OfflineHello!
I joined one of the Big 4 firms at a regional office in the South East of England, in audit, and just wanted to share my experiences and have a big of a rant.
I thoroughly dislike my job. My firm talked a good talk with regards to having a "work-life balance" but it is an absolute lie. In an average week, I'd expect to be out the house for 11 hours a day. The number of times I've been sat in the clients office watching my watch tick over past 8 o'clock knowing I've still got a 1 hour commute home when we finally do get away is just soul-destroying. The work itself is generally dull as dishwater. Clients can be friendly and helpful, but invariably are an absolute pain in the arse. The so-called "busy season" is something of a misnomer as well. Whilst it undeniably exists for managers, audit juniors are not going to find themselves twiddling their thumbs during "quiet season". And when the audit work load does ease slightly, you'll find yourself in college and so can kiss goodbye to your weekends for months on end.
To cap it all, I live with a tax graduate at the same firm, and at the same level as me. If he leaves the office fast 6pm it's a) a rarity and b) he has the cheek to complain to me. And he gets paid more than me!
Now I know, I know, a newly qualified ACA bod with audit experience is more employable than someone with a tax background and so hopefully my sense of bitterness is only short-term.
I got through my first batch of exams ok, but had the fear of god in me at the time as I kept telling myself I had a great job with a great firm and was a fool for questioning whether or not it was "worth" it. I've got my next batch of exams coming up, and my outlook has changed entirely. I'll give them a good crack, don't get me wrong. However a part of me sees failing my exams and being kicked out without having to repay fees as a get out of jail card.
I want this to be a warning to people who, like me, applied to audit jobs in ignorance. I am where I am because a) the firm is top/near the top of the Top 100 Graduate Employers, b) having gone to chat with people, audit sounded kinda fun and c) because the qualification is well regards. However I was utterly ignorant of the fact I'd be sacrificing my evenings, weekends and social life on numerous occasions whilst working hundreds of hours of unpaid overtime because the partners are too tight to pay us for hours worked. Heck, Grant Thornton auditors get to choose between getting their overtime paid or receiving time off in lieu. I didn't even get a day off in lieu when I had to drive 140 miles and back on a Saturday to do a stock take. Audit juniors are taken massively for granted. The firm know we can't really resign, as we are bound in by having to pay fees back if we leave. And most people are too proud to deliberately get sacked for poor exam performance. They know most of us will leave at the earliest opportunity and it feels very obvious they couldn't care less.
Anyone else as unhappy as me??
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Ah. Are you're at PwC by any chance?
''..I am because a) the firm is top/near the top of the Top 100 Graduate Employers, b) having gone to chat with people, audit sounded kinda fun.."
Whoever it was you were chatting to that made audit sound like fun needs to get out more. Or even a bit!
Grant Thornton are a much better bet for work/life balance. BDO stoy hayward are also good.
I think 3 of the Big 4 are in the top ten?! So I will say I don't work for EY!
Glad I didn't join audit. Exams are tough work. While everyone else kicks back and enjoys their bank holiday, we've got a 2.5hr mock exam tomorrow morning at 9am.
Have to say that the hours seem a little more civilized in tax. Most juniors will have disappeared by about 6 and since we spend most of our time in the office, the commute is fairly short.
No chance of a transfer to another service line?
Some of our intake have asked about a transfer and were told no, on the grounds too many other people may then also want to transfer... and they're right! Perhaps it's one of the negatives being as a regional office, albeit a big one.
I'm with you. I worked in big 4 audit and absolutely hated it. Long hours, long commuting, rubbish clients, poor treatment by my managers and employers (I'm still in a tax dispute over a year on).
If you go into big 4 audit make sure you really know what you are signing up for and what you are going to do with it, and be under no illusions that it wil be the 3 most miserable year sof your life.
I quit after one year, having failed an exam and not willing to retake. Nobody else I know had the balls to resign though. I wish I had got sacked rather than resigned- I had to repay a painful £2000, a real kick in the teeth.
Did you stick it out? How far through are/were you?
Well I'm really looking forward to starting my new job as a big 4 auditor now..... Surely some people enjoy the job? And I was told the hours were longer in places such as London, or are all offices the same in terms of workload?
Ok this post has got me worried as well.
I've just accepted an offer with PWC and have never studied/ worked in this sort of area before. I joined for vaguely similar reasons as "disillusionedtrainee". People did say to me that audit was extremely monotonous so I applied for advisory-Business Recovery Services but will still spend some time in audit, so can anyone maybe tell me what advisory-business recovery services is like? Is it as bad as audit? and is audit really so bad?
Redsuperted- does PWC have a bad reputation? or why did you immediately think that "disillusionedtrainee" worked for them?
I'm expecting long hours and hard work for exams but not 11 hours work every day of every week.
Does anyone think differently? or know about advisory?
I just want to say that I was rejected for Big 4 Audit today and reading this thread several times through has actually thoroughly cheered me up. :)
Tax seems be all accounts to be much less stressful; plus plenty of firms offer ACA training to Tax employees too, undercutting the qualifications advantage occassionally touted for Audit.
Whya.. PwC are probably a great company to work for and I'm sure the work is interesting to some people and that plenty of great people work there. Whenever someone is complaining about audit or accounting, it just usually seems to be that they work at PwC - but then the firm do employ more people than anyone else, so perhaps its statistical. Personally, audit sounds about as interesting to me as an extended life-long double latin lesson, but that's just me. I think some of the work probably is dull in audit, but work does get dull in any profession. The important thing is that you like the work and the job and feel comfortable with what you're doing - don't let a few random messageboard types put you off! If you want a career its a great place to get one ..and if you do decide against PwC/audit when you start working, you could always leave. It's really not the end of the world. You could come and work for us :)
Aethelwulf - f**k big 4 (sorry whya!) :) ..a friend of mine just got a job as a medium size firm and it sounds great. He's doing ACA and the firm take them out every Friday to get frisky. Well drunk anyway. Where are you applying/interviewing next?
Well, I've missed the boat for this year (only really cottoned on thanks to this wonderful site), so I'm applying for 2009/10 intakes now.
I'll probably still apply to the Big 4 (could only do KPMG this year, as was late..), but I'm applying for Grant Thornton, RSM Bentley Jennison and Mazars. It's so devilish finding firms at locations I'd like - Milton Keynes or Manchester. Damnable London! I've been through the Wikijob list of accounting firms and there's very few available at those locations alas.
I am tring to join PWC whats your advice. I enjoy working long hours, Hence, I was working and studing full time at the same time(putting 60 hours a week and going to the uni 3 to 4 times a week). I belive nothing good comes easy or cheap, so try and enjoy it because i will enjoy it if am given the opportunity, and i am looking for to that.
It's good you enjoy working long hours. What advice are you looking for specifically?
Aethelwulf: I believe BDO Stoy Hayward has an office in Manchester, just of Deansgate. KPMG also has a big office in Manchester.