From Big 4 to commercial: how valuable is the Big 4 experience?

People getting in and out

Many graduates are dire to get into the Big 4, namely Deloitte, PwC, EY & KPMG for their training programmes, structured career path, job security and reputation, despite having a lower starting salary. But after a few years, they are equally desperate to get out. No wonder why the attrition rate at Big 4 is as high as 15-20 per cent[1] and only 2-3 per cent of the employees will ever make partners.[2]

What the Big 4 brand entails?

Still, having worked in the Big 4 is a CV boost. Companies in general are willing to offer 30 per cent more to hire people with the Big 4 experience. To the employers, candidates having Big 4 experience on their CV means:

1.      They are the crème de la crème – It is an impression that only the best of the graduates would be able to get through the three-stage interviews and land on a job in the Big 4.

2.      They have the ‘can do’ attitude and are able to work under pressure – No one would doubt that working in Big 4 is stressful due to the long hours and impossible deadlines. During the busy seasons, working hours could stretch to 60-80 hours per week.

3.      They have certain management experience – The rigid and hierarchical organisation structure in the Big 4 ensures people moving up the corporate ladder at a steady pace. As early as the second year, employees will need to oversee junior staff through which management experience is accumulated.

4.      They have exposure to the most prestigious clientele – People in Big 4 have served the most amazing, and probably the most difficult, clients. Many of them are multinational corporations and listed companies. Employers who benchmark themselves at similar rank will consider the candidates with Big 4 experience favourably. 

Employers looking for Big 4 leavers are usually after these qualities, but ironically, some of these are exactly what the candidates wish to put behind. So, it could be dangerous to judge a book by its cover.

The Gap between a Watcher and a Doer

In Hong Kong, only around 25 per cent of the accounting graduates make a career in auditing.[3] Many of them would experience a transition from practicing accounting to business and industry but the early years in audit training might not necessarily warrant them the right skillsets for the transition. Mr Choi Sau Yuk, the then deputy President of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, Hong Kong division, commented in 2016, working in business and industry would require ‘a broader practical understanding of financial management, treasury, cost control, budgeting, information systems, pricing, and business planning’.[4] Working in Big 4 enable them to review other qualified accounts’ work – being a watcher, but not a doer.

Smoothing the transition

There is no right or wrong if a company decided to make Big 4 experience a hiring criterion. Even though the Big 4 experience has molded many competent accountants, employers should not expect a Big 4 leaver to do magic on your company finance from day one. Employers should be prepared to support them in the transition by helping them to understand the company’s culture, vision and mission, and engaging them in decision-making and overall business strategies.

[1] https://www.consultancy.uk/news/19569/how-consulting-leaders-can-tackle-the-retention-problem-of-juniors#:~:text=Retention%20in%20professional%20services%20is,household%20name%20on%20their%20CV.

[2] https://www.icaew.com/insights/features/archive/the-qualities-of-a-big-four-partner#:~:text=Only%202%2D3%25%20of%20members,elite%20of%20the%20accounting%20profession.

[3] https://www.scmp.com/article/532869/choose-industry-over-big-four

[4] Ibid.