<p>As a current accounting/econ major at DePaul (a fairly reputable business school in the midwest), I’m hoping to land a job at a big 4 firm after I graduate. My ultimate goal is to get into IB, therefore I’m looking to go to b-school after a 2-3 years of working for a big 4 firm (assuming I land a position). With that being said, do top b-schools consider big 4 firms to be prestigious?</p>
<p>absolutely positively yes!</p>
<p>No, not really. But obviously an art lover would think they are.</p>
<p>We’ve all come to realize sp is probably an angry midget who got rejected by Big 4. </p>
<p>Yes they are prestigious. There is a reason a lot of corporate finance jobs ask for big 4 experience.</p>
<p>Can’t edit - Sp. Are you at GT or BDO? The ultimate shame for accounting students. “They’re just as good!!!”. No, they’re not.</p>
<p>it depends on how you define prestigious. in general, accounting is not really “something to brag about” unless ppl use their CPA credential for other management opportunities. within public accounting, however, the big 4 is the way to go.</p>
<p>Thank you for the insight.</p>
<p>Are F500 Financial Analysts prestigious? F100? F50?</p>
<p>I think people are confusing how much prestige the profession of accounting has and the prestige of the Big 4 firms. Most of the Big 4, if not all, have won Best Employer’s award in the recent years and they’ve received a lot of publicity and media coverage.</p>
<p>Big 4 is a good place to be.</p>
<p>Nobody really believes those lists the Big Four ends up on. They have a big marketing machine which is directed squarely at the people at Business Week and other publications that make those lists. Big Four employees are NOT happier than employees at many other big businesses.</p>
<p>Prestige is relative. If you go to Yale Law School or Harvard Business School and end up working for the Big Four after graduation, you will pretty much be the biggest failure in your class. Working for Google, McKinsey(management consulting), Goldman-Sachs(banking), Wachtell(law), etc, is about a million times higher on the prestige totem pole. Obviously that’s not really in the cards for anyone majoring in accounting or at just about any school which offers accounting as a major. </p>
<p>Chances are if you are even asking about the Big Four you are already some place where they are your most prestigious option, although “prestige” shouldn’t exactly be your #1 goal in life anyway.</p>
<p>Depends on what you want. If you want to work in PE/HF then the Big 4 are ****holes. If you want to be a CEO of a company, Big 4 may help, but you’ll probably be passed over by McKinsey/Bain/BCG consultants. If you want to be a controller and maybe rise to CFO of a company, Big 4 are a pretty good place to start. Prestige is all relative. I’d say that of the second-tier jobs, Big 4 is at the top with corporate finance at a non-banking F500, but 1st tier jobs are probably going to be consulting/ibanking and, for the lucky few who get it right out of undergrad, PE/HF</p>
<p>I have posted some remarks about accounting previously and notice that the thread is continuing . To those who are currently interviewing you might as well find out what it is all about, good luck.To those of you just starting out, I was looking at something related and came upon an interesting website. The name is “the anonymous accountant”(or something similar-google it). The thread is “Holy crap this really sucks”.In this blog young professionals talk about their first few years with the “big four”.My interest in reading this and other related accounting articles is to determine if the experience of others mirrored my own nightmare in accounting ,and it apparently does.I downloaded the blog to read, and figured it would be a couple of pages of complaints, IT TURNED OUT TO BE ABOUT 250 PAGES LONG.For those who are going to find a way to learn to love accounting ,like one learns to love a spouse ,good luck.But do yourself a favor and read this blog noting how people describe their deteriorating health and social situations. Also, COUNT THE NUMBER OF TIMES THE WORD DEPRESSED IS USED TO DESCRIBE THEIR CURRENT DEMEANOR.
one who knows</p>
<p>or, work for the big 4 in a non-accounting role, e.g., consulting</p>
<p>pls: I don’t see what he is doing wrong? Working at Big 4 is pretty depressing at times.</p>
<p>(Plscatamacchia)I am not a “sad individual”, “dude” but after reading the blog the anonymous accountant, “holy crap this really sucks” I was shocked to see so many so unhappy with THEIR lives.I don’t want to argue with anyone here, those of you reading this and other websites should do your own DUE DILLIGENCE. Read the website I mentioned to you ,about all you have to do is “google” the name above.If you are still unsure about accounting/big four/my posts find a large accounting firm near where you live and go and talk to people there about their work.Go to the company cafeteria at lunch time and ask for advice, people will give it to you. This takes work but is true statistical analysis of the situation. I wish I had done this when I was younger.Between school(your time is money), books and opportunity cost you are spending alot on your future ,spend a few more hours and do your DUE DILLIGENCE.And don’t (unfortunately)believe what yor accounting professors tell you about the field ,without students they don’t have a job .</p>
<p>That’s the most irresponsible thing I’ve ever heard. You think you’re doing young aspiring cpas a favor by scaring them away from the profession just because you haven’t find the right med to treat your glaring depression?</p>
<p>How about you just allow people to find out for themselves what accounting is like and stop trying to pass your cry for sympathy off as a guy who “knows what it’s like” and is trying to help people?</p>
<p>Pls, are you serious? By the time they found out how bad it is. It is already too late. copies is not feeding anyone lies, prospective applicants can read this and judge for themselves if it is the right career path for them.</p>
<p>I have to agree with copies and dawgie. It is something students need to know, better than being filled with lies and optimism and wasting/money and realizing that the big 4 (and perhaps accounting as well) suck.</p>
<p>I personally regret ever being an “aspiring CPA” and wish someone would have told me sooner. I think a lot of accounting majors get fooled by the crazy drive professors and recruiters make for accounting students. It grabbed me in and now it’s basically too late. I have not only a BS, but an MS in accounting. Additionally, I’m halfway done with my CPA, two months in working for a Big 4 firm… and I concur, it sucks. Not just the firm, which has had it’s ups and downs in the short time, but more so with accounting itself. I think many kids get sucked into believing the greatness of the career, opportunities, and so on… that many don’t realize what it’d truly be like to do the accounting work 40-55+ hours a week. It sucks. At least for me.</p>
<p>And the Big 4 isn’t helping the situation. And I think for those in accounting… they do need to look at those blogs and look at dissatisfied accountants, both at Big 4 and outside Big 4. There are many. </p>
<p>And IMO it’s better to at least hear the other side of the story, rather than be filled with optimisim… and optimism often caused by lies. Ignorance is bliss… but why not allow aspiring CPAs actually know what the career is going to be like?</p>
<p>Nothing wrong with that in my mind.</p>
<p>Personally, I wish I oculda been scared away from accounting. Now it’s too late for me. But doesn’t need to be for others.</p>
<p>can’t speak for accounting (i would never ever want to be an accountant), but i think big 4 non-accounting is fine… at least for my firm</p>