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How’s work life balance in forensics?
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Look into expert services/litigation consulting/ disputes positions as well. Check out Kroll, Ankura, A&M, Alix Partners, etc. Pay will likely be better than Big 4 and you’ll get better work because the consulting firms aren’t conflicted out.
Thank you!!
Financial crimes compliance (as an umbrella) is notoriously underpaid (speaking from a decade+ of experience in the field), so yes--you will very likely take a pay cut shifting from audit. How significant it will be, I can't say. It depends on where the bulk of your experience is and what industry you transition to. You will make more if you can get a role with BSA/AML responsibilities that isn't an actual FI--think eCommerce retailers in particular (Amazon, eBay, even Meta), casinos, and other money-service businesses (payment processors are a good place to look--Stripe, PayPal, etc.). They're also much more likely to have decent benefits and/or remote and hybrid positions. The traditional financial industry itself is obnoxiously slow to modernize anything, especially on the back end.
The most direct transition from audit to FCRM is going to be a role in governance, really, but those tend to require established experience within one or more areas of the field. If you're not interested in staying in an internal audit role, you could also look for something in Risk as a means of transitioning.
Given that you're saying your experience is with a big 4 firm, I'd recommend looking for a role in audit for a company/in an industry that you're interested in longer term, ideally related to internal controls for AML, Fraud, Sanctions, or Risk. Once you're in, it's much easier to transition over to this niche. For the most part, external hires tend to be former LEOs or JDs, so your best bet is likely to be lateral. You could also look for Investigations roles as a way to get your foot in the door, but bear in mind that starting as an investigator could be more of a pay cut than you're prepared to take, as these roles tend not to pay super well until you have several years of experience (and have qualified and sat for the CAMS) on your resume.
Hope any of this was helpful!
How much do you currently make OP?
Have you tried networking within KPMG and your fin crime practice?
I wanna get away from Big 4, I just have not enjoyed the big 4 culture at all and also the little pay.
Why would you be worried about a salary cut? Audit is the lowest paying gig out there
I actually have seen some jobs that pay lower than I do now in audit for something in the fin crime field.