Big four partnerships ‘not appealing’ for juniors
Low pay and long hours have put big four accountants off the once-prized career goal of making partner, despite the outsized financial rewards on offer at the top, according to a recruiter.
The relatively higher pay and better work-life balance in commercial accounting and finance roles have made the big four partner track less appealing, said Christine Foggiato, a recruiter who specialises in sourcing and placing accountants and auditors into firms.
Recruiter Christine Foggiato: “The newer generation coming through just don’t see the appeal of working that hard to become a partner.” Dan Peled
“It’s hard to find people who have the career goal of becoming a big four partner now,” Ms Foggiato said.
“I think people know just how many hoops you have to go through to get to partner. The newer generation coming through also just don’t see the appeal of working that hard to become a partner.
“They now typically want a few years of experience from the big four firms so they [can] then secure a role with a better work-life balance and higher pay in commercial accounting and finance.”
She said there was still strong interest in working for the big four, “but the majority of these candidates are only hoping to do it in the short to medium term”.
“The big four name on their resume will be beneficial if they wish to make the move into commercial accounting in the future.”
Audit graduates at the big four generally make about $65,000 when they begin and will take home more than $110,000 once they make manager, a process that usually takes at least four years.
The relatively lower pay rates, and onerous working conditions, have been cited as reasons behind the long-term shortage of auditors in Australia.
In contrast, the average pay of
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