<p>So I am an accounting/finance double and am wondering where would be the best place to launch a career. I know I don't want to do Audit my entire life but realize it's a great way to launch a career.</p>
<p>I’m in the same accy/fin situation, and interning in kpmg audit this summer, checking the fulltime opportunities in the fall, accepting kpmg if I cant find anything better (management consulting, PE, etc), then putting in a few years before going for the MBA and seeing what else is out there. You can always go work at IBM after a few years of public accounting experience.</p>
<p>Or you can apply for Big 4 advisory jobs, though those are a crapshoot sometimes.</p>
<p>I would say that IBM is very technology oriented, since they are in essense a technology company. Despite that fact that it is trying to become more “strategic”, a lot of IT will be involved. This may be a good thing or a bad thing. The good thing is, tomorrow’s consulting will become increasingly connected with IT and business processes integration; the bad news is that if you’re someone like me who is not interested in IT at all, you might find the work to be tedious and technical.</p>
<p>Now, as for a big 4 advisory position, they do a lot “fair opinions” like an investment bank would do. In fact, in certain parts of the world (such as Asia), some Big 4s have more work than an investment bank. See the league tables on Reuters. Although it’s much harder to get into advisory as an undergrad fresh out of college, especially in the current environment where clients are harder to find. Best bet is to transfer to the division after a couple of years of auditing, or get a MBA then try to transfer. But by then, you’ll probably want to look at consulting at Bain/Boston/McKinsey; or do advisory at a real investment bank.</p>
<p>Traffy, please post this summer about your internship experience at KPMG.</p>