Big Four?

The people who slag off audit and say it is boring are clearly people who have never worked in this field.

I am in my first year at a big 4 firm and I am having a great time. In industry you are likely to be working with older people on a day to day basis within the big 4 you work on client sites with a big group of people of a similar age which makes the day more interesting. Every audit client is different and as a result the job does not get repetitive.

You are also treated very well and the company does look after you and push you to be the best you can be. If you have exams the managers on the job are flexible and will let you go home at 5:30 to study.

Having personally worked in several industry jobs throughout and after uni I would say that audit is more interesting and satisfying.

If you reach manager level at the big 4 and go into industry you are likely to be in a better position than you would be qualifying in ACA or CIMA.

I'm glad to read this! It's a bit off putting going in to Audit and Big 4 and so many people not liking it!

People either love it or hate it. The ones who love it are always switched on. They don't care how long they work. People who hate it get out fast via secondments to other departments. I think a lot of it depends on the team you're in too. Get a good team and that's half the job sorted.

I believe it is possible to on a 6 figure salary by the time your 27/28 if you do well at one of the big 4. I base this on the fact I'm 22, I will hopefully be qualified by the time I'm 24. From speaking to newly qualified people the average salary is £55-60k. So you spend a few years gaining that experience, pay rise? I think you deserve it, you know industry much better now. As long as you're good at your job then you will have no problem.
Some who ACA qualify decide to go into banking, but thats not for all, I don't want to work those hours. I would be quite happy working hard for a decent salary (6 figures) in industry. So I'm not pushing myself to the max, once you have the ACA you have so many more openings. It dicks on CIMA, the ACCA is decent but its still not recognised in the UK as well!