I also want to emphasise that with all of the negative points I mentioned, even a handful of years of experience at the Big 4 equip you with the knowledge and experience of many more years at different firms, and really helps you to stand out in the future. It's what you do with your time there that matters!!
Nice video, I left my Big 4 role after qualfying in 2018. There are some seriously tough times while you're there but I'm grateful for the experience and everything I've been able to do since leaving. I actually look back on some times in busy season quite fondly (even if it was 3am) as the team was amazing, from the junior associates and interns all the way up to the partner who was still there at time leading the charge.
i'm just about to start a grad scheme in audit at the big 4 and your channel has honestly been such a blessing in disguise. your videos are so informative - not only about the actual job, but also keeping your mental health in check while working a 9-5 (which isn't talked about enough tbh). watching your content is really helping me overcome anxieties i have about this new role & making the transition to it seem a lot less daunting. so, from the bottom of my heart, thank you
Thank you so much for taking the time out to say this, and honestly I’m soooo glad you’ve been able to relieve a bit of anxiety through my channel!!! You’ve 100% got this, an exciting chapter of your life is about to start ❤️ good luck!!!
I recently found your channel and I love the way you have shared your journey with us. I am currently pursuing my final year of graduation. It's always good to know the pros and cons of an auditor's life. I look forward to applying to the Big 4 and spending some years there to gain some exposure. I noticed you have mentioned in your previous videos about how having good excel skills can come in very handy when we start our careers in audit or any corporate role for that matter. It would be super helpful if you could elaborate a little more in your upcoming videos on which kind of excel functions did you use very frequently/ saves a lot of time or some must know ones! Once again, thanks for sharing valuable experiences through your videos. Appreciate it!
The work life balance is the main reason I could not do Big 4 Audit. I'm currently in a smaller accounting practice doing accounts for various clients, and during our busy season this year I did a total of 17 hours of overtime. And that was my third busy season. The previous two I didn't really do any overtime at all, and I haven't really done any outside of busy season either. Give me that any day of the week.
YAY I'm excited for your next chapter!! I agree that every job has pros/cons, kudos to you for reflecting and deciding what's right for you/when to move on ❤️
Thank you for sharing your experience! I am currently doing my internship in one of the Big4. It is a great experience, I learnt a lot and still learning, the environment and people are all great but I do agree with the work life balance statement. It’s not easy :’)
Hello Devamsha i have been subscribing your channel since you were in firm. I always have been curious about auditor life in other countries. I also was an auditor in big4 firm in korea. I quit my work last month and now live in London. I am now enjoying this break and looking for a job now. I quit my audit work as the same reasons with you. I was just surprised watching this video because you have the exactly same reasons with me. I support your future and i believe you can do everything!! i hope you can get work-life balance in next job😊
The best video and the most genuine and enlighting I have watched for a very long time. May God bless you with any success in the future. I will come back with some questions later about auditing. Are you still doing auditing? How much an auditor can earn as an average in South East England and in what size firm you are working now. Thank you for your support. Vasili
As an ten year big four financial auditor I can tell that leaving was the best decision but I have to say that working there was like a boot camp that will make any other job or profession u take later on a piece of cake…so for me I took it like a blessing in disguise
Great video and congrats on your new role! Got my ICAS TPE exam next week so will hopefully be in the same position as you next year once I'm fully qualified 🤣
I have been following your channel, it helped through my AC and PI🥰. I eventually got into one of the Big Fours and it's been a great learning process for me. So, I want to ask with all you know now which industry would be best to specialise in while working at the Big four?
Love this video. Work life balance definitely depends on the country - the fast paced and “hustle culture” is the norm. But I am doing a secondment in the Netherlands where the WLB is literally IDEAL. This should be how it is everywhere, and I think if people experienced this they would stay longer in Audit IMO.
I’m currently in the assurance division of a big4’s China office and the hour is BRUTAL. 14 hours a day 6.5 days a week in the busy season and the overtime pay is next to nothing. I’m seriously considering leaving to relocate elsewhere.
Hey Beatrice, I am also from the Netherlands and am looking into pursuing a career in Audit. Could you give me a better insight into a career here in the Netherlands, because o boy how scared I get from all those videos with people quitting Big 4 companies?
Young newly married girls who go to Sydney never join EY Sydney. As the racism and bullying will kill u. Please enjoy married life and do not loose ur life joining this EY. 😭😭😭😭
I agree with all your points of view!!! I quitted as a Senior Audit in a Big 4, and One Month later I became tha Assistant Director of Finance at a Global Hospitality Chain; Best of Lucks Devamsha!
I have seen your original video a year ago and I do remember asking you about it currently, Ey just sent their tests at my email yesterday for the internship I started to believe the big four is a mistake we should all do anyway 😂
Thank you very much Devamsha for your feed back. I am from Egypt and I had myself experience almost 3 years in audit firm "Crowe" - The problem for me that there was no organized learning system where I was, so is that normal? that I have to learn everything by myself and find out how to do everthing myself or the firm shall have a bigger role in technically establishing and learing their auditors?? Thank you again.
Ex big 4 senior audit associate. Most of the training we received as well is on the job while we had annual trainings or central training platforms a lot of it was being able to research technical guides and audit guidance for your individual firm and apply them to your situation. Structured training is helpful but no substitute for practical application.
I wouldn’t say my experience was overall bad - just that the cons outweighed the pros. It’s all completely personal! Wishing you the best in your contract!
If audit is easier to get than other service lines can I ask why you will not get fast promotion in audit please? I thought as a lot leave after getting qualified I could get promoted to manager + faster than in other lines of service?
I think every firm has their own audit engagement tool - but they are incredibly easy to learn and you have full support while doing so. Using them properly is a big part of the job so don’t worry about this
my take based on working in consulting for 7 years. pros; you get great exposure to many different companies / sectors. you learn and develop lots of skills including analysis and dealing with clients. cons; its a bit of a pyramid scheme, where you are told that if you work to death, sacrifice personal life, in some instances (tell the small lies to win bids), and put up with some of the toxic environment with backstabbing colleagues, favouritism (its run by partners, and the partners are like little kings and queens, and if they like you you rise if not, no chance). you can feel like a sellable resource, when the resourcing teams try and sell you for jobs (they act almost like pimps i felt just selling me to jobs sometimes without even asking me). for some its a great life, and it suits their personality and temperament. but i got tired of being sold to different clients as the 'expert' on something i knew little about, just because i was on the bench. i also got tired of being under pressure to deliver to unexpected deadlines that the partner had promised, working with lots of juniors who were from disparate backgrounds, emotional states, training and personal goals, to deliver something that was of high quality. sometimes there was no respect from the juniors to those below partners, as they did not see you as important in their career growth. so if you were in the middle between grad and partner, you sometimes got no respect from those above, nor from those below. but again its is very team dependant. if you are in a good team it can really be great. but most people did not want to kill themselves to be partner, and were looking to leave and join a firm in industry as a 'head of' type role.
Audit is typically the lowest paid service line tax is paid higher and advisory is also higher but it depends highly on subgroup and office location. I.e. an auditor in New York probably makes more than a tax professional in texas
For trainees going into Big4. Please don't go if you plan to not put in the work! You are just wasting everyone's time. And to anyone thinking it's 9-5/6. Maybe in your first or second year. But after that you are expected to a min 8am - 7/8pm, and during busy season and interim at weekends as well. Please again do not join if you won't plan on actually being able to put in the hours!! Honestly if I have another trainee in my team who can't do the work I'll cry XD And do respond to mails during study leave if you've not finished your work!!! (or any other leave).
But when you go on a mission you don’t have to touch your salary because the client pay your expenses (food, hotel…) that’s one of the interesting parts in audit.
I am an immigrant here in Canada and recently got a job offer from one of the big firms as Auditor, to be honest I applied because of prestige and the experience. However, taking into account my experiences back home I have 12 years of accounting experience. 6 a accounting and financial reporting manager and previously I also had experience in Audit. At that time I just felt like I need to go to a Big 4 to have better opportunities. Currently I am working in a great company with great benefits. The work life balance is good but I don’t think this is where I see myself in the long run. AI am so confuse, I am already at my 30s and not sure if I can still handle the workload in Audit-physically. Can I please have some insights from you?I’ve been watching your vlogs lately and I felt like it gives me a glimpse of what is out there.
I am recently qualified CA in india, i am thinking to join big 4 for 3years and then leave it & join any industry just to have a BIG 4 TAG in may resume! Am I going good?
@@abhishekdapke3573 Hi I appeared for CA Final may 2024 exams and am waiting for the result now. I am also planning the same what u said. whether u joined big4? How is it for you? Whether u feel regret of joining?
Every video where someone posts why they quit Big 4...they always disclaimer that its their own personal experience BUT everyone has SAME experience!! Every single person...no well balanced life balance, mental health issues, low pay, toxic culture, bad clients, unable to transfer to other dept, back stabbing co workers, bad work politics ..ETC... ahhhh. These millennials 🙄
Sorry if you’ve already mentioned but what did you study before auditing? I’m going to be a psych graduate and not sure if that’s suitable, do you know of many psych graduates who are successful in grad schemes auditing?:)
Good for you for quitting and getting with the times. Big 4 was okay in the 90s and early 2000s, but the novelty of being there died off a long time ago. So many douche-y types of people there too. Most of them didn't have a lot of friends and were probably beat up in high school. Jeesh.
Hi, The Big 4 work environment is from the LAST Century closer to the 1950s work culture Their top management are STILL STUCK in the 1950s and behaved like dinosaurs AUDITING stands for (A)lways (U)nderpaid, (D)eadlines (i)nfinite, (T)raining (I)s (N)othing (G)reat
You don’t necessarily have to leave if you don’t enjoy audit-these firms do lots of interesting things, there’s bound to be a job that suits you! Just a bit of research is all you need.
I also want to emphasise that with all of the negative points I mentioned, even a handful of years of experience at the Big 4 equip you with the knowledge and experience of many more years at different firms, and really helps you to stand out in the future. It's what you do with your time there that matters!!
Nice video, I left my Big 4 role after qualfying in 2018. There are some seriously tough times while you're there but I'm grateful for the experience and everything I've been able to do since leaving. I actually look back on some times in busy season quite fondly (even if it was 3am) as the team was amazing, from the junior associates and interns all the way up to the partner who was still there at time leading the charge.
i'm just about to start a grad scheme in audit at the big 4 and your channel has honestly been such a blessing in disguise. your videos are so informative - not only about the actual job, but also keeping your mental health in check while working a 9-5 (which isn't talked about enough tbh). watching your content is really helping me overcome anxieties i have about this new role & making the transition to it seem a lot less daunting. so, from the bottom of my heart, thank you
Thank you so much for taking the time out to say this, and honestly I’m soooo glad you’ve been able to relieve a bit of anxiety through my channel!!! You’ve 100% got this, an exciting chapter of your life is about to start ❤️ good luck!!!
@@Devamsha thank you for that! and good luck with your new role☺️
I recently found your channel and I love the way you have shared your journey with us. I am currently pursuing my final year of graduation. It's always good to know the pros and cons of an auditor's life. I look forward to applying to the Big 4 and spending some years there to gain some exposure. I noticed you have mentioned in your previous videos about how having good excel skills can come in very handy when we start our careers in audit or any corporate role for that matter. It would be super helpful if you could elaborate a little more in your upcoming videos on which kind of excel functions did you use very frequently/ saves a lot of time or some must know ones! Once again, thanks for sharing valuable experiences through your videos. Appreciate it!
Big 4 can be brutal, but after you are out, you do feel like you can handle any job thrown at you.
The work life balance is the main reason I could not do Big 4 Audit. I'm currently in a smaller accounting practice doing accounts for various clients, and during our busy season this year I did a total of 17 hours of overtime. And that was my third busy season. The previous two I didn't really do any overtime at all, and I haven't really done any outside of busy season either. Give me that any day of the week.
how much was the pay gap from the place you work at now and a big 4?
@@coby594 There’s not really one, as far as I can see it’s the same sort of salary levels
YAY I'm excited for your next chapter!! I agree that every job has pros/cons, kudos to you for reflecting and deciding what's right for you/when to move on ❤️
Thanks bub 💓 feels so surreal to be able to close the chapter and actually reflect!!
Thank you for sharing your experience! I am currently doing my internship in one of the Big4. It is a great experience, I learnt a lot and still learning, the environment and people are all great but I do agree with the work life balance statement. It’s not easy :’)
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Hello Devamsha i have been subscribing your channel since you were in firm. I always have been curious about auditor life in other countries. I also was an auditor in big4 firm in korea. I quit my work last month and now live in London. I am now enjoying this break and looking for a job now. I quit my audit work as the same reasons with you. I was just surprised watching this video because you have the exactly same reasons with me. I support your future and i believe you can do everything!! i hope you can get work-life balance in next job😊
Thank you for the honesty
The best video and the most genuine and enlighting I have watched for a very long time.
May God bless you with any success in the future.
I will come back with some questions later about auditing.
Are you still doing auditing?
How much an auditor can earn as an average in South East England and in what size firm you are working now.
Thank you for your support.
Vasili
Can we get Devamsha to 10k?! You deserve it. Love your content and good luck in the next part of your professional life!
As an ten year big four financial auditor I can tell that leaving was the best decision but I have to say that working there was like a boot camp that will make any other job or profession u take later on a piece of cake…so for me I took it like a blessing in disguise
Can you give examples of the other professions
Great video and congrats on your new role! Got my ICAS TPE exam next week so will hopefully be in the same position as you next year once I'm fully qualified 🤣
I have been following your channel, it helped through my AC and PI🥰.
I eventually got into one of the Big Fours and it's been a great learning process for me.
So, I want to ask with all you know now which industry would be best to specialise in while working at the Big four?
Love this video. Work life balance definitely depends on the country - the fast paced and “hustle culture” is the norm. But I am doing a secondment in the Netherlands where the WLB is literally IDEAL. This should be how it is everywhere, and I think if people experienced this they would stay longer in Audit IMO.
I agree! Glad that you’re enjoying life in the Netherlands!
I’m currently in the assurance division of a big4’s China office and the hour is BRUTAL. 14 hours a day 6.5 days a week in the busy season and the overtime pay is next to nothing. I’m seriously considering leaving to relocate elsewhere.
Hey Beatrice, I am also from the Netherlands and am looking into pursuing a career in Audit. Could you give me a better insight into a career here in the Netherlands, because o boy how scared I get from all those videos with people quitting Big 4 companies?
Excited to see how things go for, manifesting all the best!
What jobs earn more than external audit?
Young newly married girls who go to Sydney never join EY Sydney. As the racism and bullying will kill u. Please enjoy married life and do not loose ur life joining this EY. 😭😭😭😭
Hey Indira, I’m a young, newly married mom and I am feeling the heat, in South Africa. It’s really hard. I am losing my head
Hii, I am a CA student from India.. thx for sharing your experience..
I agree with all your points of view!!!
I quitted as a Senior Audit in a Big 4, and One Month later I became tha Assistant Director of Finance at a Global Hospitality Chain;
Best of Lucks Devamsha!
Thanks for watching and good luck to you too 😊
My advice would be to chill for a month and then return to work bcoz once laziness creeps in it will be hard to get out of it.
I have seen your original video a year ago
and I do remember asking you about it
currently, Ey just sent their tests at my email yesterday for the internship
I started to believe the big four is a mistake we should all do anyway 😂
Definitely not a mistake - I wouldn’t be where I am today without it. Every professional experience will open a door!
Excited to hear you drop where you're moving 🤐
🤫 we’ll see if I can get through another smooth upload 😆
Thank you very much Devamsha for your feed back. I am from Egypt and I had myself experience almost 3 years in audit firm "Crowe" - The problem for me that there was no organized learning system where I was, so is that normal? that I have to learn everything by myself and find out how to do everthing myself or the firm shall have a bigger role in technically establishing and learing their auditors?? Thank you again.
Ex big 4 senior audit associate. Most of the training we received as well is on the job while we had annual trainings or central training platforms a lot of it was being able to research technical guides and audit guidance for your individual firm and apply them to your situation. Structured training is helpful but no substitute for practical application.
Congrats! Just started my 3 year contract and already counting down the days 🤣.
I wouldn’t say my experience was overall bad - just that the cons outweighed the pros. It’s all completely personal! Wishing you the best in your contract!
4 years here 🤣
@@jxpan246 Deloitte. It isn’t bad at all I just don’t see myself working a 9-5 all my life
How much excel should I know coming into big 4 audit internship? Thank you !
that BOW sweater come thruuuuu 😍
u know it!!!
What are you thoughts on internal audit?
If audit is easier to get than other service lines can I ask why you will not get fast promotion in audit please? I thought as a lot leave after getting qualified I could get promoted to manager + faster than in other lines of service?
Were you/are you still pursuing becoming a Chartered Accountant?
What auditing softwares are used and are they easy to learn ? How can I learn how to use auditing software ? Kind regards, thank you
I think every firm has their own audit engagement tool - but they are incredibly easy to learn and you have full support while doing so. Using them properly is a big part of the job so don’t worry about this
my take based on working in consulting for 7 years.
pros; you get great exposure to many different companies / sectors. you learn and develop lots of skills including analysis and dealing with clients.
cons; its a bit of a pyramid scheme, where you are told that if you work to death, sacrifice personal life, in some instances (tell the small lies to win bids), and put up with some of the toxic environment with backstabbing colleagues, favouritism (its run by partners, and the partners are like little kings and queens, and if they like you you rise if not, no chance). you can feel like a sellable resource, when the resourcing teams try and sell you for jobs (they act almost like pimps i felt just selling me to jobs sometimes without even asking me).
for some its a great life, and it suits their personality and temperament. but i got tired of being sold to different clients as the 'expert' on something i knew little about, just because i was on the bench. i also got tired of being under pressure to deliver to unexpected deadlines that the partner had promised, working with lots of juniors who were from disparate backgrounds, emotional states, training and personal goals, to deliver something that was of high quality. sometimes there was no respect from the juniors to those below partners, as they did not see you as important in their career growth. so if you were in the middle between grad and partner, you sometimes got no respect from those above, nor from those below. but again its is very team dependant. if you are in a good team it can really be great. but most people did not want to kill themselves to be partner, and were looking to leave and join a firm in industry as a 'head of' type role.
What service lines gets paid more in comparison to external audit?
Audit is typically the lowest paid service line tax is paid higher and advisory is also higher but it depends highly on subgroup and office location. I.e. an auditor in New York probably makes more than a tax professional in texas
For trainees going into Big4. Please don't go if you plan to not put in the work! You are just wasting everyone's time.
And to anyone thinking it's 9-5/6. Maybe in your first or second year. But after that you are expected to a min 8am - 7/8pm, and during busy season and interim at weekends as well. Please again do not join if you won't plan on actually being able to put in the hours!!
Honestly if I have another trainee in my team who can't do the work I'll cry XD
And do respond to mails during study leave if you've not finished your work!!! (or any other leave).
But when you go on a mission you don’t have to touch your salary because the client pay your expenses (food, hotel…) that’s one of the interesting parts in audit.
Wow, you have a cool accent. I hear Hindi and British in there.
How about tax in big 4 , does that better than audit?
I am an immigrant here in Canada and recently got a job offer from one of the big firms as Auditor, to be honest I applied because of prestige and the experience. However, taking into account my experiences back home I have 12 years of accounting experience. 6 a accounting and financial reporting manager and previously I also had experience in Audit. At that time I just felt like I need to go to a Big 4 to have better opportunities. Currently I am working in a great company with great benefits. The work life balance is good but I don’t think this is where I see myself in the long run. AI am so confuse, I am already at my 30s and not sure if I can still handle the workload in Audit-physically. Can I please have some insights from you?I’ve been watching your vlogs lately and I felt like it gives me a glimpse of what is out there.
You could get into MBB consulting.
@@amydiakhate843 the advisory part? Yeah, I’m thinking of transferring to advisory after a year if possible
Your accent went from british to canadian/american so many times in this vid haha
I am recently qualified CA in india, i am thinking to join big 4 for 3years and then leave it & join any industry just to have a BIG 4 TAG in may resume! Am I going good?
Try not to think too far ahead, enjoy your time getting the CA and working hard & see what happens. You might enjoy the work 😃
@@Devamsha well let's see 😅
@@abhishekdapke3573 Hi I appeared for CA Final may 2024 exams and am waiting for the result now. I am also planning the same what u said. whether u joined big4? How is it for you? Whether u feel regret of joining?
Man in Romania, highest junior auditor salary is 600 euros/ month :)))
Every video where someone posts why they quit Big 4...they always disclaimer that its their own personal experience BUT everyone has SAME experience!! Every single person...no well balanced life balance, mental health issues, low pay, toxic culture, bad clients, unable to transfer to other dept, back stabbing co workers, bad work politics ..ETC... ahhhh. These millennials 🙄
Exactly
Sorry if you’ve already mentioned but what did you study before auditing? I’m going to be a psych graduate and not sure if that’s suitable, do you know of many psych graduates who are successful in grad schemes auditing?:)
Accounting/ Finance usually
So I know not external audit for sure. Thank you,
Can you maybe elaborate a bit more, or give examples of what you mean with technical details?
I can definitely look into making another video on this! Thanks for leaving a comment :)
I can’t get into Big 4 in my internship, is it possible to get a job for new grad in Big 4 after my internship from other company?
yeah i think you can cause a big 4 they have a gradaute program
Good for you for quitting and getting with the times. Big 4 was okay in the 90s and early 2000s, but the novelty of being there died off a long time ago. So many douche-y types of people there too. Most of them didn't have a lot of friends and were probably beat up in high school. Jeesh.
I'm confused. You're saying "Don't join audit if Im not in it for the money".
So doesn't that mean those who join audit are in it for the money?
I think it should have been titled- 'Don't join audit if.. you're in it for the money ..if u want work life balance'...etc etc
Such a high % of big 4, like so many other accountants, are hopeless. Get over it and get used to it
Hi,
The Big 4 work environment is from the LAST Century closer to the 1950s work culture
Their top management are STILL STUCK in the 1950s and behaved like dinosaurs
AUDITING stands for (A)lways (U)nderpaid, (D)eadlines (i)nfinite, (T)raining (I)s (N)othing (G)reat
get that big 4 experience and leave ASAP
You don’t necessarily have to leave if you don’t enjoy audit-these firms do lots of interesting things, there’s bound to be a job that suits you! Just a bit of research is all you need.
soft