I am up for partnership in a Big 4. I have worked my ass off to get to the final stage (to the Patner Admission s Committee).

My business case, partner feedbacks, curent yr sales n revenue and future projections are all great. Background check (criminal check, education n work history) came out clean as expected but as part of Independence audit, I have had couple of misses which has been pure oversight. None has been ill intended or lif threat. Will it impact my case? I am extremely stressed

Maybe you had spelling mistakes like you did above “Partner”?

Hard no for me, and for context I’m a Consulting partner.

The amount of training and check points along the way each time we do when you submit independence to help you avoid “little things” is absolutely obscene. We are in the mama bird, baby bird territory.

If you do not take our brand seriously to spend extra 5 minutes each time to validate you have submitted everything, you will extend the same attitude to your responsibilities as a partner. There is no room for sloppy here.

Independence issues can be the difference between a candidate making it and another candidate not, all else equal. Make sure the narrative is clear.

There is zero tolerance for these matters in a Big 4 environment. I know of a case where the husband of a colleague had assets his mother put in his name and she had no clue existed. She was deferred a year. There was also another case where the fund manager of a mutual fund changed the name of the fund but the short name was the same as the original fund. That was an issue. My recommendation is to find 3 to 5 unrestricted equities and invest in those to avoid this problem going forward.

Former EY Partner here. Me and my 2 colleagues who went through it together (and all made it) had findings as well. It’s normal. As long as it wasn’t fraud, you’re fine.

Couple of misses? This is too vague to answer...if you are talking about 20 year old DUIs, maybe. If you are talking about financial anything, probably not. And to be honest, it will probably come down to how 'clean' your competition is for those Partner spots.

Independence breaches would be a straight no for me.

Hard to answer without the details but as others have said. It’s severe if it’s related to financial compliance, like unreported financial interests, or shady expenses reports

In a down economy this is likely enough to defer you a year. Big 4 do not mess around with Independence. It may be enough to defer you a year in a good economy. Pay attention to this stuff. It matters a ton to these firms.

My buddy’s wife’s Partnership was rejected by a Big 4 at the same stage you’re in now because she forgot to disclose her husband’s registered retirement savings plan, which was managed through his employer’s benefits provider (Canada).

You really do need to be specific about what each of those “couple of things” actually is so people can understand your situation and give you a better informed opinion. You haven’t clearly laid that out in your replies, you just use the example of a free $HOOD situation. This makes it feel like there’s more to the story and that you might just be looking for confirmation bias.

Regardless, best of luck to you.

I had missed declaring a few investments (mutual funds that I had bought 10 years ago). I was still Partner but was levied a 10k penalty.

Don’t sweat the little stuff. If it’s little. The process wants you to - don’t let it.

It might not be enough to get you knocked out of the process entirely, but it’s certainly going to raise questions and depending on the competition, that might be enough to delay you a year

Low odds.

It depends on the Firm, country and the circumstances. One oversight may be ok. In some jurisdictions it is definitely not ok. Multiple missed entries tends to indicate a pattern, at the very least of carelessness. Given all of the reminders you are given in the regular course of business, and especially when you enter the process, it is tough to argue this is an oopsie. Without knowing the firm, role etc it is tough to say. However if this rose to the level of a financial penalty it is hard to see how it would not impact the process. If I were reviewing your case I would likely recommend a deferral.