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Big 4 Accounting Firms Internships 2008 (1 Viewer)

deakin2009

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It was all in response to PWC and you cant blame the other firms. They dont want to miss out on the best talent. and EY and Deloitte didnt stick to the rules they moved ther closing dates forwards by a few weeks. the mid tiers are the only ones that did stick to the rules and have ultimately kinda screwed themselves. i already had 2 offers before the 3rd so other people will be in the same boat and the mid tiers will have lost a lot of prospective vacs/grads
 

billbro

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deakin2009 said:
It was all in response to PWC and you cant blame the other firms. They dont want to miss out on the best talent. and EY and Deloitte didnt stick to the rules they moved ther closing dates forwards by a few weeks. the mid tiers are the only ones that did stick to the rules and have ultimately kinda screwed themselves. i already had 2 offers before the 3rd so other people will be in the same boat and the mid tiers will have lost a lot of prospective vacs/grads
I'd have to agree with that, personally I decided against submitting any mid tier applications once I received an offer.
 

Huy

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Ditto to that. Once I got my offer I only looked around at other Big 4.

First mover advantage. :(
 

Suvat

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deakin2009 said:
It was all in response to PWC and you cant blame the other firms. They dont want to miss out on the best talent. and EY and Deloitte didnt stick to the rules they moved ther closing dates forwards by a few weeks. the mid tiers are the only ones that did stick to the rules and have ultimately kinda screwed themselves. i already had 2 offers before the 3rd so other people will be in the same boat and the mid tiers will have lost a lot of prospective vacs/grads
Also note that the big 4 aren't only competing against each other but also against other employers like corporates and banks. It just makes no sense to lose their picking of the best talent just so they can abide by some voluntary code of conduct.

Also are the offer deadlines still the same for all the firms? If they are then candidates certaintly aren't any worse off. In fact they're probably better off
being able to secure their future earlier.
 

Huy

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I know of two deadlines only so the EY and Deloitte people can fill the rest in.

KPMG and PwC are both set to Wednesday 15th October, which matches the ICAA dates.
 

DexJnr

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Huy said:
I know of two deadlines only so the EY and Deloitte people can fill the rest in.

KPMG and PwC are both set to Wednesday 15th October, which matches the ICAA dates.

Yeap EY is also the 15th Oct.

I sent my paperwork the day after it came in the mail :)

For EY, we got a black satchel as a gift...I heard other places got more expensive gifts, but hey it's only a gift.
 

spontaneous

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^^ i thought ey used to give out ipod shuffles...although this was a couple of years ago

got an ipod shuffle from pwc but i guess its just there to look at, lol im over my ipod already
 

billbro

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spontaneous said:
^^ i thought ey used to give out ipod shuffles...although this was a couple of years ago

got an ipod shuffle from pwc but i guess its just there to look at, lol im over my ipod already
Booo I want an offer now, they better call me up on Friday and say I'm in xD Actually, I signed away my soul for an iPhone last Friday... so I suppose it would be to look at as well.

KPMG was the leather folder Huy posted, with a Parker pen inside.
 

Huy

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I think I landed the KPMG job due to my iPhone 3G (outright). It was a talking point/icebreaker. ;)

KPMG also gave you a mock business card inside (your name printed on it) the folder plus writing pad. The Parker pen was engraved with KPMG branding/logo on it as well (nice touch).
 
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billbro

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Huy said:
I think I landed the KPMG job due to my iPhone 3G (outright). It was a talking point/icebreaker. ;)

KPMG also gave you a mock business card inside (your name printed on it) the folder plus writing pad. The Parker pen was engraved with KPMG branding/logo on it as well (nice touch).
I demand my pieces of paper, I see no writing pad in my folder! Also, the Parker pen is quite nice but a tad bulky.
 

Huy

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Yeah it is a bit on the chunky side. Heavy. But nice.

If you went to the careers fair or presentations on campus, you would get other cool things too e.g. the KPMG pencil case tin, a fat book of post-it notes, labels (different sizes), KPMG standard pen... lots of freebies (company branded) to suck you in.
 

hoppi10

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does anyone know anyone who actually has been rejected after doing a conquest session?
 

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billbro said:
To be honest, I'm fairly sure I performed poorly on the online tests. I was tired and just downright buggered after doing 8 hours of accounting research work before sitting the tests online.

The reason I suggest that getting an online tests coincides with a Conquest Assessment is because my friend got a call before he completed the tests. As in he got the online tests, hadn't attempted them but got a call up.

ah i see. well i'm still waiting to hear back from pwc after the test, another friend is too. guess we bombed it? haha

erryerica said:
so did your friend do anything or is he/she just goin to wait for EY to reply?

Did ur friend wait for a week already??
she hasn't heard a thing since the online application. since they've already given out offers there probably isn't any point in chasing it up unless it's for feedback.

BUT maybe they still have space and she's under consideration?

surprise of the day: i got a call from kpmg asking me to come to a group task and 1st round interview! i was in the same position as my friend with EY - i know KPMG have made offers and have been running assessments for a while and i hadn't heard anything since applying 3 weeks ago.

this is my first ever major interview! eep! any tips, huy & billbro? =)
 
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deakin2009

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skimmy said:
any tips? =)
go to their wesbite and get a bit of an understanding of KPMG. (their values divisions etc). try to show in your interview that you have done research into the company and know whats going on.

most of my KPMG interview qs were behavioural so pretty tricky to prepare for.
but have answers for the questions you know they will ask

ie why KPMG? why this division etc?

most of all though be yourself the interviewers have talked to hundreds of people and can tell those you are just talking crap.

They want people who will say what they think (to a certain extent) not people who will tell them what they want to hear
 

Cookie182

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ABSOLUTE NOOB Q-

But are all of you guy's accounting majors? Or are some of you Finance majors? Do Finance majors even get hired by the Big 4?
 

deakin2009

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Cookie182 said:
ABSOLUTE NOOB Q-

But are all of you guy's accounting majors? Or are some of you Finance majors? Do Finance majors even get hired by the Big 4?
I think it will depend a lot on your course/subjects selected. I am doing bach of commerce with accounting and finance major. but im sure you could do a finance major and still get in provided you choose the right prerequisite CA subjects as well as your finance major. I know there is a fairly heavy weighting on whether a grad has done the ca prereq's or not
 

billbro

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skimmy said:
ah i see. well i'm still waiting to hear back from pwc after the test, another friend is too. guess we bombed it? haha

she hasn't heard a thing since the online application. since they've already given out offers there probably isn't any point in chasing it up unless it's for feedback.

BUT maybe they still have space and she's under consideration?

surprise of the day: i got a call from kpmg asking me to come to a group task and 1st round interview! i was in the same position as my friend with EY - i know KPMG have made offers and have been running assessments for a while and i hadn't heard anything since applying 3 weeks ago.

this is my first ever major interview! eep! any tips, huy & billbro? =)
I don't mean to be a downer, but from what PwC has told me it appears as though the majority of positions are already filled. I believe the last of the assessment centres are either today or sometime this week. You can always keep your hopes up and I suppose not everyone is going to accept their offers.

As for the KPMG interview, not sure what advice I can give you. It was my first interview as well, but the partner was very easy going and it was pretty conversational. I suppose as everyone says, just be yourself because they are just trying to get to know you. I would however, suggest you answer every question obviously - even though the partner will tell you it is fine to tell them you don't know. Don't think I really managed to offer much insight, but there isn't much to say apart from the interview being behavioural based - make sure you read the partner profile they give you too (rather obvious).
 

sdfjsdkl55

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I'd try and play the partner interview with a straight bat (stay on topic and stay serious and enthusiastic throughout). They're also big on image, so make sure you shave, get a haircut etc beforehand. They'll also ask what skills you will need during vac work eg. time management, interpersonal, communication, analytical, technical, organisation etc. First thing I was asked was what do I think that i'll be doing during vacation work. Need to make sure that you know this one, so make sure you research beforehand.
Most importantly, prepare and do your research beforehand, be confident, serious and enthusiastic. Taking an interview casually will definately score you no points.
 
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