Why It May Be Time for You to Leave the Big Four

You’re an excellent accountant. You have some experience, and you have landed a role at one of the biggest companies in the industry – Ernst & Young, Deloitte, KPMG, or PwC. After some time there, you’re wondering if it may be time for a change.

There are many reasons you may be weighing your options, and all of them are valid. From upward mobility to work/life balance, there are just some things that working in the “Big Four” simply does not deliver.

Here are a few reasons you may want to consider leaving the Big Four.

You’re Tired of Working Late

The Big Four are notorious for their late nights. When it comes to work-life balance, they typically score low on employee satisfaction surveys. This is because their hours are long, and they tend to demand a lot. While a good job is a challenging one, there is a limit. One employee even alleged that if you’re talented, these companies will give you more responsibility without additional pay or a promotion.

Work-life balance is more than just a hot topic – it has an impact on your health. Stress from work can lead to heart problems down the line, in addition to the toll it takes on your mental wellbeing. So, it’s important to be able to leave the office at a reasonable time after a hard day’s work.

If you’re finding that you’re spending too much time at the office and that you’re not being properly rewarded for it, it may be time to reevaluate your options.

Opportunities are Scarce

If you’ve found that you’re having trouble making a career move within the Big Four, you’re not alone. According to one of our expert consultants who places candidates in this industry every day, people who have Manager or Senior Manager titles start to price themselves out of the market.

He says that in his experience, companies outside of the Big Four tend not to hire people with Manager titles from within the industry because they lack certain experience. While they have impressive audit experience, they may not have the operational accounting skills these organizations are seeking.

For this reason, we believe that the best time for Big Four accountants to move outside of the industry is when they achieve a Senior job title and have spent two to four busy seasons in the role. It’s oftentimes much easier to make a move from the Big Four to Senior Accountant/Senior Analyst or a Managerial role at another business.

You Crave a Different Atmosphere

Big Four firms look fantastic on your resume. There’s no denying that. But from a daily standpoint, they may not be giving you the company culture you want.

Once you’re looking to make a transition, you can take the impressive experience that you’ve gained and use it to land a job in one of the most interesting industries out there – media.

Media companies produce the exciting, relevant content that everyone talks about -- from television networks, to streaming services, to websites of all kinds. The industry is dynamic and fun, with a corporate culture to match.

Most media companies put a focus on work-life balance. They often have very generous benefits packages, with plenty of vacation and sick time included. This is not exclusive to media, but the industry was an early adopter of this mindset.

So if you’re dissatisfied with your current accounting position and want to explore some other options, you can reach out to one of our expert recruitment consultants today. You can also browse our job listings, and a consultant will reach out to you once you choose to apply.