Navigating Big Four Accounting Firm Internships: Requirements and Strategies for Success

Landing an internship at a Big Four accounting firm-Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY), KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)-is a highly competitive yet rewarding endeavor. These internships offer invaluable hands-on experience and can significantly boost your career prospects. The Big Four are among the top companies to intern for and offer salaries above the industry average.

The Value of Internships

Hands-on accounting experience is invaluable to both you and major firms. Internships expose you to diverse situations, allow you to participate in a professional environment, and enable you to network with various clients. Many accounting internships are paid, sometimes at entry-level graduate rates.

Financial Benefits

Paid internships can provide a good income. For instance, the average hourly wage for an intern in public accounting was around $20 in 2009. Some Big Four internships paid as much as $24.80 per hour in 2009. The financial compensation makes these internships even more attractive. In addition to the financial benefits, Big 4 internships and entry-level jobs tend to pay well, better than the industry average. The average annual Big 4 salaries vs Non-Big 4 firms are as follows:

Tax & Audit Intern: $74,100 vs $68,000
Consulting & Advisory Intern: $82,000 vs $75,000
Tax & Audit Staff/Analyst: $75,000 vs $72,000
Consulting & Advisory Staff/Analyst: $90,000 vs $80,000Entry-level roles range from around $55,000 - $75,000 per year, while growth potential at any Big 4 firm can exceed $1 million annually.

Key Requirements and Qualifications

Academic Excellence

Major companies often require a stellar GPA to hire you as an intern, so strive for a GPA above 3.5. Grades are definitely looked at. Excellent academic performance is essential if you want to land a position at a Big 4 firm. Other Big 4 job applicants will have a great transcript; you should, too, if you want to be competitive among the candidates. If you’re currently in school, think about your future and put in the work now to excel in your classes and gain the foundational knowledge you need as an accounting professional.

Extracurricular Activities and Soft Skills

While academic performance is crucial, your extracurricular track record will help you stand out in a crowd of academically successful applicants. Entering the professional world means not only having the knowledge but also acting the part. To succeed you not only need to have the technical skills to do your job, but you also need to master soft skills, such as communication, working with others, integrity, and enthusiasm. All of your actions both online and off impact your candidate profile and your chances of getting hired.

CPA Eligibility

For the Big Four, being CPA-eligible is a big thing. Being a CPA makes you much more attractive to hiring managers and, if you don’t earn your CPA license, you will experience severely limited career potential within public accounting. The single most important certification needed for a Big 4 career is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license. Becoming a CPA shows that you have the skills and knowledge to offer top services, plus the authorization to perform any needed task for the firm.

How to Secure an Internship

Defining Your Goals

The first thing to do is to define your goals, such as the company you would like to work for and the type of internship: paid or unpaid, in tax or auditing.

Seeking Guidance

Next, seek the help of your college advisor and see if you meet general internship requirements. As a last resort, don’t hesitate to contact companies that you are interested in and ask them about internship opportunities. Alternatively, there are paid programs that guarantee you an internship in exchange for tuition fees.

Resume Building

Make sure your resume reflects your key skills, your academic record, and your work experience. Even if you have experience that is not accounting-related, it is worth mentioning it as a source of transferable skills. You can also list the continuing professional education (CPE) courses you’ve completed, which will help you stand out in specific specializations. And, of course, review and re-review to make sure your resume is free of grammatical and formatting errors. In addition to including your prior work experience and internships, use your resume to highlight your academic and professional accomplishments and awards, certifications that you’ve completed, and even community involvement and volunteer activities that demonstrate your well-roundedness as a team member and a leader.

Networking

If your school has career networking events, you can get to know professionals in the industry, or you can attend conferences and events-do it! Your biggest advantage for a foot in the door is to be connected in the profession, find mentors and sponsors, and learn from those with real-world experience. Considering how difficult it is to get a Big 4 job, having someone on the inside who knows your name and can vouch for your abilities is an invaluable benefit.

Read also: Career in Accounting

Interview Preparation

At the interview stage, make sure to research the company inside out and be aware of their needs. Look at the big picture and see where you fit in the company; highlight your skills and what you could bring to the team. More often than not companies are looking at you as a potential employee, not just an intern. Be prepared for a casual behavioral interview. You are usually given an opportunity to ask questions, and this can often lead to more casual topics, demonstrating your people skills. You can ask about traveling opportunities that the firm offers or about anything the firm has that makes it stand out.

If you’re fortunate enough to land an in-person interview at a Big 4 firm, you want to nail it. Study common accounting interview questions and be ready with answers that highlight your strengths, prove your readiness for the position, and make a lasting impression. Additional interview techniques include researching the position and the firm, being ready with your own questions, and being relaxed, amicable, professional, and well-prepared.

Application Process

While each firm has its own recruitment and interview process, all Big 4 jobs require that you submit an online application, fill out online and/or in-person assessments, and successfully complete an interview. Making yourself stand out during this process is essential to getting one of the highly competitive Big 4 jobs.

Internship Experience and Expectations

Duration and Workload

Summer internships usually last between one and two months and involve 40 hours of work per week. Forget the traditional image of the easy internship with no responsibilities: if you intern in accounting, things will get really busy.

Roles and Responsibilities

As an auditing intern, you will perform the duties of a staff accountant, such as preparing paperwork, checking account balances and interacting with clients. In a tax internship, you will usually have to prepare reports, perform data entry and assemble tax returns. Audit interns will spend most of their time at client sites, working with a team. Tax interns spend most of their time in-house, but also will work with other firm employees. So it's important that interns be team players, embrace working with others, and have a positive attitude, Herbel said.

Read also: Master's in Accountancy at Rutgers

Essential Skills and Attributes

Expect to take notes and ask questions"Internships are learning opportunities, so we don't expect our interns to have all of the answers," she noted. Be curious and courageous about soliciting feedback. In other words, be a sponge. Communicate as much as possible with the person you’re working with. The people who didn’t were those who did not communicate or didn’t try to actually do any work.

Technology

Technology is changing the landscape of public accounting, and college students should absorb as much as possible in school so they are primed for real-world auditing, tax, and advisory work. "Emerging technologies continue to impact clients, so it's crucial to be a critical thinker during this revolutionary time," Herbel said. "Students who are able to take additional technology courses will have an edge because they will be more agile thinkers." Expect to embrace technology.

Professionalism

Professionalism is essential in the sense that you were often in working meetings with all levels and occasionally in front of clients so having intelligent and engaging conversations and remaining friendly with everyone. Expect to prepare for your internshipBe ready before you begin your internship. Contact firm employees or the firm's recruiter you met during the internship recruitment process and ask them for advice prior to your start date. "If a candidate is curious about a firm’s culture, then I would recommend asking various questions that will help paint a picture of how the company engages and supports its employees, such as ‘What do you enjoy the most about working at your firm?’ Or, ‘How would you describe your firm’s culture?’ Or, ‘How does your firm support professional growth and career development?’” Herbel advised. In addition, she said, take classes in skills that you may want to sharpen before you begin work. These courses may fall within your accounting curriculum, but emphasize certain skills that could be beneficial. Also, consider online tutorials to brush up on things like Excel, she noted. Finally, start setting your alarm a few weeks in advance for your soon-to-be new schedule, she said, so you adjust to your internship wake time. You don't want to be late.

Training and Mentorship

While all public accounting firms operate differently, many offer formal training and pair you with a mentor once you begin your work. RSM interns, for example, spend their first week at a formal training in Chicago, meeting interns from the firm's 87 offices nationwide. After they return to their home offices, they are assigned to a client and receive informal training from local team members. They also meet regularly with their mentor, or "navigator," Herbel said. Expect training and mentorship.

Do's and Don'ts

Discovering the do’s and don’ts for your Big 4 internship is essential.

Come dressed in business casual. That means nice pants and a nice button-down top. No tie and a jacket is optional. It is personally recommended a jacket with no tie but have a tie in your pocket just in case.
You will learn more in the first 5 days than in your last 5 years.
Don’t have the weird middle school/high school/college phobia of asking people to do something with you, whether it be the movies, a date, etc. because seniors, managers, and partners are ecstatic at the thought of leaving the office for an “expensed” coffee. The response will be something like this: “Yes. Also, coffee is a staple of accounting.
Managers literally look at you like a lost puppy. Learn real fast the power of asking when you assumed you were taking the right action in uploading files into the master system after working offline.
For every activity, volunteer event, and after-hours social event, make it a point to be there. It’s not exactly how “good” you are at auditing, tax, etc.
Get 150 credit hours to become a CPA.
Yes, you probably will be paid overtime. NO, you most likely won’t be using that overtime unless you’re a winter intern.
Recruiting managers want you to make some cool friends. You will have plenty of opportunities to meet people, as most offices schedule lots of events and opportunities to socialize.
As cool as you feel with an AMEX that has your name on it, it’s a test of your discipline.
Do NOT stress. First, your seniors, managers, and partners don’t expect you to know anything. Second, no other intern knows anything, either.

Turning an Internship into a Job Offer

In recent years, internships have taken on the function of summer-long interviews. It is much harder to send out resumes and try to impress people you don’t know while looking for a permanent position. Accounting internships come in all shapes and sizes and it is up to you to make the most of the experience.

Overcoming the Challenges

Acceptance Rates

The short answer: it’s not easy to land one of the Big 4 jobs available each year. There are millions of annual applicants to Big 4 firms in the US alone! As private companies, Big 4 firms don’t publish their acceptance rates. However, some research exists that puts the chances of getting a Big 4 job between 0.85% and 4% depending on the firm.

PwC: A Times article published in 2023 cited that PwC received 304,000 applicants for 7,500 positions-about 2.5% acceptance rate.
Deloitte: Deloitte has nearly 2 million applicants in the US per year, with about 17,000 new hires, for an acceptance rate hovering around 0.85%.
KPMG: Worldwide in 2023, KPMG had an acceptance rate of around 4%, with over 225,000 applicants for its internship, graduate, and entry-level positions. That said, once you get your foot in the door by successfully completing one of the KPMG internship positions, your chances of getting a full-time offer go up to 90%!
EY: UK-based EY student programs accepted about 2.9% of its applicants in 2024-a total 2,000 of its 70,000 hopefuls.

Strategies to Stand Out

Boost your resume Your resume is your first shot at standing out among the literal millions of applicants for Big 4 jobs. If you don’t have a resume that grabs attention, you will likely never make it past the first round of the recruitment process. Rather than waiting until after you graduate to begin applying for Big 4 jobs, start as soon as you can through the many internship programs that these firms offer. Remember that interns have a much greater chance of moving into full-time positions. Plus, you can apply every summer or for a part-time position, before the pressure is on to find a long-term job.

PwC Internship Programs

PwC offers a variety of internship programs designed for students at different stages of their academic careers:

Start Internship: A career readiness and leadership development experience for high-performing sophomores/rising juniors. Eligibility requires pursuing a bachelor’s degree in a 4-year program or a junior year in a five-year degree program. Accepting a Start internship offer may lead to an Advance internship offer for the following year.
Advance Internship: Open to juniors (in a four-year program) and seniors (in a five-year program), typically taking place one year prior to graduation.
Destination CPA: A three-day immersive event for college sophomores (in a four-year program) or juniors (in a five-year program) pursuing an accounting major and 150 credit hours, focused on networking and discovering the versatility of a CPA license.
Women’s Consulting Experience: An event for sophomore (in a four-year program) or junior (in a five-year program) women who have not previously interned at PwC, offering insight into the firm's advisory practice and leadership skills development.
Career Preview: A three-day immersive experience for high-performing college freshmen, particularly those from traditionally underrepresented minority groups, protected veterans, and/or individuals with disabilities.
Consulting Preview: Designed for students entering their first year of business school, pursuing a Masters in Business Administration, and who self-identify as members of traditionally underrepresented minority groups in the professional services industry, protected veterans, and/or individuals with disabilities.
"Learn while you earn" Program: A one-year program providing eligible individuals who will have completed their bachelor's degree by May 2027, to obtain additional credit hours and a Master’s Degree while working at PwC. This fellowship combines real work experiences through paid, part-time work at PwC and a tuition paid, on-line master’s degree program at the D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University.

KPMG Opportunities

At KPMG, our values define who we are and what we believe. They guide thousands of extraordinary professionals across the country to do what is right, act boldly and draw strength from our differences so we can better serve our clients and our communities. Values like our commitment to education and life-long learning allow us to empower our people to take control of their careers and professional development. We’re looking for top talent who are excited by challenges and inspired to drive change in the following areas.

Deloitte Internship Program

Deloitte internship programs are a rich blend of learning and development opportunities, mentorship, networking events, and professional growth. Deloitte interns don't sit on the sidelines; they gain real-world experience tackling challenges and driving meaningful outcomes.

The Discovery internship program is designed for early college students to gain insight into professional services and our client-facing businesses. This program provides comprehensive training and engaging projects to enhance your professional skills. You will also receive valuable mentorship that can help guide your journey and contribute to a strong foundation for your future career.

Internal services internships can be found in areas such as finance & administration, technology, and marketing (SHINE program). Client service internships provide an opportunity to experience what it's like to work in professional services and serve in client-facing roles. Throughout the course of the internship, interns are assigned to one or more client projects where they are responsible for a particular part of a client deliverable(s).

Masters Degree

No, you do not need a Masters degree. During college, I only had maybe two classes on tax, so my Masters' was helpful in that I got to learn more in-depth on that topic. However, firms understand that not everyone has the time or money to pursue a Master's. In response, PwC, for instance, has started paying for new hires to get a Master's degree or letting them meet the credit hours requirement through work hours.

tags: #big #4 #accounting #firms #internships #requirements