Big 4

I have been researching the different careers within the big 4 accounting firms. I am interested in the sort of role where I would be monitoring budgets and cash flow for a company whilst also providing advise on where to save money. I was wondering which section of their firm this fits into.

Also I was wondering whether a partner at Deloitte in Bristol gets paid the same as a partner at Deloitte in London

Any ideas

Original post by ollst311

Hey,

You won't really find jobs like that at Big 4. I think what you're referring to are FP&A or Commercial Finance roles. This is where you typically working on building budgets, understanding trends of where there may be risks and opportunities and doing cash flow forecasts. They usually look at how macroeconomics factors will impact the companies future performance. You will find these kind of roles in house within companies and their own finance functions i.e John Lewis will have their own FP&A teams etc...

Not sure on the Deloitte partner question.

(edited 3 years ago)

Reply 3

ollst311

OK thank you that's exactly what I was looking for

What would the hierarchy job progression look like within these functions

Reply 4

K1NE

Original post by ollst311

OK thank you that's exactly what I was looking for

What would the hierarchy job progression look like within these functions

Depends on the company size.

Larger companies can have multiple FP&A/ Commercial Finance teams looking after different areas of the business but more specific things. Smaller companies, may have a just have one FP&A/Commercial Finance team but the role is likely to be broader.

Structures of the team can vary. From what I've seen in my experience it typically starts with 1 and finishing at 5 in that particular team.
So :
1) Graduate analyst/ Entry level analyst
2) FP&A/ Commercial Finance analyst (newly qualified accountant)
3) Finance Business Partner/ Finance manager/ FP&A manager
4) Head of FP&A/ Head of Commercial Finance
5) Commercial Finance/ FP&A Director (This person would typically reporting to another senior finance professional, or they could just be reporting directly to the CFO )

Should highlight that smaller companies will have a flatter structure and larger corporations may have more roles before getting to the director role i.e Senior FP&A analyst or Senior Finance Business Partner etc... just depends. It could also mean that some of the role I have mentioned on the list can be used interchangeably with a Senior Finance analyst title in comparison to a Finance manager etc...
Hope this helps.

Reply 5

ollst311

Thanks what sort of salaries would it be for the FP&A director or CFO in a large company such as Mclaren or John Lewis

Reply 6

K1NE

Original post by ollst311

Thanks what sort of salaries would it be for the FP&A director or CFO in a large company such as Mclaren or John Lewis

Depends on the company obviously but I think for a FTSE 100 - FTSE 250 company it could be low six figures for a FP&A/ Commercial Finance director in terms of their base salary. So probably somewhere between £150k - £200k. I have heard they get a very high bonus but this is based on the company performance. Some of the directors can get a 90% to 100% bonus based on if the company meets its target. So this could take their overall package up to £400k on a really good year.

CFO's of big FTSE companies will earn something close to a £1m in their overall salary package or slightly more. Their base salaries could be somewhere between £400k - £600k. Could be more or less depending on the company. They may also have share options in the companies too, which can increase their overall salary package.

Reply 7

ollst311

Would this vary between locations. For example between a FTSE 100 CFO in London and a FTSE 100 CFO in a more rural area like warwick

Reply 8

K1NE

Original post by ollst311

Would this vary between locations. For example between a FTSE 100 CFO in London and a FTSE 100 CFO in a more rural area like warwicke

I'm not really sure. My gut instinct would say no.

Ok thanks

Original post by ollst311

Ok thanks

No worries. Hope my responses helped !

Reply 11

Seba.fr1

Sounds like you’d enjoy a management accountant role. Look for companies offering CIMA, not ACA.

Reply 12

Seba.fr1

Original post by ollst311

Thanks what sort of salaries would it be for the FP&A director or CFO in a large company such as Mclaren or John Lewis

If you look up company accounts on Companies House, it will give you an indication of what they CFO is paid :smile:

Reply 13

K1NE

Original post by Seba.fr1

If you look up company accounts on Companies House, it will give you an indication of what they CFO is paid :smile:

Or @ollst311 for listed companies on the FTSE, you can find executive pay in their Annual reports. Each company will release an annual report at the end of their trading year, so you can find CEO and CFO salaries in there.