Q: Big4 - Yearly salary increment

Originally Posted by Unregistered

It’s not unheard of - this is called phantom work.

Aside from vouching, anything that you wrote you did but didn’t really do is considered phantom work.

It’s taken very seriously and is grounds for termination if caught.

Have you seen your colleagues done phantom work before?

How they get caught? Reported by the client?

Do you need to put initial on the invoices you vouch?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Have you seen your colleagues done phantom work before?

How they get caught? Reported by the client?

Do you need to put initial on the invoices you vouch?

I’ve heard stories - but not know anyone personally who got caught.

It’s more of 杀一儆百 so nobody will dare to do it.

A reviewer asked for the original copies and it turned out to be completely different from what was documented.

But I never understood why people would do it. The effort to “imagine” the details on the invoice exceeds the effort of standing up and physically looking for it.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I’ve heard stories - but not know anyone personally who got caught.

It’s more of 杀一儆百 so nobody will dare to do it.

A reviewer asked for the original copies and it turned out to be completely different from what was documented.

But I never understood why people would do it. The effort to “imagine” the details on the invoice exceeds the effort of standing up and physically looking for it.

I think it may be challenging to document the delivery order (DO) number without physically seeing it.

Typically, preparer need to physically observe the DO number to document it accurately.

However, if the client's system includes the DO number in their records, preparer can retrieve the necessary data, such as sales invoice number, date, and DO number, without the need for physical vouching.

In such cases, the preparer conveniently relies on the client's system to extract the relevant information, conveniently eliminating the need for physical vouching work.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I’ve heard stories - but not know anyone personally who got caught.

It’s more of 杀一儆百 so nobody will dare to do it.

A reviewer asked for the original copies and it turned out to be completely different from what was documented.

But I never understood why people would do it. The effort to “imagine” the details on the invoice exceeds the effort of standing up and physically looking for it.

You come across reviewer ask for original copies for the samples selected?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Out and its all good.
U stay there becos u cant get what u want.
So enjoy ur 14hrs 7 days work life.
Salary will surely dump up.
Make so sense if you get new job without increment.
Most importantly is better hours. Can now wfh, play my ps5 go do my run.. weekend go have early breakfast with family, go lepak..
working hours more fix.
u can see how much other things u can do or achieve. Rather then only know how to audit for life, which is no value and waste of time.

Own life own choice.

What role is this? I thought accountants in SG complain no WLB?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

What role is this? I thought accountants in SG complain no WLB?

Share similar thoughts with previous person, just left a couple months ago. I am appalled by the much slower pace in commerical. None of my colleagues even brings the laptop home, but as i am still nursing my PTSD from my many years in audit, i still lug it back home but never to open it after 6.30pm or on the weekend. Progression seems to be competitive as well when looking at my peers, starting to doubt my sanity on what made me stay so long in the first place.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

What role is this? I thought accountants in SG complain no WLB?

Technical accounting. They complaint bcos too many manual work issit. Lol

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Just a suggestion, speak to those who jump out instead of those who stayed behind.

Why do you need to speak to them? If big4 was all that great, many people would be begging to come back and its not hard to come back either, there are many openings for hell but very little people signing up for it. I think it is can be quite easily concluded that all things being considered (salary, WLB, benefits) most people who left big4 are much more content outside.

Reality is big4 is just a really good stepping stone (although this benefit is disintegrating quite rapidly looking at the quality of intakes nowadays). to those who want to make partner sure by all means stay, to those who continually tell yourself that big4 is a great place for a career, you need some serious help

Why in Big4, the audit managers require the young blood audit associate in 20s to vouch as fast as possible?

I heard 1 guy from NTU can actually vouched 1,000 invoice sample in just 1 hour.

Is it true? How he done that?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Why do you need to speak to them? If big4 was all that great, many people would be begging to come back and its not hard to come back either, there are many openings for hell but very little people signing up for it. I think it is can be quite easily concluded that all things being considered (salary, WLB, benefits) most people who left big4 are much more content outside.

Reality is big4 is just a really good stepping stone (although this benefit is disintegrating quite rapidly looking at the quality of intakes nowadays). to those who want to make partner sure by all means stay, to those who continually tell yourself that big4 is a great place for a career, you need some serious help

Correct. B4 used to be high class. Now is last choice.