Corporate Audit at a Big Bank or Big4?

harv5889 · 10-03-2009, 05:05 PM

I have interviews for a corporate audit position at a large bank [think Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, etc]. I also have interviews for all the big4 companies (3 for audit, 1 for risk management)

Let's assume I get summer offers for all of them. Which should I pick?

My long term goal would be to get into Harvard or Stanford Business school. Which position, in terms of work experience, would give me the best chances at these schools?

Thanks.

sp1212 · 10-03-2009, 05:22 PM

LOL, it would be considered LUCK for me to get even ONE interview at a bank or big 4. Take what you can get.

p.s. I applied for internship interviews at about 7 places since school started through my school career center. I got rejected by all 7 companies. My GPA is above a 3.7, I have prior internship experience, leadership, as well as extracurriculars.

Conclusion: I suck.

Dawgie · 10-03-2009, 06:09 PM

Big 4 for sure then.

openedskittles · 10-03-2009, 07:04 PM

The big 4 would probably be better experience.

Also, sp1212, what school do you go to?

sp1212 · 10-03-2009, 07:34 PM

Openedskittles, I go to a state school. However I don't think it would matter because those companies came to my school to recruit. 3 were big 4. Another 3 were mid-tier firms. And 1 was a financial. I am running out of options.

I also talked to several other kids, and they are having the same problem. I hope there isn't some cap the firms put on my school as to how many kids they could recruit. That would be so wrong.

I don't think it could be a problem with me. I went to a career advisor to show him my resume and he said everything looked great.

This is frustrating and stressful.

I swear, if I end up not getting anything I will feel like the biggest moron ever. All this time spent studying for my accounting classes will feel like the biggest waste ever. We are just as qualified as students from any other school. It feels like these firms are just throwing us under the bus.

Sanyo89 · 10-03-2009, 07:58 PM

"Us" as in your school specifically or the larger majority of state schoolers?

Personally Id do Big 4, but BAC or JPM seems much more interesting.

harv5889 · 10-03-2009, 08:13 PM

I agree, big banks do look more interesting. But why do you say big4? Is the experience you get there really that much better?

Sanyo89 · 10-03-2009, 08:18 PM

Yes, I feel like big 4 gives you a good taste of many different industries.. Specifically working for a bank would entail going more in depth with all the types of tests so I'd think you'd learn some workings of the bank itself. It'll all be fairly dull at first though.. (just a guess)

sp1212 · 10-03-2009, 08:20 PM

I'm not sure how the other state schoolers are doing on this issue so I can't comment.

AnyColour · 10-03-2009, 08:23 PM

So it's Big 4 or failure?

a_mom · 10-03-2009, 09:41 PM

sp, I feel so sorry for you. It's not your problem. You have good gpa, etc.

But it's a fact that big 4 recruit more from some campus, but less from others. It's not proportional. OP goes to Baruch, known to have VERY good placement into big4. Kids in those campus do have an edge. In my area, two colleges are in almost identical physical distance to the big-4. One of them have a whopping % (50~70%) into big 4 in the past years, the other is much less (don't have exact number). I don't think it's due to state school vs private. It's the strength of the program in the perception of big-4.

Having said that, don't give up. It might require more initiative from you. It's not the end of the world. DH didn't start at the big-4 after graduate, took a long route, worked in private sector, in a small firm, then worked in one of the big-4 for a short time, etc.... Now having his own practice for more than 15 years. He's very happy and feel very rewarding.

harv5889 · 10-04-2009, 01:17 AM

Thanks guys, seems like everyone here agrees with big4.

Any other opinions?

StephenR · 10-04-2009, 12:13 PM

" I agree, big banks do look more interesting. But why do you say big4? Is the experience you get there really that much better? "

As an independent auditor you will normally get to to work on a number of clients in different industries. Some of the bank jobs might be some sort of fast track but there are a lot of dead-end internal audit jobs in industry. And if a dead-end internal audit job is what you want you can take your pick of them when you have two years of Big 4 experience.

Go with a Big 4 offer but be selective. A concentration in one particular industry or a majority of your time spent on one particular client may not be what you want. You can ask questions in an interview about the variety of work assignments in a particular office and whether a particular office has a mega-client that sucks up unwilling staffers like a swirling vortex.

You may interview with a Big 4 firm but you will probably work for only one office in that firm so ask for specifics regarding the office where you will work. You can also ask for contact information of some current staffers who can share their experiences with you. In other words, you can be a careful shopper and ask the prospective employer for references. This might not go down so well in other industries but auditors are expected to ask questions, and audit firms get their butts burned with their auditors don't ask the right questions and don't persist in finding out the answers.

harv5889 · 10-05-2009, 05:25 PM

Thanks guys, I am leaning toward big4 now.

Any other opinions?