AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
There seems to be a lot of focus on the Big 4 round here, and OK, sure, they're respectable companies and a solid start to your career.

But I'm wondering why some careers in industry, where you can get the same qualification are not also covered on this forum? Personally, I think this route could be far better.

I'm mainly talking about the graduate schemes in the Finance sector offered by banks. Both Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group offer schemes that will allow you to complete the ACA. In addition to that, you'll gain three years of banking experience (yes, I know it's not investment banking), and banking seems to be a common move for ACA's who have qualified from the Big 4. Why not just start in a bank right away, if that is your intention?

Other benefits are...

- The banks pay much, much better (Barclays start on £36k+£8k joining bonus, Lloyds are less, starting on £28k+£3k joining bonus, but both of these packages are far better than you'd find at the Big 4).

- The work is more interesting. I don't know about you, but I don't much fancy the idea of doing audit for 3 years. I'd rather actually be doing budgeting, forecasting, project finance, and making actual decisions, rather than reporting on events that have already taken place.

- If you wished to go into investment banking afterwards, I'd imagine 3 years working at a bank, and the networking opportunities that could bring, would make it far easier than trying to break in from the Big 4.

I understand that having Deloitte or KPMG on your resume looks good, but having started your career at a large bank doesn't exactly look too shabby either (and in some cases, I'd even say the brand name was better from a bank- the difference in 'prestige' between the likes of Barclays/HSBC/Lloyds and KPMG/Deloitte isn't that clear cut IMO).

So why aren't retail banks discussed more on this forum? There's quite a few potential advantages, both in terms of the work you'll be doing, and the pay you'll be getting. You'll get the same qualification too. Yes, you won't have experience auditing a large number of clients, but audit sounds dull anyway, and as plenty plan to leave for banking after qualification, why not start there straight away?

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