AccountingBLOCK - Tax and Accounting Forums

Hi,

I was wondering how successful people end up being if they do not make it to a Big 4 company. I haven't been doing as well in school as I hoped (I'm going to end up with a 3.0 for my first year), and I doubt I'll be able to get a job at the Big 4 because of my GPA. I know that eventually, I would want to go private, and then try to become a financial controller, or generally move into upper level management functions (ultimately, I'd want to be a CFO, but that's obviously a pipedream at this point). The thing is, people say you have to start as a public accountant (aka at the Big 4), and then hope you get headhunted for the big positions, which usually only happens to people who worked at the Big 4.

So, can anyone tell me how good of a career one can hope for if one doesn't work at the Big 4? I'm not looking to be overly ambitious like most i-banking wannabes, but I am ambitious enough to want to earn a really good salary (IMO, 150-200k is perfect), so is this even possible unless you work at the Big 4?

A Big 4 background is not requirement for a good salary. Good salaries are obtained from a base of obtaining knowledge and applying it. By application I mean reaching decision making responsibility and managing others. Every function has an effect on profitability and must be carried out with the goal of making the company more efficient and profitable. Throw this together with a large and profitable company in a high cost city and you have significant earnings. The type of industry also has an effect. High profit industries pay more than others. Another consideration is the hours, i.e. the straight out of school non MBA iinvestment banker in NY earns around 120K+ (about $30 per hour). Some CPA firms are more notorious than others for being slave masters and poor compensation policies.

Good salaries can be had from many small companies as well but they need to be consistently profitable and with an owner who is willing to recognize your contribution and share the profits.

Hope this helps some as your question is quite complex and has a multitude of different answers. Back to the Big 4, yes it can help you get there but is not an absolute requirement.

I couldn't agree more with Pat. I would also like to add that one of essential things needed to make it to the top is having a good preferably best GPA. Instead of you chasing a company, companies will be chasing after you.

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How about thinking about how you can get experience outside of working for the Big 4, maybe work experience as an intern at a corporate or possibly working for a smaller start-up that needs to keep a tight budget (but could be the next google etc

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I spent a number of years with the Big 4 and also with a regional firm. When I left the Big 4 (ecstatically), I expected a severe dropoff in quality and expertise upon accepting a job with a regional firm. I was pleasantly surprised. In fact, I would say 70% of my coworkers at the regional firm had originally started with a Big 4 firm and left because they hated the culture there. The thing with the Big 4 is, its a great place to start a career, but anyone with real ambition and talent gets out as soon as they can. I'm exaggerating there, but not by much.

So no, if you don't get a job with a Big 4 firm, it certainly isn't the end of the world. Financial success is something like 60% work ethic, 20% intelligence/ability, 10% professional connections (where the Big 4 comes in handy), and 10% dumb luck.

Keep your ambition and drive and work harder than anyone you know and you'll be fine.

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