Serious question. Why is there so much emphasis on big 4 experience? I started off in industry, recently joined advisory at a big 4 - primarily because during my job search recruiters and job listing all mentioned big 4 experience preferred. Please explain why big 4 experience matters so much.

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Big4 accounting jobs tend to be tougher to land out of school vs MM (still a cakewalk compared to IB/Consulting), work on the largest and most complex accounting projects, and invest the most into formal trainings for personal development. Because of all this they’re perceived as the best/brightest in the accounting industry, which I don’t agree with but perception is reality

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I think you’re right about the perception.

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Big 4 work on the largest companies / deals. Those large companies want someone who already have experience working on similar tasks they’ve already seen. Nothing wrong with MM but you’ll just see different issues

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Middle market is better. You get some big, medium, small clients. More diverse experience and easier move to a high industry position at a middle market company which is where all the best opportunities are in terms of pay and wlb.

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I agree MM is the best overall work experience but it has to be with a quality firm that doesn’t cut corners. Working on MM companies you get to see the whole TB not just one section and you typically prepare FS. They usually need assistance with technical accounting issues too.

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I think it’s more of a filtering system. Big 4 tends to get the first pick of accounting students aka the majority of the best at the university (majority, not all the time, some of the top students in my class ended up going directly to industry instead of big 4 first). Usually they already have the top accounting students and corporations want to hire smart and hardworking individuals. Big4 checks off a lot of those boxes (not saying that’s always the case, I’ve worked with some not so bright people in big4 before, but just what I think the general consensus is)

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Big 4 got the branding and will take you anywhere you want. I worked in industry for 3 years before coming to the Big 4 and I’ve passed my income in industry quickly and learned way more

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Same! I now make 5x more than my first base salary in industry

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Have you not noticed that the Big 4 work with all of the biggest companies? I'm sure that experience helps.

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Having worked at firms of all sizes, development and experience at B4 is superior. Because of the sheer size of these places, there are just more learning opportunities and SMEs to train with.

In any given local niche there may be a boutique that does better, but if we're talking about average outcomes nationwide, nothing compares to the B4.

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