Good question - wish i mentioned something about the difference in recruitment process now haha Nah, the interview process was purely motivational and was testing to see if you had an understanding of what the division does and how the market looks (e.g What kind of work do we do in our Deal Advisory division, Tell us about a recent news story in the M&A markets etc) As well as your typical, Why KPMG, and other competencies etc
I think it varies a lot. For example, last week I had my interview for an internship at KPMG in Deal Advisory. It was 2.5 hours long and there were a lot of questions about accounting. First relatively basic how the financial statements are related to each other, then later more difficult ones about accounting of lease liabilities, net debt, equity bridge, etc.. Afterwards also questions about firm valuation methods like Multiple Models or DCF. Finally a bit about private equity and LBOs (the team works a lot with PE funds). Overall, I didn't find it too difficult, but I was surprised about the length and depth of some questions, because I had expected more of a personal fit interview. I am based in Germany. I guess it also depends on the location you are applying for. I applied to one of the two most popular in Germany and here the Big4 in deal advisory are flooded with applications and thus can be more selective. In hindsight it always makes sense to be well prepared :)
Thank you for lifting the curtain on this interesting department, Sohaib! Which division exposes you to more interesting, diverse, and nonmonotonous work - TS or Valuations? Also, where is the level of workload and pressure higher? Lastly, is Valuations a bit more restricted in terms of exit opportunities? I have to make a choice between these two divisions. Therefore, any further important considerations I might be missing are welcome. Thank you very, very much for your support in advance, Sohaib!
Hey Sohaib, I really like your video. I received an interview for Integration&Separation position at KPMG. Could you share some of your perspectives regarding this service line?
Very informative video. I might join a junior position at Restructurings as part of the overall M&A service line. Is it similar to any of the others you have mentioned?
Hey hey, tbh I should've mentioned Restructuring in the vid - it's just at KPMG we've sold off our restructuring division 😅 I've made a separate video on restructuring though, have a look - leme know if you got any Q's 🙏
@Sohaib Ashraf I have the ACCA and also 4 years of Big4 Audit experience in India where I have led multiple engagements as senior In-charge. However, I am unable to even get any interview call even for roles in UK TS, even after checking all the boxed for entry level roles across the Big4s, GT, BDO, RSM and Mazars. I don't understand what they are looking for. Please help me brother. :( I can model a detailed 3 statement model in under 60 mins. I can even do a bit of Valuations (although still at a learning stage at the moment). I even have the CFA L2 done showing my interest in Finance.!
not 100% on external hire recruitment, but i know its bit of a sticky one hiring internationally i think majority (if not all) of our international staff moved internally from KPMG india/russia/serbica etc to UK Would be ideal to reach out to folk who've made the same move coming from your position on Linkedin they would be able to advise you better
Salam brother. How is the work-life balance at big 4 in deals advisory? Is it worse than audit? Also, say if we are eligible to get exemptions from some ACA exams, do big4 support us to get those exemptions or do they make us sit for those exams no matter what?
Walaikum salaam bro, thanks for the comment WLB is pretty good most of the time , but you do have the occasional late night / working till midnight (this is more common in TS than the other divisons due to the nature of the work) WLB can be quite bad during exam season tho, cos you might be working late one day but then you still gotta study in the evening but thats just the nature of the ACA in all divisions tbh For KPMG they let you take all the exemptions except for Accounting and assurance certificate exams, and in KPMG "intensive" route they don't let you take any of the exemptions - so keep that in mind Hope that's useful bro!
Hi, great video! I'm starting off fresh from college and wanting to join IB. I just got my offers at 2 different positions at a big4 firm: transaction services and corp finance. I just really don't know which would have better exit opportunity if I wanted join IB later in my career. Would be great to have some ur advices on this! thanks in advance
That's a good question The Big4 are accounting/audit/tax firms first and foremost so the majority of roles including deal advisory expect you to complete the CPA/ACA/CA CFA is more relevant for investment management industry which the Big4 isn't actively a part of Saying that, I know theres some diviosns within the Big 4 such as Pension Advisory, or some Actuarial Schemes which support the CFA It's also not that uncommon to see people doing the CFA after they become CPA/ACA qualified, I actually know some folk who are doing it simultaneously too with the hope of moving into a buyside role or into Equity research Hope that's useful!
Thanks for sharing. I have been recently offered a position at Deals, Strategy Business line. Are you aware of this line of business? Can you elaborate a bit on it?
I work with them occasionally and know some grads in the division - my understanding is that the work is basically like strategy consulting (rather than Corp fin) so less time in excel, more time doing market research etc If that's not what you're looking for its easy to move internally to another Deals division, depends on what firm you're at tho
@@SohaibAshraf Hi! I'm going to start in Deals Strategy. Corporate Finance was my first choice, however there were no spots left to fill in at the time of my application, hence I got into Deals Strategy instead. I have an understanding that they deal more on value creation, maximizing a business' upside, and spotting synergies and dis-synergies with potential acquisitions - areas I also really wanted to have exposure in because it's basically Corp Dev. My question is if you would know if there are any transferrable technical skills that I can bring with me for a potential move to Corporate Finance after a stint in Strategy, and how valuable will it be in the sense that I would not be starting from scratch. Also, will a Strategy experience make me a more well-rounded professional within Corp Finance? I already had past experience in the field of Transfer Pricing and the career progression there was very rigid and specialized in the sense that you will basically just be doing such for the rest of your career. I understood from the video that you said Strategy was niche, and I don't really want to potentially pigeon-hole myself again because I would like to keep my horizons broad - having the option to switch to Corporate Finance, Venture Capital/IB, or FP&A/Corp Dev in Industry. For context, I will be with the orange brand, and I hope that they give a pretty wholistic experience in the Deals division.
It's a preference tbh cos they're 2 different career paths and you gotta figure out what is better for you If it's Technology or any other boring consulting then go deals If it's management consulting or Strategy Consulting then you need to ask yourself , do you wana work more on the operational / commerical side of things - and maybe go work for a startup or something one day , then Strategy / Mgmt consulting can be for you If you enjoy corporate finance, big bags of money and see yourself going into Banking or Private Equity , then Deals is a good shout Just my 2 cents
@@SohaibAshraf Thanks mate! If possible is it possible to schedule a call to talk in a lil more depth. I'm based on in Dubai as of now looking at deals advisory quite seriously
Does deal advisory require strong technical skills for the interview of intern roles?( like accounting and valuations knowledge)
Good question - wish i mentioned something about the difference in recruitment process now haha
Nah, the interview process was purely motivational and was testing to see if you had an understanding of what the division does and how the market looks (e.g What kind of work do we do in our Deal Advisory division, Tell us about a recent news story in the M&A markets etc)
As well as your typical, Why KPMG, and other competencies etc
I think it varies a lot.
For example, last week I had my interview for an internship at KPMG in Deal Advisory. It was 2.5 hours long and there were a lot of questions about accounting. First relatively basic how the financial statements are related to each other, then later more difficult ones about accounting of lease liabilities, net debt, equity bridge, etc..
Afterwards also questions about firm valuation methods like Multiple Models or DCF. Finally a bit about private equity and LBOs (the team works a lot with PE funds).
Overall, I didn't find it too difficult, but I was surprised about the length and depth of some questions, because I had expected more of a personal fit interview. I am based in Germany.
I guess it also depends on the location you are applying for. I applied to one of the two most popular in Germany and here the Big4 in deal advisory are flooded with applications and thus can be more selective.
In hindsight it always makes sense to be well prepared :)
@@SohaibAshraf That sounds much easier than technical questions in banks. Thank you so much!
@@Effzeh1704 Thank you so much for sharing! Great insight!
@@Effzeh1704 Studierst du noch? Falls ja, in welchem Semester befindest du dich?
Thank you for lifting the curtain on this interesting department, Sohaib! Which division exposes you to more interesting, diverse, and nonmonotonous work - TS or Valuations? Also, where is the level of workload and pressure higher? Lastly, is Valuations a bit more restricted in terms of exit opportunities? I have to make a choice between these two divisions. Therefore, any further important considerations I might be missing are welcome. Thank you very, very much for your support in advance, Sohaib!
Jummah blessings dropping early today 🙌🏽
hahahha glad you liked it
Is it just me who thinks he should throw that gum before talkin
🤣
Very interesting !
Thanks yousaf!
Hey Sohaib, I really like your video. I received an interview for Integration&Separation position at KPMG. Could you share some of your perspectives regarding this service line?
Hey Sunny, yeah for sure - it's not as popular as other service lines, and the nature of the work is different - will make a video on this soon
Very informative video. I might join a junior position at Restructurings as part of the overall M&A service line. Is it similar to any of the others you have mentioned?
Hey hey, tbh I should've mentioned Restructuring in the vid - it's just at KPMG we've sold off our restructuring division 😅
I've made a separate video on restructuring though, have a look - leme know if you got any Q's 🙏
The works very diff, but personally find it very interesting - did my summer intern in Rx actually
@Sohaib Ashraf I have the ACCA and also 4 years of Big4 Audit experience in India where I have led multiple engagements as senior In-charge. However, I am unable to even get any interview call even for roles in UK TS, even after checking all the boxed for entry level roles across the Big4s, GT, BDO, RSM and Mazars.
I don't understand what they are looking for. Please help me brother. :(
I can model a detailed 3 statement model in under 60 mins. I can even do a bit of Valuations (although still at a learning stage at the moment). I even have the CFA L2 done showing my interest in Finance.!
not 100% on external hire recruitment, but i know its bit of a sticky one hiring internationally
i think majority (if not all) of our international staff moved internally from KPMG india/russia/serbica etc to UK
Would be ideal to reach out to folk who've made the same move coming from your position on Linkedin they would be able to advise you better
Salam brother. How is the work-life balance at big 4 in deals advisory? Is it worse than audit? Also, say if we are eligible to get exemptions from some ACA exams, do big4 support us to get those exemptions or do they make us sit for those exams no matter what?
Walaikum salaam bro, thanks for the comment
WLB is pretty good most of the time , but you do have the occasional late night / working till midnight (this is more common in TS than the other divisons due to the nature of the work)
WLB can be quite bad during exam season tho, cos you might be working late one day but then you still gotta study in the evening but thats just the nature of the ACA in all divisions tbh
For KPMG they let you take all the exemptions except for Accounting and assurance certificate exams, and in KPMG "intensive" route they don't let you take any of the exemptions - so keep that in mind
Hope that's useful bro!
@@SohaibAshraf Jazakallaha for the insight brother. Also, how many weeks/months in a year do you have to college for the lectures of those exams?
Hi, great video! I'm starting off fresh from college and wanting to join IB. I just got my offers at 2 different positions at a big4 firm: transaction services and corp finance. I just really don't know which would have better exit opportunity if I wanted join IB later in my career. Would be great to have some ur advices on this! thanks in advance
corporate finance is better the work you do will be v similar to what you do in M&A banking
Great info 😊
Thank you - leme know what else you wana see!
Where do you think CFAs fit in? Or is the big 4 completely dominated by CPAs?
That's a good question
The Big4 are accounting/audit/tax firms first and foremost so the majority of roles including deal advisory expect you to complete the CPA/ACA/CA
CFA is more relevant for investment management industry which the Big4 isn't actively a part of
Saying that, I know theres some diviosns within the Big 4 such as Pension Advisory, or some Actuarial Schemes which support the CFA
It's also not that uncommon to see people doing the CFA after they become CPA/ACA qualified, I actually know some folk who are doing it simultaneously too with the hope of moving into a buyside role or into Equity research
Hope that's useful!
Thanks for sharing. I have been recently offered a position at Deals, Strategy Business line. Are you aware of this line of business? Can you elaborate a bit on it?
I work with them occasionally and know some grads in the division - my understanding is that the work is basically like strategy consulting (rather than Corp fin)
so less time in excel, more time doing market research etc
If that's not what you're looking for its easy to move internally to another Deals division, depends on what firm you're at tho
leme know if theres any other content you wana see too :)
@@SohaibAshraf Hi! I'm going to start in Deals Strategy. Corporate Finance was my first choice, however there were no spots left to fill in at the time of my application, hence I got into Deals Strategy instead. I have an understanding that they deal more on value creation, maximizing a business' upside, and spotting synergies and dis-synergies with potential acquisitions - areas I also really wanted to have exposure in because it's basically Corp Dev. My question is if you would know if there are any transferrable technical skills that I can bring with me for a potential move to Corporate Finance after a stint in Strategy, and how valuable will it be in the sense that I would not be starting from scratch. Also, will a Strategy experience make me a more well-rounded professional within Corp Finance?
I already had past experience in the field of Transfer Pricing and the career progression there was very rigid and specialized in the sense that you will basically just be doing such for the rest of your career. I understood from the video that you said Strategy was niche, and I don't really want to potentially pigeon-hole myself again because I would like to keep my horizons broad - having the option to switch to Corporate Finance, Venture Capital/IB, or FP&A/Corp Dev in Industry. For context, I will be with the orange brand, and I hope that they give a pretty wholistic experience in the Deals division.
What is better Deals or Consulting at big 4 like Pwc?
It's a preference tbh cos they're 2 different career paths and you gotta figure out what is better for you
If it's Technology or any other boring consulting then go deals
If it's management consulting or Strategy Consulting then you need to ask yourself , do you wana work more on the operational / commerical side of things - and maybe go work for a startup or something one day , then Strategy / Mgmt consulting can be for you
If you enjoy corporate finance, big bags of money and see yourself going into Banking or Private Equity , then Deals is a good shout
Just my 2 cents
@@SohaibAshraf Thanks mate! If possible is it possible to schedule a call to talk in a lil more depth. I'm based on in Dubai as of now looking at deals advisory quite seriously
Also how travel intensive is deal? Consulting is a ton of travel so was curious
@@ShubhamGuptatheincidence yeah bro, just msg me on LinkedIn
@@ShubhamGuptatheincidence back in the day there used to be some travel but nowadays since Covid it's none tbh
Great video!
Thanks bro - glad you enjoyed, lmk what else u wana see
Is this the same as an advisory grad scheme with BDO?
yup
@@SohaibAshraf Would you recommend applying for Advisory over an audit grad scheme?
Very helpful🥵🥵
Thank you - let me know what else you wan to see!
This is the first british-y(Scottish-y?) accent that my American ears really could not understand. Had to try so hard to follow each word. Kinda neat.
soz brah