Hello everyone! I'll be an incoming A1 this summer/fall and am currently looking for apartments in the city nearish (within 30minutes) of my office. However my hometown is about an hour away from the office by car without traffic and when I interned this summer the travel time from the door of my house to the door of the office was about 1.75 hours one way. This included 15 minutes of driving, 45-60 minutes of riding the train, and 30 minutes of walking. I was wondering if you guys think as an A1 I would be ok to live at home for a year because I could save between 15.6K and 18k in rent for that year. My office wanted 3 days in office and 2 days remote, but I know it depends on the engagement and situation how often you actually go in. During my internship, I tended to go in to the office 4 days a week because I liked to do things in the city on Fridays. I was originally planning on renting my first year so I could more easily establish myself and make friends, do things in the city, etc but 15-18K is significant. My impression was that it isn't super tough your first year as an A1 so commuting would be not too bad but please let me know what you guys think!

This is hell

I did the free exercises, but I am afraid to actually take the test as is under time. I am really not good doing even simple mathematical stuff in a hurry so idk what to do. The exercises will be even harder then those I did now.... Can someone help me? Thanks!

started my professional career in october, hate it. i understand about .0001% of what im doing (especially special allocation rules). my favorite thing to do is put my head in my hands and sigh deeply.

this doesn’t feel like a “learning curve”, more like a “learning abyss and there’s no rope attached”. my xlookups work half the time because no partner names are the same on any files, but i cant hardcode it because my seniors won’t know where i got the numbers from (like don’t worry about it??). plus excel sucks; i spend at least an hour a day with excel not responding. what’s worse is my client/team is extremely attentive to detail (like down to the dollar attentive), which is great for becoming a really good tax accountant… if that’s what i wanted (don’t look at my bachelors & masters degree, it’s all a front).

i don’t want to continue because i am not enjoying what i am “learning” about (aka taxes f*cking suck). it’s not like im doing anything significant, im working for a private equity company. i dread waking up for work. i like most of the people on my team but i can’t keep bothering them with questions that draw attention to my incompetence.

i’m not expecting that light to go off in my head where i finally get it. i jokingly expect to last a year and a half max and be laid off.

and the cherry on top- i failed far 🙃 everyone tried to make me feel better saying that they thought they were gonna fail too, but they didn’t walk 50 manhattan blocks home after that test sulking with mcdonald’s chicken nuggets.

that’s a massive reason i don’t want to continue; i don’t want my cpa but my entire team + my family expects/wants me to want it. i’ve never been one to let my family down but it feels like, inevitably, i will. my family and friends think im some rockstar genius at a massive company when i really just feel like a fraud (does everyone have imposter syndrome here? please say yes).

my brother thinks i want to quit because this is my first time actually being challenged (which is true to be fair, but this can’t be my hero’s journey right?)

i feel overwhelmed. i just want to sit in my shower and cry and it’s not even busy season! wtf am i gonna do then

thanks for listening, gotta get back to these guess-timates!

Where is big 4 financial consulting recruited from? Do any MAC programs have a shot at being recruited here or is this saved for people at higher ranked universities?

I recently got accepted into an EY internship in audit and was just wondering what the acceptance/success rate is for those types of applications. If that makes a difference, I got accepted into the New York City office.

How much do SM make at Big 4 in Audit in Canada? Make 135k CAD base, bonus 20k

Hi! I'm working in one of the big 4 here in Asia. To tell you, I am a decent college student. Graduated with latin honors, passed the CPA board exam, and I could say I was excited, proactive, and happy with my studies.

It was one of my dreams to work in audit, specifically in one of the big 4 but now that I'm here, I'm so passive and lazy. I don't read my teams chat, reply to emails an hour or so, and I don't have the desire to standout.

I don't know why I'm not the college student me who was very eager to learn, to know, and to do everything productive. Plus, I have made a thousand ton of mistakes here. And unlike in school where you can feel good just by topping exams and all, in audit, no one appreciates your effort. Hahaha. I mean, it doesn't feel rewarding to do nothing but sit and stare at your computer screen all day.

The people here are decent. I don't know. I'm just not me anymore.

Please guys, I need help. What do you think I should do to love audit? Any tips to excel at it?

Thank you!

Right now I’m finishing up my final semester of college before graduation. I signed on with a big 4 firm last October then flew out to see the office and met the team in November.

I emailed my recruiter last December before the holidays and didn’t get a reply. I followed up on that email mid-January, still haven’t gotten a reply. Today, I emailed her regarding a different matter, and haven’t yet received a response.

I also emailed the MD I met shortly after the visit, and never received a response on that one either.

I’m afraid that during the office visit I may have acted too skiddish for their liking. I also said a couple things that in hindsight make me cringe to my core (nothing offensive). Aside from those moments though, I feel very confident in the rapport I’ve built with the team. I even received one email from the recruiter shortly after the office visit and it seemed fine.

What do you guys think? Am I cooked? Do I need to start the job hunt back up?

I recently came across a platform called Livao, where you can host live video sessions to share your accounting career experiences and advice. I thought it could be a great fit for anyone in the field. You can offer insights on topics like navigating audits, tax season tips, career progression in accounting, or even offering industry-specific guidance.

What’s awesome is that you get to decide your own rates and schedule of your sessions. The platform takes care of all bookings, payments, and video calls, so you can focus solely on helping others. It's a great way to earn on the side while sharing your expertise.

Also, signing up is free. Check it out here if you're interested.

For the same job role, my friend had in his contract "Head-Start Intern", while I had mine as "Management Intern".

Any HR personnels could give me insights on whether there is a difference between the two?

Hi guys, so I have just received an interview email from EY asking if specific date suits me. So I have replied with a confirmation of the date in the email. The problem is that after 20 minutes from sending my email I have received a call from a lady working in EY HR department asking me if she can talk to me regarding the opportunity so I accepted and she asked many normal HR questions NOW she kept in the call offering me different departments from the one I have applied to and the weird thing she said oh you are Accounting why didn’t you just go to assurance or Audit!!!!!!! Like there’s something wrong right????!! What to do or what to expect, especially the date of the interview in the email is in two days from now.

Note that I am honors degree grad, passed cfa level 1 and level 2 candidate. Also I have applied to a graduate program in the firm.

Hello, I’m interning this summer at a Big4 this summer. If I do get offered a full-time role and do not accept it, how difficult would it be to get into another Big4 but for an associate role while taking into account that I would have Intern experience on my resumé?

TLDR - Extra qualified to be working in a GCC & fed up. Do secondments/rotations happen? How can I initiate this conversation within/should I?

Hey guys,

So I have been trying to get into any of Big4’s but im not able to get in. I have perfected my resume and stuff and it still did not work out! I’m not sure if I need any references to get in…

If anyone could share your insights, that would be helpful

P.S: I have an accounting experience of more than 2 years at private firms. I’ve completed my accounting diploma, and currently enrolled in Honors of Commerce- Accounting and Finance plus the CPA prep

How much do you guys and gals make? How many years do you have with the company? What’s your position? Do you plan to continue working there? Maintain anonymity but be honest. Put it all out there, share your worth!

Was just curious about if there is severance pay for someone that could face potential termination due to not living up to their PIP requirements, especially if the individual has been with the firm for almost 3 years.

Im just curious about the big 4 market out there. I might want to jump ship if I don’t get a promotion. How are the other firms that are in the Salesforce realm or should I be starting to learn another technology?

Hello everyone! I am currently a senior doing a 5 year masters program for accounting. This summer I have an internship at PwC and due to my current location and financial situation I decided to do my internship in city X. It made the most sense for me to save money on rent and transportation. It is a goal of mine to work in city Y. I know I need to receive a full time offer first and work very hard this summer, but if given an offer, is it easy to relocate and ask to move to a new city? I know they recommend working in the city you want to live full time, but for me that wasn’t ideal for this summer. If anyone has any advice or thinks I should reach out to my recruiter please let me know. Any help is appreciated. Thank you!!

What parameters are considered? Pls share if you about any of your colleagues/ friends making it.

Can someone list what they like? And if it’s really that bad why do people choose the big 4? What’s the catch?

Hi

I am a senior with no chargeable work and unchargeable work in the entire january. My rating until now has been around 2.8 . Should I be worried? I have engagements booked in the busy season but nothing at the moment.

Please advice.

I just started with a big4 as an associate. How easy is it to make the transfer? And how lucrative is it in terms of future/ exit opportunities?

I'm a Chartered Accountant with over 4 years of experience in one of the Big 10 firms. I also have experience from a secondment in the GCC. I want to join one of the Big 4 firms, but my applications are always getting rejected. I am open to relocation to any country and I'm wondering if someone could refer me.

I have been working at a local firm for 4-5 years and considering pursuing a master's in accounting.

If I graduate with a master's in accounting and transition to a Big Four firm through campus recruiting, how much of my experience at the local firm will be recognized?

I'm a Chartered Accountant with over 4 years of experience in one of the Big 10 firms. I also have experience from a secondment in the GCC. I want to join one of the Big 4 firms, but my applications are always getting rejected. I am open to relocation to any country and I'm wondering if someone could refer me.