TRUTH ABOUT THE BIG 4 | Pros & Cons | Mehar Sindhu Batra

one of my students recently told me that they got through a big four company thanks to my work and my videos but is that good or bad is working at a big four worth it as someone who has personally worked at the bigfo for six whole years of my career I'm definitely here to share the pros and cons with you so keep watching this video to learn more [Music] hi my friends my name is Mentor helping you accelerate your career today's video is going to be all about the big four companies what they are why do people want to work there what are the pros and cons of working there and what are the career options if not at a big four so without wasting any more time let's jump right into it first and foremost what exactly is a big four company the big four is a term that is used to refer to the four largest Professional Services firms in the world you may have heard about them they are Deloitte ey or Ernst young PWC and KPMG these four firms individually provide a lot of services such as taxation accounting auditing consulting or what they call it Financial advisory Services they are considered to be the most prestigious and sought after firms in the accounting and advisories industry because they have strong relationships with large corporations governments around the world they do big big projects for all these big companies so why do people want to work there and I've shared my personal story with you that I had a big dream of working with KPMG that you can check out through the video about so because the big four are so well known everybody wants to be a part of these organizations everybody who has that aspiration of being a professional in the corporate world aspires and is motivated to be a part of one of the big four one day whether you're from a big town or a small town because these are firms with high quality projects they are the trusted advisor for organizations around the world they have earned their reputation through the years of service they provided in different fields they have become a brand a benchmark in the industry they are considered the go-to source of expertise by helping their clients succeed they have definitely paved away for the accounting and advisory Services industry they have become leaders of their industry and that's what my aspiration was and my fellow colleagues had the same aspiration the same motivation when they had newly joined the firms as a CA student specially it's a dream come true to be able to work at one of the big four but it all comes with a pinch of salt and that's what I'm going to talk to you about now pros and cons of being a part of these big four corporations personally I talk about the pros because there are so so many the biggest Pro is that all these firms have a very excellent reputation like I said they're like a brand so if you have a brand on your CV it suddenly makes a difference they do help you get a stamp of approval and get noticed by other potential recruiters for example when I move from New Delhi to London because I had already worked at KPMG for five years that was a strong Benchmark For My Future Organization they probably thought that she knows the basics of Consulting because she's already done the grunt work at the big four so it was sort of like having an extra qualification and because it's a multinational corporation it's recognized around the world this reputation is the same around the world the second Pro is definitely that you're able to work on some of the best project now when you know an organization has excellent reputation the best clients would want to work with them so I learned how to work with these stakeholders of these large multilateral corporations from different different Industries dealing with these stakeholders communicating with them making sure our reports and our deliverables were of high quality quality you're working in the best of the best so you're working with the best of the best too and that's the third Pro you're able to build a strong Network these organizations are so large 10 000 employees in each country that you're not only able to build a connection with the colleagues that you're working with because your teams also keep changing but also with your clients of these large corporations now clients could be people from different levels of the organizations and no matter where you go in your career you will always have those clients that you worked with those stakeholders those external stakeholders so it is definitely a highly influential network of professionals within the firm and outside the firm as an alumni you will always have access if you do decide to leave the big four in the future you still would have access to this large pool of people even as an alumni the next Pro is definitely that there are a lot of opportunities for growth and there is immense learning like I said everything is of top quality there are so many trainings that they provide to you to learn these skills very quickly just put into these difficult situations you're supposed to hustle because that is what the big four is about it is the hustle culture so you're working hard you're developing a strong work ethic you're learning how to produce these top quality deliverables and when you have these skills it helps you to advance very quickly within the firm and even after you leave because the skills are transferable skills that you will carry on with you no matter what you do later in your career let's talk about the salaries are they in the pros or in the cons now that depends departmental Department in the initial years of your career in the big four the pay isn't as much so it's very very competitive but as you grow within the organization you prove your commitment then your salary does become a hefty amount so at later stages you may get a high package and a lot of other benefits that other employers may not be able to offer you if you're finding this video useful please please hit the Subscribe button and hit the notification Bell because it really helps me grow also don't forget to follow me on my Instagram page MSB Vision now let's talk about some of the cons that I have discussed in my previous videos where I talked about why I quit the big four that you can check out right here but yes the first and foremost is high workload the big four have high standards that they've set for themselves and for their clients and they want to reach those high standards with every deliverable with every project now because of that it is intense they want you to perform well the workload is high because deadlines are tight there is a lot of pressure always to meet these deadlines and that's why you may be working long hours or even on weekends depending upon which country you're working in and that's the second call there is a high stress environment it always feels like the end of the world it's so competitive these firms are also competing with each other to win these clients so there's a lot of stress that you will be dealing with if you are a part of the big four because if you're working with the best you will need to be the best and that's why the culture in some of these organizations sometimes can become very toxic I remember it was a struggle even applying for a leave a holiday to take well in advance at these firms but yes that depends which country you belong to so when I was working in India things were a little bit more toxic but things here in the UK are a little bit better than India and in other countries of Europe it's even more relaxed that brings me to the next con which is less creativity now this is the one that I suffered from the most because I was a very creative person and I wasn't getting that creative Outlet in these firms there are set procedures and set systems and you can't do anything that is too different or extraordinary from the set procedures and systems so there is very limited room for creativity the focus is just on those already set best procedures so even if you're trying to be Innovative with something it can take a long time and it can be very bureaucratic if you are somebody who's a little bit more creative you like to thrive in challenging environments but you also want to express your creativity then maybe these files will not be the right fit for you now let's talk about the last thing which is does your career have any hope if not at a big four are there other career options for you yes of course you can if you're not planning to be a part of the big four there are still many other smaller accounting firms that you can be a part of that specialize in accounting during auditing and tax lot of local Indian firms as well this can be the perfect option for those young professionals who want some more freedom of their time and more space to be creative the big four does give you a good brand value in the early years of your career but it doesn't mean you need to stick around there forever so if you feel like you've learned enough and you can't handle the toxicity or the workload anymore you can always make a switch but yes if it's your dream to work at the big Fort just like how it was my dream then you must go and give it a try there's no harm in trying some of my friends who work at the big four are extremely happy there some of them who were not happy left and went on to do other great things but the brand of the big four always stays with them on their CV one final tip I would give you is that please if you're feeling low demotivated uninspired surrounded with toxicity at one of the big fours please don't continue working there just for the sake of it that's my one last advice I'll be back soon with another video but until then keep hustling hard towards your goals I hope to see you soon bye [Music] thank you

Channel: Mehar Sindhu Batra

Views: 27,870

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Id: vAjdvipzeUs

Length: 8min 32sec (512 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 16 2023