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Best of Big Four?

Poll

Best Big Four Firm

Hi,

Just about to graduate this year from Imperial and in the application process of all the big four firms. Does anyone have any views on which of E&Y, PwC, Deloitte & KMPG are better or different from each other??

I read the times top 100 for 06/07 and the top 3 are all the big four, with exception for E&Y which is 14th, but from what I hear from friends its the fastest growing of them all so not too sure which one has best potential/reputation.

Any help would be great, cheers

Jon.

Reply 1

DrEvil

PwC defo! With your experience from there, you can easily find a position in another firm (preferably one in the big4). Remember, you are never limited! Always expand your horizon (whatever the **** that means) lol.

Reply 2

melquíades el gitano

9

I think the poll speaks for itself at the moment....

To be honest, you're not going to get the most balanced of opinions here - each firm has its strengths.
I would say Deloitte offers more opportunity for a graduate, but i would say that, wouldn't i...

We also get paid better, at all levels...

Mobility is equally strong whichever of the Big 4 you start at.

Reply 3

Singh_87

15

PwC for sure :p:

Reply 4

Hev456

11

Anything particularly wrong with KPMG and E&Y? :confused:

Reply 5

xedx

i'm on the KPMG gap scheme, so obviously i'm going to say its the best.

starting salary is slightly less than deloitte/PwC, but you get a lunch allowance of £4 a day which evens it out/takes KPMG slightly ahead.

also KPMG is the most laid back of the big 4 - the others are all rather more formal. for example - almost nobody ever wears a tie at KPMG. i know, its a pretty big deal. also i think KPMG gives you more time off to prepare for exams than the others.

to be honest, all the big 4 are seriously good on your CV. there's not a huge amount of difference in terms of prestige.

in terms of size/amount of business, the ranking goes like this:

1.PwC by some margin
2.KPMG
3.Deloitte (about the same size as KPMG - but deloitte audits all the football teams, if that floats your boat)
4.E&Y, at the back by a bit

given that most people leave the big 4 after qualifying for the ACA, i think atmosphere is probably most important, rather than career advancement prospects within the company, or amount of business the company does (what difference does it make to you...?).

that's why i chose KPMG...

Reply 6

Forté

2

Anything particularly wrong with the firms outside of the top 4? :confused:

Reply 7

astralcars

Generic answer is, "it depends" :smile:

Unless you're joining a department in which there are significant differences in strength and/or prospects going forward (more likely outside the core areas of Tax & Audit), being a mon go to whoever offers the most money. It's not a decision worth agonising over. From PKF to PwC, I've met grads who are perfectly happy and convinced they made the right choice.

Reply 8

Forté

2

So there wouldnt be anything wrong with applying to each of the top 50 then? :p:

Reply 9

Sophdoph

1

I'm too tired to explain why I'm picking Deloitte apart from the fact they have offered me a job and I did the summer scheme. I think you just get attached to one of them once you have done some work for them or had interaction with them...

Reply 10

Tednol

10

xedx

in terms of size/amount of business, the ranking goes like this:

1.PwC by some margin
2.KPMG
3.Deloitte (about the same size as KPMG - but deloitte audits all the football teams, if that floats your boat)
4.E&Y, at the back by a bit

I'd be curious to know how you came to those ranking.

Ranking by number of employees:
1. PWC 140 000
2. Deloitte 135 000
3. EY 114 000
4. KPMG 113 000

Ranking by world income:
1. PWC $22 billion
2. Deloitte $20 billion
3. EY $18.4 billion
4. KPMG $16.9 billion

Ranking by UK income:
1. PWC £ 1 780 000 000
2. Deloitte £ 1 550 000 000
3. KPMG £ 1 281 000 000
4. EY £ 945 000 000

Ranking by number of UK partners:
1. PWC 755
2. Deloitte 624
3. KPMG 560
4. EY 392

What conclusions can we draw? PWC are the biggest, end of. Biggest in the UK market and in the world market. Deloitte are the second biggest, both in the UK and globally. KPMG are the third biggest in the UK, but the fourth biggest globally whilst EY are third biggest globally, and fourth biggest in the UK.

Reply 11

Tednol

10

jon1111

Hi,

Just about to graduate this year from Imperial and in the application process of all the big four firms. Does anyone have any views on which of E&Y, PwC, Deloitte & KMPG are better or different from each other??

I read the times top 100 for 06/07 and the top 3 are all the big four, with exception for E&Y which is 14th, but from what I hear from friends its the fastest growing of them all so not too sure which one has best potential/reputation.

Any help would be great, cheers

Jon.

There is no 'best'. There may be a firm that is best for you, or best for me, but there is no one firm that is better than any other across the board.

Reply 12

Forté

2

Serious question (my last one was conveniently ignored :frown:

) :

How serious is the competition for gap year work placements at such firms? Have i already missed the boat? :redface:

Reply 13

astralcars

domisakin

So there wouldnt be anything wrong with applying to each of the top 50 then? :p:

I mentioned PKF earlier not because I think all firms are equally desirable. I mentioned them to show that if many grads from perfectly good universities are satisfied with mid tier firms like PKF, GT and BDO, choices between Big 4 firms (as per the original question) are unlikely to leave you lying in bed at night thinking “what if…”

Still, differences between firms can’t be denied. Some jobs in industry you’ll look at post-qualification will specify Big 4 experience. As such, a Big 4 firm should probably be priority over any alternative if you hope to maximise future opportunities. However, there’s little if anything to suggest choices within the Big 4 impact one’s desirability to other employers. Nor is there anything other than anecdotal evidence to suggest one Big 4 firm offers more internal opportunities than another / has ‘nicer’ employees than another, etc. Such blanket statements mask variations in the internal dynamic of different service lines and different offices of varying size.

Reply 14

DrEvil

domisakin

Serious question (my last one was conveniently ignored :frown:

) :
How serious is the competition for gap year work placements at such firms? Have i already missed the boat? :redface:

It shouldn't be too hard. It depends on where you study. If you study at lets say Durham, New Castle or other Unis which are well known for their achievements in finance, it shouldn't be too difficult. If you go to somewhere such as Kent or Brunel, it maybe harder. Brunel do offer a Sandwhich course though, so make sure you do some research in the subject before you decide to go ahead.

If you want an easy time though, New Castle, Durham and Loughborough are your best options.

Reply 15

Singh_87

15

melquíades el gitano

I think the poll speaks for itself at the moment....

I think the poll at the moment is more realistic :wink:

Reply 16

jon1111

OP

How come E&Y is behind the rest by a fair bit. It seems like it lacks the reputation of the others. Any ideas.

Reply 17

kissmekate

2

personally i'd say deloitte
but that is looking at it from the point of view of which firm I would like to take a gap year with
I have a place on the Deloitte Scholar's Scheme and i didn't bother applying to the others
e&y and don't do one
pwc and kpmg don't pay as much or give travel bursary
that's the reasons for me
i don't know about graduate jobs though