Company: EY
Date: 2008-09-03
Overall rating: 3/5
Employment status: current

Ernst & Young - great experience but poor tone at the top
Pros: Working for Ernst & Young, you get a phenomenal amount of experience. Working in Public Accounting you have the opportunity to advance your carreer at a greater pace as compared to industry. Working for one of the "Big 4" you have the opportunity to work on both small and large engagements. As an auditor you need both types of experience. Working on a Large engagement you are exposed to the operations of a large organization and specialize in one specific area. Working on a small engagement you get exposed to more intricate issues that allow you to research the answers to. Smaller engagements also show you the big picture and you work and assist in many areas. E&Y allows you to gain both types of experience. Additionally the yearly trainings that you receive are very thorough and cover the issues and topics that are essential for growth to the next level.
Cons: My experience at E&Y has been that the tone at the top is highly unrealistic. You go in with the expectation that you will be working long hours with your team in order to meet harsh deadlines, however management loses touch with reality and creates unrealistic expectations for the staff and senior on the engagement. When concerns about staffing and deadlines arise, typically these concerns are brushed asside due to pressures of meeting the budgets that managment has set in place. Working in such a high-stess environment puts pressure ont he entire team to meat budgets and decreases morale on the team.