Company: KPMG
Date: 2008-10-31
Overall rating: 4/5
Employment status: current

If you love auditing, you'll love KPMG...
Pros: Great people. Coworkers are (almost) always smart, interesting, fun and your (large) peer group is composed of people your age (with whom you likely share some common interests). 

Sexes up your resume. If you want a career in finance/accounting this is the place to start. A breeding ground for controllers. 

The partner/manager group is composed of good (actually pretty great) people who take time to know each member of their teams individually. 

Best Big 4 firm in Seattle.
Cons: The pay structure could be improved (pay relative to cost of living not 'market'). All your hard work gets the partners (not necessarily you) paid. 

While top talent is identified though a fair ratings process, it is subsequently exploited. In other words, if you get a high rating you will be subjected to a challenging, (i.e. crushing) workload because "you can handle it.' This is fine if you love auditing. However, if you don't take satisfaction from being treated like a cop by clients who don't respect you, then auditing may not be for you.

Also, KPMG's technology lags behind the other Big 4 firms and, at times, is borderline mind-numbing.