Audit to Corporate Finance at the Big 4 accounting firms | What you NEED to know
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- Опубликовано: 9 авг 2020
- What are the most common moves from audit to the corporate finance division, at the Big 4 accountancy firms. In this video I go through them all.
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📝Brief script:
A lot of auditors want to move across and join the corporate finance division in the big 4. I’ve worked in the corporate finance division from the start of my career and I’ve been asked several times by auditors about what life is like in corporate finance and how they can make the switch over to the department. In this video I’m going to go over the different moves auditors make into CF and discuss some of the important things you need to keep in mind if you are considering this move as well.
A lot of auditors I know and have spoken to believe that corporate finance roles are more forward looking and more strategic in nature. They’re keen to move into more of a consultant role, influencing the decision making process at their client’s firms and helping them to achieve key objectives for the business.
Another piece of feedback I’ve got is that a lot of auditors work for the same clients year in year out, which can get monotonous. Working in CF, you work with different clients on most deals so there are different personalities you get to interact with during each engagement.
One of the main teams in the Corporate Finance division is the M&A team. This team helps clients in the buying and selling of companies and They provide advice on various different aspects of the transaction. When they are helping to sell a business, they will source potential buyers, write the information memorandum document, Market the business, manage the Q&A process during the entire deal and perform various other tasks.
Another Important team in the corporate finance division is the due diligence team. they aim to verify the facts that the seller has stated in relation to the company. they will investigate various aspects of the business being sold including its financial accounts, contracts, pipeline of work, forecasts, among other things. They can also look at commercial and strategic aspects of the business being sold.
For Auditors moving across to corporate finance, the easiest Transition is into a due diligence team. It's a popular transition for someone with an audit background to make because in both departments you need a very good understanding of how financial statements are constructed and in Both roles you'll be required to identify financial risks.
One of the most sought-after moves by auditors is into the M&A team. speaking to a few auditor friends of mine they consider it as a really exciting and fast-paced Environment to work in. Working in audit they don't really dive deep into the commercials off Their clients Business and largely have a focus on historical performance.
A very Common way for individuals with audit backgrounds to join the M&A team is via working in the due diligence team for a period of time first, so using the DD role as a stepping stone. Being part of the DD team, you get to experience a deal process and understand the workings of transactions. You begin to think more commercially than in audit and start to build very strong analytical skills which are required for working in the M&A team. Having 2 or 3 years experience working in the DD team put you in a very good position to apply for a M&A role.
🤔 The video provides answers to the following questions:
How to move from audit to corporate finance at a big 4 accounting firm
What is the move from audit to corporate finance like
What are the exit options for auditors at the big 4 accounting firms
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Thank you! I really enjoy your videos they’re very helpful.
Really appreciate the support 🙂 Working on more videos about Big 4 careers, just need to learn to churn them out quicker 😂
Informative and helpful video!
Glad you liked it
Really helpful video, would love to see more of it specially modelling
Thank you! Will be uploading more videos soon 🙂
Thank you! This video was never recommended to me and I had to go through my subscription one by one just to find it
No problem at all! Hopefully it was useful 🙂. Working on a vid about the CF division currently, I think you may find it interesting.
Hope you found this video informative! I'll be making another video about this topic, where I'll go over how auditors can make the move to Corp. Finance.
Timestamps:
01:31 Why auditors look to move into Corp. Fin.
02:52 The different teams in Corp. Fin
05:55 The easiest transition to Corp. Fin for auditors
07:02 The most sought after role in Corp. Fin
🎥10 Big 4 myths debunked!: ruclips.net/video/TrzoDPgnF6E/видео.html
Excellent video! I’m current studying to become a chartered accountant (ACA) in a varied accountancy role (audit/accounts/tax) and the move over to CF really interests me.
That's great technical experience to have under the belt. Best of luck with the exams!
@@FinanceUnboxed Thanks mate, appreciate it!
Stop... moving... your... hands
Haha fair. Hopefully my recent videos are a bit better!
they say he's still clapping his hands
@@tudon5774 Confirmed
Would like to know about independence compliance and ethics . Also about other top companies after big 4 like Grant Thornton
Hey. What would you like to know specifically?
Can you cover more about what Infrastructure Advisory does in TAS?
I know mostly TAS they do Financial Due Dillegence, while the corporate finance team is the deals team, doing more IB work.
However, in infrastructure you rarely have this separation and the team it's self is taking lead advisory.
Why not this distinction in Infrastructure Advisory at the big 4? And what is the general work they do in Infrastructure Advisory?
Hey, I've got some idea of what they do, but let me do some research and ask around before creating a video about it 🙂
@@FinanceUnboxed thanks! Not a lot of content online. Best way i think is to reach out people directly on the team.
Do auditors realistically move into Corporate Finance? I have a bachelor's in business admin and a master's in economics and finance, and I'm unsure where to start. Just graduated. Your opinion?
Please make a video on exit opportunities for audit professionals of big 4
Sure, will put it on the list. Great suggestion 👌
Thank you for the video!
I have a question, which team will be working on:
1- Trading/ stocks market
2- client personal finance/ wealth management
3-Venture capital valuation and raising capital
Hey, glad you enjoyed the video!
1- no team at the Big 4 trades in the market.
2- there are teams that do this at the B4. They generally are part of the tax service line.
3- the Corporate Finance team will do these activities.
Hope this helps
@@FinanceUnboxed Thank you for the reply! About no.03 That would be in M&A or TDD?
@@kiki0923 that'll be the M&A team
@@FinanceUnboxed Thank you so much!
@@kiki0923 happy to help!
Hi sir.. I appreciate your work and abviosly fine communication skills.. I want to ask can you share some insight that I am looking for career in
M&A,due diligence and valuation roles in London.. Which type of other certification I can do to get through.. I am coming UK for January intake my master in accounting and finance... So I can add something extra and contribute to big 4....thanks...
Hey, I enjoyed your video what about moving from a deals strategy and operations (integration) team to just ‘pure’ M&A? (Not sure if that’s the correct wording) is that an easy move after getting some experience in the integration team?
Hey, I understand your question. Wouldn't say it's an easy move as getting into M&A is very sought after so you have Diligence staff also wanting to move across. As well as Vals staff. There will always be competition for M&A roles. Saying all that, yes you will have an understanding of transactions and especially where value lies I.e. synergies. So there is plenty to talk about during the interview.
Thank you for the video! Is there any way to transfer from Financial Services Audit to M&A within the same big 4 before qualifying (after a year for example)
Hey, yeah I've certainly seen that happen but it is rare. They mostly look to take on qualified candidates. I'd recommend building a relationship with personel in that team and then seeing where that goes
I moved from an internship in FS audit to an m&a internship within the same big4 and then stayed there.
Best way to move from tax to valuation? I’m at one of the big 4 and just about two years in and have audit experience. Suggested firms?
Hey, I've seen people directly move into the valuations team from both tax and audit. A large part of it was down to timing for them but it would be worthwhile you connecting internally with members of that team, trying to understand what they do in detail and generally showing enthusiasm about valuations as a subject. Hope that makes sense.
I am wondering if the Auditor maintains the title when he/ she moves to the DD Team. For example, if he/ she is a senior will they also move in as a senior in the DD team or if they'll have to start as an analyst all over?
It does vary tbh. Could be same level or one above or below. Incredibly unlikely to be more than 2 levels below or above
Thank you!
Is moving from Big 4 CF to Private equity possible?!
Yes certianly, after some CF or DD experience!
Would the ACA qualification be helpful in exit opportunities from deal advisory or would a CFA be better?
Hey, both of those qualifications will lead to different exit ops really. The ACA, being an accountancy qual., is naturally better suited to financial analyst roles in i-banks, Corp Dev, Private equity etc. You can get access to these roles via the CFA as well but other avenues open to you are asset management, equity research in i-banks etc. The benefit of having an ACA is that you can access technical accountancy roles as well by having that qualification under your belt. Hope this helps!
@@FinanceUnboxed Thanks man! I have recently graduated with an accounting and finance degree but do enjoy the finance side more so than the accounting roles. My end goal is to work in asset management/equity research as this is more suited to my interests. The CFA may be better suited for me then but if I can grab a role with the big 4 then it seems the ACA would still be fine.
Also what are your thoughts on deal advisory within the big 4? I am putting in an application for graduate deal advisory with KPMG in either their corporate finance or transaction services teams. Would you say this job role would lead to a good future exit opportunity in finance, and which of the two teams would be better?
I'm doing a Big4 internship right now and I think I might have a chance to get into CF. Is there any way that I can contact you for some guidance on whether CF is a good fit for my personality? I would really appreciate it
Hi, yeah sure. Happy to help. You can DM me on insta -> @financeunboxed
@@FinanceUnboxed Thanks. I have inboxed you on IG
@@blueskythinking8312 great, I will have a look today
@@FinanceUnboxed Hi, the videos is really helpful and informative.
However I need some guidance and have messaged on IG.
Looking forward to interacting with you
I am working in Big 4 audit. qualified ACCA. I honestly don't mind the work but the hours involved is killing me. I'm just curious as to what other options I have where the work is more lets say "balanced"? Can anyone guide me on this pls?
Working in industry helping to prepare mgmt and stat accounts has a better work life balance
@@FinanceUnboxed thank you so much for your response. So when you say industry, what kind of positions should I be searching for. Sorry I'm really clueless about this.
@@simeonprasad4814 when I say industry, I'm talking about organisation which isn't a partnership. So can be any organisation
What about moving from the Financial Crime Unit to M & A.
Hey, it's certainly possible. You'll need to think about where/how you've built analytical skills. Also try and network with the M&A team as much as you can. Hope this helps :)
is it hard for someone majoring accounting to start as due diligence instead of audit?
Hey, it's not hard technically but DD roles don't come about often at.the entry level and hence its more rare!
@@FinanceUnboxed what would you recommend to be the best path to due diligence or other TAS roles that could lateral to IB positions for someone at a big 4 target school majoring Econ/accounting
Could you move from audit directly to valuation team or modelling team? If so which is more realistic and do you need a CPA to do that? Thanks in advance
Hey, yes you can certainly move directly to those teams but the easiest transition, as I say, is into the Due Diligence team. Going directly into those teams will involve a bit of fortune in terms of timing!
What's the social stigma behind being an auditor? This is great work
Hey, there certainly is a perception about audit careers but what I feel is missing in that entire conversation is that people have different interests. Some people do enjoy auditing and if that's where their interests lie, it certainly makes sense to stay in that field, despite all the external noise. 🙂
Excellent video, but you gotta stop moving your hands with the consecutive gesture for each line you mention, it’s distracting.
Thanks for the feedback, have tried to cut it down in more recent vids. Hopefully it's better 🙂
Which pay more? Audit or CF?
Hi. CF pays more as the bonuses are higher
I see, thankyou for answering,, really a great help for me to consider this career
No problem 😊
Great vedio but your hands are really destructing try to keep them in one place and move them only when its necessary
Hey, thanks for the feedback 🙂. Hopefully I've improved in my recent videos.