You&#x27;re fired!

8

I know you only get one chance to retake exams, but i think thats pretty standard as it also applies to mid-tiers - it could be a provision set down by the ACA or ACCA or ICAS or ICAEW boards.
Ive got no ideas about figures etc, but i can say that everyone i know who has started accounting in the past 2 years is still doing it... i think the firms do give you a fair amount of time, practice and coaching as well as arranging mocks....
hmmmmmmm id be interested to know if anyone does have figures. Whenever I have asked individuals in grad rec about retention rates Ive gotten very evasive answers (which leads me to jump to my own conclusions). Closest Ive come to an answer is PwC telling me that retention was at about 15-17% (fluctuating) ... that is slightly higher than 1 in 8 (12.5%) but only barely!

Reply 3

john williams

15

i spoke to a new grad (less than a yr) when i went my my deloitte thing and he said (informally at lunch lol) that he was applying for jobs in industry and hated his job (in corp tax) cos even tho they emphasis how dynamic and amazing it'll be, he found everything routine and same thing day in day out..i.e. sittin on excel doing tax comps with odd team meetings etc! if found it shocking as he was supposed to be tellin me what a gr8 place it was to work there!

Reply 4

Harrison88

If the exams and retention rate was easy we wouldn't be paid so much :wink:

Reply 5

1

Harrison88

If the exams and retention rate was easy we wouldn't be paid so much :wink:

uh what??? paid so much? you must be joking

Reply 6

Redeyejedi

7

uh what??? paid so much? you must be joking

Haha... the OP grossly over-estimates (I'm assuming not intentionally) the number of people that fail their ACA exams from Big 4. Failure rate is nowhere near that high, maybe 1 in 10 fail I'd say even less. The vast majority of a graduate intake will pass, those that don't, tend to be the oafs who would rather not do the work required and doss around when they are at college.

W.r.t pay, whilst I know you have lofty ambitions Mendelssohn, Big 4 pay is pretty good compared with graduate average, but it has to be, because the work is soul destroyingly boring and repetitive.

The reason staff attrition is so high past three years is because many accountants move into industry or move to financial services.

Reply 7

8

To me retention rate doesnt equal hard exams.... it indicates people that arent happy with their jobs. there is no way that firms would agree to pay for so many people's study if they thought 85% would fail the qualifications they were paying for...

Reply 8

1

Miss Mess

To me retention rate doesnt equal hard exams.... it indicates people that arent happy with their jobs. there is no way that firms would agree to pay for so many people's study if they thought 85% would fail the qualifications they were paying for...

i think the retention rate is so low because most people leave after three years when they are qualified. this is normal, and the big4 expect this, and most people go into the grad scheme planning to leave; so the low retention rate doesnt necessarily tell you much to be honest. Its definitely not a reflection of how many people pass or fail their exams.

Reply 9

astralcars

sammau

Ok...so someone told me today that of the graduate starters at the Big4 firms only about 1 in 8 make it through the three years and get their qualification...the rest either leave of their own accord or are sacked for failing exams!

Now, that sounds ridiculous to me! Anyone know if there's any truth in it?

To put things into perspective, there are ~ 35 people in my year; in a year and a half, only one person has had to leave because of exam performance. The majority only have advanced stage exams left and its rare for anyone to miss this hurdle (allowing for retakes) given that 6 professional stage exams have already been passed and they've demonstrated an ability to work hard.

Things are a lot better than you're heard! Those most at risk of failing (based on multiple mocks beforehand) would be deferred and not permitted to take the exam in the first place.

Reply 10

Can anybody tell whether there are other circumstances apart from failing exams that can result in getting fired in case of PWC/Deloitte?

Reply 11

it would be better if someone could describe vividly from their experience

Reply 12

1

Raiden_2007

it would be better if someone could describe vividly from their experience

shagging the secretaries on the partners desk.

snorting coke at the clients.

accidentally forgetting to wear any clothes at a client presentation.

Reply 13

lol....seriously...is it if you pass thats it..they will keep you....? or you were just kidding

Reply 14

by the way mendelsson do you work at any of the big4's?

Reply 15

8

mendelsson is probably right....
maybe add to that list not being able to hack the workload? you'd get a fair few warnings beforehand though!

Reply 16

then why the attrition rate at big 4's is so unbelievably high?

Reply 17

8

I think a lot of people just leave because they would rather do other things. Quite a few leave and skip around the top accountancy firms, as having a job isnt really what it was 40 years ago, when you sign a contract and work for the same country until you retire. People are also always out for the best salary they can get! Some also use the qualification as a platform to other things, some go into consultancy and others do conversion courses to work abroad (eg. canada) for a spell. The big4 are progressively moving away from their "up or out" culture of a few years ago and are making big steps in terms of flexible working/job shares to encourage people to stay on a bit longer.

Reply 18

8

* In the second sentance I meant company, not country!!

Reply 19