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Hi, I joined pwc AC early last year as a fresher in tech consulting Fortunately I have landed in a good project, did the best i could Got a tier 1 rating in last cycle This year snapshots have been great too Feedback from engagement team has been good🤞 Can I pursue for asking a promotion this midyear Current role : Associate 2 PwC PwC India Pwc AC
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Does EY pay for the CFE exam and Review course?
I hate the word provision now
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I started studying for CFA when I was senior associate in audit (I worked in FS) and passed level 3 during my 2nd year as manager. I passed all 3 exams on the first try but I studied a lot (350 hours for L1, 300 for L2 and 250 for L3). I barely passed L3 as I couldn't put more time to study given my busy season ending mid-June. The exams are very difficult, but the hardest part is studying while working 60 hours a week year round. It was all worth it though in the end. It definitely helped me as an auditor in FS and it landed me a new job that is more finance related. Good luck!
@PwC2 I initially turned down an offer as PE analyst because the role was too "junior" for my liking after being manager for 2 years. I now work in the capital management department of a financial institution, which mixes a bit of investment management, accounting and risk management.
If that’s what you want to do then yes. A CFA’s market value is fantastic 👌
I've heard it looks good, but it's mainly used for niche parts of finance (such as Asset Management and Private Wealth Management), but it isn't a golden ticket in finance. I feel like CPA is applicable to any type of accounting function, but people in some finance functions, IB for instance, don't require the CFA.
Is your motivation just to get the CFA or switch roles? My cousin now works in an investment bank and before he was a big 4 auditor with a CPA. You can switch roles now and get the CFA later a long the way.
Which bank and location did he get the investment banking role at?
I plan on staying for at least another 1.5 years so I have that 3 year Big 4 experience. Figure if I start now, could exit with 3 years exp and level 2 passed
Put the time you would have dumped into studying into aggressive networking / interviewing instead, unless you’re actually planning to try to get into a portfolio management role
^100% agree. You need to be assessing the future value of the designation vs. networking with professionals. Since networking is how most people get their roles, I personally think that would be the better use of time.
Hey! My 2 cents here:
I was in your shoes about 2 years ago in Audit. I did CFA lvl 1 and CFA lvl2. No asset management firm cares if you have lvl1 lvl2 if you did not go to a ranked/target school but it did help me transfer to TAS within Big 4. Good gig if you go in with the mentality that you will be on busy season until you leave.
In TAS I did not have time to do anything other than work. I was too brain dead to study for lvl 3 and opted to study for the GMAT. Got a nice score and now I'm going to an Ivy League for my MBA with 2/3 of the CFA.
Advice: If you want out of Audit and want to try TAS, differentiate yourself by passing lvl 1 (relatively easy).
If you want investment research/asset management, you need CFA + MBA (top program)
If you want corporate finance, forget about CFA and study for the GMAT
PwC 2 I’m in TAS and my wife is in audit so I have a good sense of how they compare. She has more consistent predicable but perhaps longer grinds. I have shorter more intense sprints you can’t predict. Total annual utilization is actually pretty similar - unless you get stuck on a monster TAS protect and then it’s probably higher in TAS. What OP said about the lean teams is right. It’s usually senior/director or manager/associate under a partner. You have to be agile too it’s rarely the same thing twice.
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Get an mba from a top ten in finance this will open your network for sure or just go out and network and try to get a foot in an investment bank, perhaps then you can make a lateral move within, it’s going to be challenging to go from audit to investment banking with just a CFA. It could sell the concept of commitment to show you’re serious about the transition however there’s overlap between the two credentials (assuming you have the cpa) it doesn’t hurt to aggressively network for a few months and seeing where it takes you.
Yes