Is it possible to work in a big 4 company for me?

nick_it · 13-01-2022 10:23pm #1

Hi, I'm new to the forum, hope I'm not doing anything wrong!

I'm an italian guy and I'm about to finish my master's degree in Business Administration and Accountability, here in Italy. I alway loved the idea to start my career trying to get into a big 4, I'd like to work in the audit field. I just found out that big 4 in UK or Ireland launch summer internships for audit and assurance and I noticed that this path includes the ACA qualification, I'm just wondering if it is mandatory to have an ACA qualification to work in this firms in UK or Ireland

And last but not least, do you think I have less chances to get in theese internships since I'm from Italy?

13-01-2022 11:17pm

Being from Italy won't hurt your chances; however, they want interns that are likely to come back to work for them long-term, so it might harm your chances if you're only staying in Ireland short-term. You'll also need a good standard of written and spoken English.

I also think you might be confusing the summer internships with the graduate programs. The internships run during the summer but don't involve any qualifications. The point of the internships is (a) to promote the firm and (b) to act as advance preparation for their graduate programs. So most participants join during the summer before their last year of college. They may then get an employment offer for a graduate program for the next year, after they've completed their degree.

The graduate program is intended for people who have finished their college degree. It runs for 3-4 years and for this you do need to participate in a qualification (or already be qualified). This is primarily the ACA but there are some teams in some firms that will provide ACCA or other similar qualifications. The typical external audit teams are the least flexible on this, but you could enquire about which teams accept other programs.

nick_it · 14-01-2022 1:06am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118470983#Comment_118470983

Thank you for the answer! You're right, I probably confused the programmes. So with my master's degree I should try to apply for a graduate programme, now the natural question is: is it easy pass the interview? (if you have any personal experience or suggestion that you want to share it would be really appreciated 😆)

sorry for my english, still working on that!

14-01-2022 1:12am

Yes you would be aiming for a graduate program. They are generally competitive but there should be plenty of advice online about preparing.

Can't answer about the UK though - would you need a visa now?

nick_it · 14-01-2022 1:14am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118471632#Comment_118471632

Actually I was thinking more about Ireland. as italian citizen I shouldn't need something like that to work in Ireland.

Jim2007 · 14-01-2022 9:02am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118471643#Comment_118471643

It is important to realise that as a result of BREXIT, the obligation to recognise the UK professional accounting qualifications in the EU is gone. So if you wish to return to Italy at a later stage and enter public practice there, the Irish qualification would be of more benefit to you.

The biggest difference you will find in studying accounting in Ireland versus Italy is that Ireland has common law, while Italy has civil law, so some of the underlying principles are different, but it should not be too much of a challenge.

nick_it · 14-01-2022 12:37pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118472084#Comment_118472084

Is it so hard (as in the US) to get in a graduate programme in Ireland's big four companies?

Jim2007 · 14-01-2022 1:15pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118473233#Comment_118473233

It's 30 years ago since I was involved in big 4 recruiting, but I would expect so and like wise in most countries. It is to be expected that there will be plenty of top accounting students in most countries seek to get on such programs.

Jim2007 · 22-03-2022 8:13pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118820294#Comment_118820294

No recruiters are not ignorant, they are just as intelligent as you are and possible with better people skills than you.

22-03-2022 10:40pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118820539#Comment_118820539

You're taking stabs in the dark here to try to come up with negatives. Big4 culture has it's issues but an aversion to international staff is definitely not one of them. When I was in Big4 the majority of my team above trainee level were non-Irish.

As for understanding non-Irish universities, that's not something they need to know off the top of their heads - it's what university rankings and university websites are for. It's a simple piece of research.

Jim2007 · 23-03-2022 1:02am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118820539#Comment_118820539

I know you were not taking a stab at me, but classifying people you don’t know as ignorant is just nonsense, especially since you clearly don’t know what you are talking about.

it might have escaped your notice, but Ireland is part of the EU labor market and for that market to function properly recognition of education and professional qualifications is required. The Bologna system is part of that as is the various professional equivalency tests etc. Now as we are talking about big 4 recruiters, they will have access to their firms documentation on this and will even be able to pick up the phone and talk to colleagues in Italy as well. And might even arrange for him to be interviewed in Italy first.

They were able to do that 30+ years ago when I was considering moving from a big 4 in Dublin to a different big 4 in Zurich and I even had dinner with two of their Dublin partners one evening. I doubt their reach and capability has not diminished over the years.

Is it possible to work in a big 4 company for me?

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