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AlixPartners I am expecting an offer for VP in financial crime/compliance and risk. I need to give them my compensation expectation. Currently working in Bank with 7+ YOE including 6 yrs in Big4 non-MBA (Masters in Finance). What is the total comp (base+bonus) that I can ask for? What is the general sign on bonus? Thanks in advance
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Billable hours are just hours spent on work that actually gets billed to clients (as opposed to you doing admin, training, surfing the internet and twiddling your thumbs, or going to happy hours and team lunches) and makes the firm money. Generally speaking it’s used as a performance metric to show how productive you are and how much revenue your work is generating for the firm. It doesn’t really impact pay other than maybe impacting your performance reviews, which might affect raises/promotions.
However, there are some firms, such as Alvarez & Marsal, that directly tie your compensation to billable hours in what is effectively a revenue sharing plan where you get a % of every dollar you bill to a client on top of your salary
Billable hours are more of a metric for consulting firms to indicate how well you’re being utilized since being billable means you’re making the firm money. They will usually have a goal for you to reach per year which can factor into your year-end performance reviews. In my experience with consulting, I’ve never seen it directly affect your paychecks if for example you went below your expected billable hour goal for that pay period.
I’ll also add that you will also have non-billable time each day such as time entry or general admin. My supervisors say that you’re usually working more than your expected billable hours per week.
My charge hour goal is 1400 for the year. I may or may not hit it just depending on the workload. I’m in a smaller group, so the expectations are different. I didn’t hit my goal last year, but all of my work was done and done well so ended up being promoted and my salary is up 36% this year over last.
I’ll also add that I’m at an account firm with a small FVLS group vs a strict consulting or boutique firm.
Having worked at a boutique firm before, I'd say it really depends on the management. The one I worked at was less transparent and not as reasonable with its expectations as compared to a larger firm.
I'd recommend you reach out to current or former employees of wherever you're interested, and ask for their personal experience. Heck, even ask the interviewer if you can reach out to some staff - their response is a good gauge of the actual culture there.
What do you do now ? Are you a consultant?