<p>Originally posted by plscatamacchia, “Good luck with your dead end corporate job. Those cubicle, number crunching positions are the most soul crushing jobs that exist in the corporate world. They offer no challenge and such little growth opportunity it’s laughable.”</p>
<p>Your description of a corporate job is laughable too. 
How do you think, where are you going to end up in 5-10 years? Big 4? Highly unlikely…welcome to “hell.”</p>
<p>BTW, plscatamacchia, are these your words?</p>
<p>“I am a junior majoring in accounting. Right now I have zero interest in becoming a public accountant working for a big 4. I enjoy corporate finance much more…”</p>
<p>Tosh, might I ask what knowledge you have of the workplace in corporate environment and big 4? Have you worked in either environment? </p>
<p>Anyways I think you are all wrong.</p>
<p>The benefit of the big 4 is the variety it provides to branch out into many different industries. During my internship I worked on banking clients, manufacturing, and medical technology (very interesting stuff). I think it’s different strokes for different folks though. The people who are less sure of what they want as their permanent career tends to go Big 4. </p>
<p>Big 4 tends to open up some doors at Top MBAs (as does industry, but less so in industry accounting than industry finance) and provides a variety of exit opportunities. </p>
<p>Corporate environment accounting (from what I am told and have seen first hand in a short internship @ F500) asks for much less teamwork and analytical thinking. Big 4 is rough on you with what they ask of you in terms of hours worked vs pay. This is just something that is a rite of passage, and some people don’t view it that way…they may view it as “slavery”. The corporate environment does provide much less mobility. You will be surprised how much difference there is from industry to industry with accounting.</p>
<p>Best of luck to you all.</p>
<p>^ isn’t that what I basically said? Anyways, I agree with you.</p>
<p>big4bound,</p>
<p>I do not see how your post relates to mine. What is your argument? Did I say that the big 4 do not open many doors? The iformation that you provided in your post is already known for many people on these boards. As you might notice, sometimes we are sharing our own opinions, and just simply discuss a topic. </p>
<p>But what really bothers me is that many people on these boards are saying how bad is the corporate accounting/finance is, but they may not realize that eventually they will have to work there themselves because the big 4 companies will get rid of them in 1-5 years. Yet, there are some people who decide to leave themselves, but again, only a few years ago they kept saying how bad is the corporate world is, and now they go there?</p>
<p>big4bound, “Corporate environment accounting…asks for much less teamwork and analytical thinking…The corporate environment does provide much less mobility.”</p>
<p>Yet, you are going to work there??? Why? BUT I THOUGHT PEOPLE WANT TO FIND A BETTER PLACE??? Did you ask yourself why the majority of people who worked at the big 4 leave those companies, and move to corporate world??? Because they find it to better to work there, rather than at the big 4. Otherwise they wouldn’t do that…COMMON SENSE buddy.</p>
<p>Tosh, </p>
<p>My post didn’t relate to yours. I’m just curious how yourself and cream have gathered your knowledge. It seems pls and MightNick have both worked for big 4 in some capacity, thus they have a basis for their argument. So what is your experience that allows you to form such a strong opinion?</p>
<p>Can you also please point out where I said I wanted to work in corporate accounting? Many big 4 alum go on to financial analysis, cfo roles. Some go on to management roles. Some go to corporate accounting, but this is not what I want. As I said, corporate accounting is boring and to much time working alone. </p>
<p>Basically, the difference between entry level corporate accounting jobs and entry level Big 4 jobs are VASTLY different. </p>
<p>You seem to be awfully sensitive. Going and researching post histories, talking about having common sense, etc. Maybe you should take some medicine for that?</p>
<p>big4bound,</p>
<p>“I’m just curious how yourself and cream have gathered your knowledge.”</p>
<p>Surprisingly, there are some people who did not work at the big 4, but they are well-read, and have/know/relate to people who are in both spheres, and have already gone through this route, before both of us were born.</p>
<p>“Can you also please point out where I said I wanted to work in corporate accounting?”</p>
<p>You didn’t say that, and yet, you didn’t say that you want to work in the corporate finance field before. If the big 4 are so great, then why do you want to switch to corporate finance? You also will have to work alone when you are a CFO, financial analyst, or manager, unless it is a big corporation. </p>
<p>As for now, I understand that you are a big biased fan of the big 4, for selecting such a nick name, and the way of your thinking.</p>
<p>I never said it was “so great” I just said it will provide much more mobility than any entry level corporate accounting job.</p>
<p>So you’re attacking my position by saying “YOU WANT TO LEAVE” only reiterates part of my point. Where ya going with this one?</p>
<p>EDIT: And the opinion of others has little merit on what your own style would be. I have seen both (corporate and public) and I can tell you which I like more and why I like it. All of your points are based on stories others have told you. You have formed this strong opinion based solely on that? I’d hope you were a bit more open minded that that.</p>
<p>A quality corporate job is going to require as much if not more critical thinking than a Big Four job. I don’t know if you guys had any working papers to work with in your Auditing classes(if you’ve even taken any), but it’s not really all that interesting particularly when most people in the real world leave the analysis to whoever filled out the working paper last year. Most people are not going to get high enough in the Big Four hierarchy to have an opinion on the latest FASB statement that anybody cares about, and if you spend all your time auditing cash and fixed assets you aren’t exactly going to come out after 3 years as an amazing accounting expert. </p>
<p>The quality jobs one can get at certain big industries seem far preferable to me. These are not the ones where you just do monthly closing, bank reconciliation, and glorified A/P clerk duties. Some companies are very complicated with many lines of business and foreign operations. The oil super majors, for example, need to grow talent from within or at least pluck it from competitors because it makes more sense for them to have controllers/senior financial analysts/internal audit managers who really know the business than ex-Big Four people who really know GAAP and financial audits. Checking out the linkedin profiles and company bios of people I’ve interviewed with or execs that have come to campus bears this out. </p>
<p>I do agree that there are other companies, less complicated ones, whose plan is to have riff-raff A/P clerks and other n00b bookkeeper types(you don’t want to be these people) and then hire ex-Big Four people to fill the spots one tier up. </p>
<p>My advice, spy on the linkedin profile of the people that you meet prior to and during F500 interviews. If it looks like everyone at the manager level or above was in the Big Four and you are being promised a job without an interesting rotation program…think twice about the job. Some companies value Big Four experience highly, if you don’t go Big Four you should go some place where they DON’T value Big Four experience unless you want one of your classmates to be your boss in 5 years.</p>