Consultancy at one of the big 4

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bartok

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For anyone doing corporate finance/valuation/M&A consultancy at one of the big 4 (KPMG/EY/Deloitte/PWC). I was wondering if it would be advantageous to get a CA before hand? I'm finishing up a double major right now (finance & accounting). Most of the senior manager position posted on the Deloitte website require a CA and have or be pursuing a CFA. Is this a common trend among all the top consultancy/accounting firms in corporate finance?
 
bartok Wrote:
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> For anyone doing corporate finance/valuation/M&A
> consultancy at one of the big 4
> (KPMG/EY/Deloitte/PWC). I was wondering if it
> would be advantageous to get a CA before hand? I'm
> finishing up a double major right now (finance &
> accounting). Most of the senior manager position
> posted on the Deloitte website require a CA and
> have or be pursuing a CFA. Is this a common trend
> among all the top consultancy/accounting firms in
> corporate finance?

It became more common after the spin-offs of their consulting arms. It's become less common more recently in some of the more far-afield areas.

The answer to the larger question (if you should seek to do a rotation in audit first) really depends on what you want to do longer-term. Staying at these firms, even in consulting, it will be advantageous to have a CPA/CA. As you move up, you'll be less limited in where you can transfer, other opportunities within the firm, etc. should your particular consulting unit be reorganized or folded into another group, etc.

In the past, when these companies (especially PwC) were heavily into IT consulting, it was less necessary or even extranneous to have an accounting qualification. At PwC, after the sale of PwC Consulting to IBM, they shrunk down to a more accounting-focused model (i.e. the "Financial Effectiveness" division, "SPA", etc.). Now they're rapidly expanding their "advisory" (e.g. consulting by any other name) arm again into fields like health care.

So, if your aim is to stay at the firm (or Big 4) long-term -- even in consulting -- then I'd say, yes, go for the CPA (CA). If your goal is to move to consulting outside the Big 4, then I'd say probably a 2 to 3 year rotation in audit could be a distraction and not enjoyable for you, even though I'm a big believer in the designation adding credibility, benefiting you down the road, etc.

If your goal is anything else, then it would really depend upon what you want to do longer-term and whether the CPA would add to that or the 2 to 3 years could better be spent pursuing it directly.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at Wednesday, July 11, 2007 at 05:37PM by PwC_2_IB.
 
Thanks PwC_2_IB, that was very helpful. I will work on finishing my undergrad and CFA level I. I will prob go do a rotation in audit/tax to get my hours for the CA. At-least I will have managerial accounting, FSA, audit/assurance and tax down.
 
hey pwc_2_ib: i'll assume your background is what your name reveals. i just finished up my first year and cpa at pwc, taking L1 in december. i know i don't want to be in accounting long term. generally, do i need to stay at pwc until a promotion at least until senior? or if i know i don't want to be in accounting long term, should i just start applying to IB jobs now? also, i think top ten MBA is a goal in the next few years. would it be better to apply to business school after a promotion to senior than working a few years at an IB?
 
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