By Nathaniel Luce
Public Accounting doesn’t have the most exciting or glamorous reputation, but there’s a lot more to the field than it gets credit for. At a Big Four firm (Deloitte, EY, KPMG, PwC), public accounting offers an inside look at every industry, a stimulating, team-based environment, and intellectual challenges that require creativity and penchant for customer service. It also offers its practitioners impressive career opportunities within and outside of the Big Four.
The guests:
Vanderbilt Master of Accountancy (MAcc) alumnae Mary Hsu (MAcc’09), a VP at Goldman Sachs who spent 8 years at PwC, and Margaret Ross (MAcc’14), National Office – Economic and Valuation Services at KPMG.
Some key takeaways:
At the Big Four, you’re working with the best of the best… “That’s why I love working for a Big Four firm…you have so many resources, so many experts,” Ross explained. “No matter what the problem is, there’s a team at KPMG that can help the client.”
…and given the support to be your best. “There is such a culture of mentorship, sponsorship, and development,” Hsu recalled about her time at PwC. “It can be difficult when you’re younger to reach out to senior leaders and build those relationships, but the Big Four gives you so many opportunities to connect to those people.”
Accounting is a team sport. “Accounting has the perception of being very rules-based and rigid, but you have to work with clients, teams, and internal guidance, to get the best outcome for everyone,” Hsu said.
Changing your job description doesn’t require changing companies in the Big Four. “If I ever got tired of valuation,” Ross said, “I could work on our transaction advisory team or our deals team. You can also do an international or national rotation. There’s lots of ways to broaden your experience without leaving the firm.” Hsu took advantage of international rotations during her time at PwC, working in Singapore and Switzerland.
Big Four experience = career accelerator. “A lot of people in senior positions at many firms come from public accounting,” Hsu explains. After earning her bachelor’s degree and entering the job market, she noticed a common theme amongst her more senior co-workers. “People coming into the office next to the corner office were much younger than I expected,” she recalled, “and they didn’t work their way up through the organization. They were coming from the Big Four.”
The Vanderbilt MAcc Advantage. “I think that the Vandy MAcc is one of the big factors to my success,” Ross said. “I came into KPMG with really good accounting knowledge and a CPA, which made me stand out.” She also credits the communications course with giving her another important advantage. “For valuation people in the field, having that public speaking experience gives you a professionalism that makes you respected.”
Hsu agrees: “The MAcc program does a great job of polishing you and setting up you to be a really well-prepared professional. It made me super prepared to have my A game on all the time.”
Hsu and Ross both spoke highly of the Vanderbilt network. “Vanderbilt has the most supportive alumni,” Ross said. “Owen people love to support other Owen graduates.” Hsu still connects with classmates in New York to celebrate personal and career milestones.
Check out the full podcast here, or on iTunes, Overcast, and Stitcher.
