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Pursuing a career with the Big 3 Accounting FirmsDeepak Barbieri and Suim HamBusiness Writing EAC594NBB December 6, 2016
Introduction03
Table of contents
A closer look at the industry04Looking beyond the numbers06
Diversity08Employee Development08Closing Remarks and Final Recommendation10
12Stacking up the Big 3 Firms Globally07 Appendix – Works Cited
Source:: http://www.duarte.com/free-presentation-software-templates/
3
Introduction
This report looks at the possibility of working at one of the Big 3 accounting firms (PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and Ernst and Young) as an accounting associate
For a new graduate looking to specialise in the areas of audit and tax
- It provides an overview of the industry
- criteria for selecting and assessing the three firms and
- a recommendation for the best firm to work at
4
A closer look at the industry
The accounting field provides a diversity of experiences across multiple sectors as financial management is a core part of every business strategy
The industry is made up of the Big 3, mid-tier and small boutique firms
Firms specialize in providing
audit, assurance,
advisory and tax services to
public and private sector
companies
New graduates work as part of a team where
they participate in research,
analysis, reviews and
mentorship by senior staff
5
A closer look at the industrySelecting an accounting firm to work for involves identifying a firm that will provide opportunities to specialise in audit and tax while providing programs to support diversity and employee development
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (Deloitte) and Ernst and Young (EY) are considered the top 3 in the industry and offer a breadth of experience for accounting graduates
They may look the same as they provide similar services (audit, assurance, advisory and tax) to clients. However, they are different based on their profile, service strength, diversity and employee developmentNew graduates hone their skills on a variety of projects,
working often at client sites across various industries
Projects may take a few weeks, a few months or even a year long. Work may range in auditing of financial statements,
fraud and forensic investigation, consulting and tax compliance
6
Looking beyond numbersCriteria to pick one of the Big 3 accounting firms were based on professional articles, discussions with students and the firm’s websites
Accounting services include audit (meeting accounting standards), assurance (businesses and system reviews), advisory (business strategy) and tax services (tax law, reporting and statutory filings)
Firm profile looks at revenue, number of employees and growth
Diversity and Employee Development focus on inclusion, training, pay and work/life balance
The four criteria
are
Accounting Services
Firm Profile
Diversity
Employee Development
7
Stacking Up the Big 3 Firms Globally
35.4B
PwC’s Global Revenue
Revenue Growth 10%
Leader in Audit Services
Series135.2B
Deloitte’s Global RevenueRevenue Growth 8%
Leader in Advisory Services
Series128.7B
EY’s Global Revenue
Revenue Growth 11.6%
Highest Growth among the 3 Firms
99.3B was the Combined Global Revenue for the Big 3
Firms
Deloitte’s Headcount225,400
EY’s Headcount 211,450
PwC’s Headcount 208,109
Over 644,000 resources employed globally by the Big 3
Firms
Source:: 2015 Annual Report, PwC, 2015 Deloitte Impact Report, Deloitte and 2015 EY Global Report
8
Diversity
Source: 2015 Annual Report, PwC, 2015 Deloitte Impact Report Deloitte and 2015 EY Global Report Diversity Image, Freeths
PwC published a Diversity Agenda outlining specific goals and targets for the organization
Deloitte’s website did not highlight how they measured diversity within their organization
None of the links on EY’s website worked making it difficult to compare against PwC and Deloitte
PwC, Deloitte
and EY all had
programs which
focused on diversity
and inclusivene
ss
None of the 3 firms published measurable data in terms of diversity
PwC’s diversity program
focused on women,
millennials and
leadership
Deloitte’s program
focused on promoting women in leadership
EY’s diversity program includes gender, women, suppliers
and profession
als
9
Employee Development
Source: 2015 Annual Report, PwC, 2015 Deloitte Impact Report Deloitte and 2015 EY Global Report Employee Reviews, Vault and Employee Reviews, Glassdoor WorkForce Image, Storify
Glassdoor and Vault websites had a
number of reviews where employees
commented on long hours, work stress
and limited work/life balance at
all three firms
None of the 3 firms published
employee development
data
All 3 firms had training programs
for employees which ranged from
eLearning, in person classrooms
to week long conferences
There was no published data on pay, therefore it
could not be assessed
Each of the 3 companies had
work/life programs and flex programs
10
Closing Remarks and Final Recommendation
Source: Source: 2015 Annual Report, PwC, 2015 Deloitte Impact Report Deloitte and 2015 EY Global Report Employee Reviews, Vault and Employee Reviews, Glassdoor
Overall, the 3 firms provide a new accounting associate with
varied experience in audit, tax, advisory etc
across multiple sectors
Deloitte’s strength is in
advisory services while EY has a
strong presence across all four
criteria. EY is the smallest of the
three firms
Employees were stressed from putting in long
hours at work on a consistent basis.
These were consistent
complaints from PwC employees.
:
However, with regards to services, firm profile, diversity and employee development, PwC stands out as the leader in the industry
From a career perspective, PwC would be the best firm to work at given their significant audit/tax experience and strong financial performance
However, as potential new employees at a firm which has prestige and great opportunities, working long hours will need to be monitored
12
Appendix - Works Cited “Duarte Slidedoc Template,”, Duarte, 29 Nov. 2016http://www.duarte.com/free-presentation-software-templates/“2015 Annual Report PwC – Annual Review.” PwC, 21 Nov. 2016http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/about-pwc/global-annual-review-2015/campaign-site/pwc-global-annual-review-2015.pdf“2015 Deloitte Impact Report – Metrics, goals, targets.” Deloitte, 22 Nov. 2016http://www.deloitte.co.uk/impact/2015/metrics-goals-and-targets/“2015 EY Global Report – EY at a glance.” EY, 22 Nov. 2016 http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/EY_Global_review_2015/$FILE/EY_Global_review_2015.pdf"The PwC diversity journey.” PwC, 22 Nov. 2016
http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/diversity-inclusion/best-practices/assets/the-pwc-diversity-journey.pdf
“Diversity and Inclusion.” Deloitte, 23 Nov. 2016
https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/about-deloitte/topics/global-diversity-deloitte-is-diversity.html
“Diversity and Inclusiveness.” EY, 23 Nov. 2016http://www.ey.com/ca/en/about-us/our-people-and-culture/diversity-and-inclusiveness/hear-from-our-leaders“PwC Review.” Glassdoor, 23 Nov. 2016https://www.glassdoor.ca/Reviews/PwC-Reviews-E8450.htm“Deloitte Review.” Glassdoor, 23 Nov. 2016 https://www.glassdoor.ca/Reviews/Deloitte-Reviews-E2763.htm
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Appendix - Works Cited “PwC Review.” Vault, 23 Nov. 2016http://www.vault.com/company-profiles/accounting/pricewaterhousecoopers-llp/employee-reviews“EY Review.” Vault, 23 Nov. 2016 http://www.vault.com/company-profiles/accounting/ey-llp/employee-reviews“Deloitte Review.” Deloitte, 23 Nov. 2016 http://www.vault.com/company-profiles/accounting/deloitte-llp/employee-reviewsDiversity Image, Freeths, 2 Dec, 2016http://www.freeths.co.uk/blog/realestate/category/events/page/2/Employee Workforce Image, Storify, 2 Dec, 2016https://storify.com/Markle/workforce-development-is-everyone-s-business-espec
