Company: KPMG
Date: 2014-07-02
Overall rating: 2/5
Employment status: former
Experience level: Junior

AUDITORS RUN FOR YOUR LIVES
Pros: This review is in reference to KPMG's audit practice in the SV/SF region only. 

+ Great accounting experience
+ Great companies, clients
+ Wide range of industries, company size 
+ Develop an industry focus
+ Resource management listens to preferences for staffing
+ Partners are personable and approachable
+ Office events, free drinks!, national trainings
+ Meet friends and colleagues
+ PTO/Summer is more laid back
+ Internal publications and resources to learn
+ Team environment
+ Assigned mentor
+ Respected in the industry
+ Recent strategic acquisitions to build various functions
+ Nice 401(k) matching, CPA assistance and bonus, fringe benefits
+ Reputable logo to have on your resume
Cons: - You will work with many different types of people. In other words, there are many passive-aggresive types, many unpleasant people, and many that you will become great friends with. It's a complete crapshoot. 
- Lots of GOSSIP and POLITICS. The politics are overwhelming. People will literally alienate and destroy reputations of others within the firm simply if they are offended, project is over budget because of someone, easily threatened, so on. 
- The engagement review rating system is literally used to get even when possible. At the same time, the rating system is very important on the HR-side, so it makes for a very real career hazard. 
- All accounting firms seem to be understaffed, but this office is ESPECIALLY understaffed. They are begging other KPMG employees to transfer to this office location. 
- Partially because of the reason above, for 6-9 months you will work 55-105 hours and 6-7 days per week. Whatever you do, don't calculate your hourly rate on that! 
- KPMG is known for underbidding in order to win new audit clients. You can definitely tell this as some engagements have a barebone budget and the seniors and staff are stressed further to get the work done within the constraints. 
- Seniors/Managers will alienate someone when they discover/hear that person is interested in a new job, transferring lines of service within the firm, so on. 
- Obsolete and ineffective business processes (reams of paper, piles of binders, flash drives, unilateral performance reviews). 
- During busy season, associates have to stay late because seniors stay late. There are "team of choice" initiatives to try to help change this, and it probably is changing, but as of now there seem to only be superficial improvements. 
- With some exceptions, Less prestigious/sexy clients to work with. I.e. Semiconductor companies instead of the Top-Tier tech/social media/software/internet companies you think of associated with Silicon Valley.