Oh sure, these accounting firms have different names, leaders, team colors and one has a giant amusement park disguised as a training facility but judging by the feedback collected by Vault and parsed through by eFinancialCareers, it's hard to tell the difference.
Observe the pros:
- PwC: "most prestigious," "very smart people," "frequent and thorough training."
- EY: “opportunities to grow and learn daily,” “top dog,” "incredible exposure to well known clients," "challenging and enjoyable work."
- Deloitte: "prestige," "professional growth," and people are "top-notch, highly talented, very intelligent."
- KPMG: "pays [employees] well," "reputable," people are "intelligent, talented, friendly, down-to-earth coworkers," also, "good 'training and career advancement opportunties.' "
And now the cons:
- PwC: "worked 'like crazy'," "arrogant and snobby," "doesn’t pay as well as competitors."
- EY: "stuffy and harsh," "arrogant and stuck up," “old and stagnant” and "working there involves long and unpredictable hours."
- Deloitte: "low base salaries, lack of work/life balance, regulatory pressure and stuffiness in general."
- KPMG: "long working hours between January and April, with 'unpredictable schedules,' " and "compensation is not as great as it might be."
Honestly, claiming that one of these firms is better than the other because of "prestige" or "the people" you're insulting the intelligence of the entire accounting profession.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it — explain why any of these firms is truly different from the others, in 140 characters or less, and you'll be king or queen for the day. Good luck.