Hi student! After the long challenge of facing your intermediate exams and finally getting the relief factor in life, you definitely wouldn’t want to plunge into a new spiral of uncertainties and confusions. So, let’s start reading about where you’d prefer to do your 3 yearlong articleship to avoid any last-minute confusion and to take your well-deserved break.
Let’s start with square one. What is a “Big 4”? What is a “mid-size”?
Big 4 firms – the Big 4 is a nickname used to denote the four biggest professional services and accounting firms in the world - KPMG, EY, Deloitte, and PwC. Working for one of these firms is considered the absolute pinnacle of a career for accountancy and consultancy professionals.
Mid-size or small firms – in the interest of not getting too technical, let’s just say it refers to any firm which is not a Big 4 firm. Basically, it includes all the other firms except the Big 4 that provide auditing, tax, consulting, valuation, market research, assurance, and advisory services.
Now that we have a small understanding, let’s deep dive into our main agenda – what does it mean to work in these firms - the differences between Big4 and Mid-size firms.
1.Clientele
Big 4: Like the name Big 4 suggests, these companies service the big fishes in the market – the major companies which has a direct and significant impact on the economy as a whole. They are more likely to work on clients at the top of the market, on the largest domestic, multinational and international firms. If you work for a Big 4 firm, there it is guaranteed that you would work with the top companies and richest private individuals.
Mid-size: The practices of these firms are often smaller compared to the Big 4 firms. The clients would naturally be smaller but there are chances you might just end up working on a large client considering the firm comes at the top of the mid-tier category.
2.Specialisation vs. diversification of skills
Big 4: There is very limited scope for diversification in a Big 4 firm since these are divided into broader specialised wings/departments. You will be joining as a part of a particular business unit and shall be specialising within the limits. As far as articleship students are concerned, the Big 4 firms offer specialisation in the field of audit and tax.
Mid-size: The scenario is much different in a mid-size or small firm due to the vast range of work each firm takes up. Your work can be as simple as filing forms to as complicated as full-fledged audit of companies. One major point to note here is the amount of ground work or field work involved. This particularly acts as a value addition in case you have plans to start your own practicing firm in the future.
3.Compensation
Big 4: Nobody can deny that money plays a significant role while working. Of course, this can vary from person to person depending upon their priorities but for now, let’s just speak for the wider audience and say money is a very significant deciding factor. If so, you would want to consider Big 4 firms that offer between 10,000 to 25,000 per month over midsize firms which can offer upto a maximum of 8,000 per month. You can certainly expect to get a market-leading amount of stipend. (This is just an approximate figure, the compensation can vary according to the place of work and yearly increments).
Midsize: The compensation is nearly 50% less when compared to a Big 4 firm.
4.Workload
Big 4: The higher compensation mentioned above can also be translated into longer work hours and more intense workload. The time, energy and effort demanded by Big 4 clients can often be very taxing and stressful.
Midsize: Even though the compensation is less. the work is relatively less stressful than if you worked in a Big 4. After all, money can’t buy you all the happiness!
5.Work environment
Big 4: Even though the Big 4 are technically Limited Liability Partnerships, they are much closer to a corporate than any of the midsize firms. They have established processes and systems in place to manage and direct the crowd. There is more consistency in work and better guidelines and policies for the employees.
Midsize: These firms are relatively more casual without stringent systems in place. This also gives more space for changes and inculcates an environment of innovations.
6.Networking opportunities
Big 4: Being in a corporate setting, the Big 4 firms definitely offer a huge space and opportunity for professional networking. Making connections can definitely serve to be useful in your professional career and there’s no better place to do it than in a corporate with diverse individuals. The firms also give you opportunities to connect with individuals at a national as well as international level.
Mid-size: These firms often work with limited number of staff which reduces the scope of meeting new people throughout 3 years of articleship.
7.Mobility
Big 4: There will be higher scope for mobility if you work in a Big4 firm considering they have a nation-wide and international presence. This would especially benefit you post clearing your CA final exams since it’ll be easier for you to navigate your way through the firm for opportunities in different locations.
Mid-size: These firms are often confined to one or two prime locations and serve only the client base present in the location. So, it doesn’t offer a lot of mobility as compared to a Big 4.
After weighing all the points mentioned above, we hope you got a fair perspective into your future. It is important to have your long-term goal in mind while finally making a decision – whether your intent is to climb up the Big 4 corporate ladder to the position of a Partner or whether you want to be the boss of your own mid-size firm someday.
Have more questions? Drop us a query and we’ll get back to you with answers!