What are the unofficial lines of service rankings at the Big 4 in terms of exit opps.

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1. FDD
2. Audit
3. Accounting Advisory
4. Tax
5. Risk Assurance
5a. IT Audit

Left out consulting/strategy since I don't really have knowledge on those. But they're probably at the top if you're at Papa D, Strategy&, EY-P...? Obviously this is subjective so I'm sure people will disagree.

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AAS is better than audit

I would say top to bottom, best to worst exit ops:

Corp finance / mid-market big 4 IB groups
Strategy & / EY-P / D-consulting etc
FDD / Transactions
Accounting advisory
Other deal advisory groups
Audit
Tax
Risk Assurance/IT

Have worked in both audit and deals, so just my 2 cents

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Why is IT audit so terrible? Seems like the only option if you want to move towards technology work if you started in accounting?

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If you want to get into Cyber get a masters degree in Cyber..it really isn’t that difficult. Why do accounting grads always want to get into cyber security with no degrees. Even if you do get into cyber security as a CPA you will only be doing Risk assessments which is limited to the policy side of cyber security. Geez people really need to do research. Another alternative is swirling for the CISa A and CISSP which are both doable. Finding a CISSP at PwC might be tough though.

It’s not even a position. IT audit legit a doesn’t even do anything. At least in core your work matters. In IT audit..if you fail something core gets upset and says find us a compensating control.

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What are you saying! Do not encourage people to join risk advisory or assurance. It is a deadend in the beginning of your career. I’m hoping it is completely outsourced in a few years. At PwC they are moving towards that..

Very subjective and highly varied based on practice. Are we talking about average salary as a measure?

Ok to clarify let’s base upon the following criteria. Instead of ranking put the best group for the following :

Impact- which group or groups at the Big 4 actually do meaningful work that impacts society. Which group or groups have the highest satisfaction rate amongst employees with lowest turnover.

Monetarily - groups at Big 4 that set you up with the most lucrative exit opps.

Technology- which groups position you the to be apart of larger societal push towards tech.

Easiest- Easiest group to get into at Big 4 with biggest pay off.

Some of these things are probably mutually exclusive.

Money: Agree with others the best pay and “best” opportunities from the perspective of pay are the premium strategy consulting roles like Strategy& or EY-P; however, these practices are generally fed by T14 MBAs or similarly credentialed people. Deals focused specialists like TAS or FDD behind this. Both these require very specific training and are not known for good quality of life. You definitely have the most velocity in terms of pay even if you’re just average.

Tech- probably advisory. There are lots of opportunities to make a big impact with a little knowledge in tax or audit though.

Easiest- probably audit.

1. Strat consulting (D S&O, Strategy&, etc.)
2. Corp fin (mm ib)
3. TAS/Deals groups - FDD, Valuations, Restructuring
4. Other misc. advisory groups - AAS, infra, D&A, cyber, tech

Gap

5. Audit
6. Tax
7. IT Audit/risk assurance
8. Delivery centers/any outsourcing work

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