Q: Big4 - Yearly salary increment

[QUOTE=Unregistered;63592]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

friendly warning, a 3 lettered big4 consulting may be a shithole right now, of course depends on which consulting dept you are going to.

salary progression:
a1 3500 with no bonus
a2 3500
sa1 4000
sa2 4500
am 5100
m1 5x00

as shown, high starting salary is just to entice you, without a bonus your annual salary is actually behind other consulting peers.

Does this apply for corporate finance (M&A) too?

For example, for those that lateral hired from IB to M&A in big 4 (e.g. for a better lifestyle), how would their compensation level be decided?

[QUOTE=Unregistered;63592]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

friendly warning, a 3 lettered big4 consulting may be a shithole right now, of course depends on which consulting dept you are going to.

salary progression:
a1 3500 with no bonus
a2 3500
sa1 4000
sa2 4500
am 5100
m1 5x00

as shown, high starting salary is just to entice you, without a bonus your annual salary is actually behind other consulting peers.

My friend just got into tax consulting side at PWC, only offered 3k as associate, where got 3.5k as indicated? Or only selected special consulting & advisory then got 3.5k?

[QUOTE=Unregistered;63612]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

My friend just got into tax consulting side at PWC, only offered 3k as associate, where got 3.5k as indicated? Or only selected special consulting & advisory then got 3.5k?

thats cos tax consulting is not consulting, it is still under the tax dept. standard 3 depts: assurance, advisory, tax. the salary scale above is for advisory dept. in advisory dept there is also a consulting section, such as management consulting, IT consulting.

3k for associate is already a pay rise from previous years, not bad. used to be 2.7k entry.

[QUOTE=Unregistered;63594]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Interesting, thanks for your insight. Just as a gauge, are you working at one of the big 4 consulting divisions? And, does the salary progression mean no salary increment from A1 to A2 but A2 but rather an included bonus?

they increased starting pay of A1 to make it more attractive, but removed your bonus. if you do the calculations it is still more worth it. only when you are A2 then you will get a bonus at the end of the fy.

old salary scheme
2.7k x (12 + 2) = 37.8k (assume 2 mths bonus)

current salary scheme
3.5k x 12 = 42k

Sorry but I'm not getting the logic here, hope experienced bros can help clarify. So meaning on the first year joining PWC is just 3k x 12 with nothing else? No bonus no aws?

I mean I'm a bit shocked that a Big 4 can offer such lousy terms that is even worse than SME starting pay. AFAIK even a SIM grad joining a small local firm can get 2.5k x 12 + aws + 1.5-2mths variable which actually end up higher than PWC annual.

I know the big 4 emphasize how their increment better, after few years better on the cv to look for other jobs etc. But honestly very shock that it can be so pathetic low at the start. If it's really that bad then I can understand now why so many of uni coursemate majoring in Finance are so desperate to join the banking side even if as back office admin support.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Sorry but I'm not getting the logic here, hope experienced bros can help clarify. So meaning on the first year joining PWC is just 3k x 12 with nothing else? No bonus no aws?

I mean I'm a bit shocked that a Big 4 can offer such lousy terms that is even worse than SME starting pay. AFAIK even a SIM grad joining a small local firm can get 2.5k x 12 + aws + 1.5-2mths variable which actually end up higher than PWC annual.

I know the big 4 emphasize how their increment better, after few years better on the cv to look for other jobs etc. But honestly very shock that it can be so pathetic low at the start. If it's really that bad then I can understand now why so many of uni coursemate majoring in Finance are so desperate to join the banking side even if as back office admin support.

The big4 treat the mass hiring of low level staff as dispensible, so they never bother to pay high.

Even the supposed "high" and "fast" pay and career promotion isn't that great either. A typical big 4 associate get his manager after 5 year paid around 5k and maybe 1.5-2mths bonus, no aws. That's like 65-70k annual after 5 years, doesn't sound impressive to me either.

A FCH guy with NS fresh grad can join civil service at 4k + merit component + performance bonus easily works out to 16 months which is almost the same as 5 year exp big4 annually.

hi all, quick question

I will be graduating this year and i have signed on with KPMG as i think i have chance for 1st honours, thus the increase pay. So if i really manage to get 1st class, to get the increased pay, do i just collaborate with KPMG's HR? or does the additional salary not apply if i signed on (there is no mention of wage increasing if you sign on with KPMG on the contract).

thanks in advance

Originally Posted by Unregistered

hi all, quick question

I will be graduating this year and i have signed on with KPMG as i think i have chance for 1st honours, thus the increase pay. So if i really manage to get 1st class, to get the increased pay, do i just collaborate with KPMG's HR? or does the additional salary not apply if i signed on (there is no mention of wage increasing if you sign on with KPMG on the contract).

thanks in advance

Since when did KPMG practise increasing offer on the go based on university results? If it's not in your employment contract, from whom did you hear this from?

On a side note, I am quite disturbed at the level of English displayed by a supposed FCH graduate, I hope this is not a true reflection of your language standards.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Sorry but I'm not getting the logic here, hope experienced bros can help clarify. So meaning on the first year joining PWC is just 3k x 12 with nothing else? No bonus no aws?

I mean I'm a bit shocked that a Big 4 can offer such lousy terms that is even worse than SME starting pay. AFAIK even a SIM grad joining a small local firm can get 2.5k x 12 + aws + 1.5-2mths variable which actually end up higher than PWC annual.

I know the big 4 emphasize how their increment better, after few years better on the cv to look for other jobs etc. But honestly very shock that it can be so pathetic low at the start. If it's really that bad then I can understand now why so many of uni coursemate majoring in Finance are so desperate to join the banking side even if as back office admin support.

Unfortunately, the Big 4s are not known for offering a competitive package or decent working hours especially when it comes to fresh graduates. Whether it's 3k without bonus or 2.7k with a little bonus as shared by most others earlier, the end result is a pay package that is below average at best and work hours that range from barely acceptable to horrendous.

To answer your question, how do they get away with such lousy offers? They mainly rely on 2 selling points, supposedly better increments at least for the first few years with them and more importantly, the perception that big MNCs prefer candidates with some Big 4 experience.

Many young grads basically suck thumb and treat this as serving "NS" for a few years in the hopes of picking up a better Finance job in a big MNC in the future. Fact of the matter is there are only so many big MNC/banking fresh grad positions available and usually only the best 20% of the cohort get them. Paying your dues in the Big4 remains a common option for the rest of the Finance grads to have a hope of building a future career.

I have an offer from (4 letter word big4) which shows title as Associate Director (D2) - would anyone know what is meant by D2 - IS it some grading/ ranking - if yes, then what is the grading structure.

The salary offered is 12K including CPF, is it at par with industry standards of big4 in Singapore. The role is in consulting function possibly RC/MC

I need to respond on this offer, request your help in getting some insight