Company: KPMG
Date: 2015-08-07
Overall rating: 4/5
Employment status: current
Experience level: Confirmed

Candid Perspectives
Pros: 1. Firm continuously invests in thought leadership and new capabilities, through "innovation labs", targeted recruitment, acquisitions, and partnerships / alliances; New opportunities for staff open up with each move

2. Senior leadership genuinely interested in the development and advancement of staff, but as with any company, you need to invest time to build up internal support networks and relationships first;

3. For the highly motivated, there is opportunity to establish your brand within the firm, develop solutions / service offerings based on your areas of interest, promote / drive internal and market awareness, and present / deliver value-adds to clients in the Fortune 500 (i.e., an alternative to those considering the start-up route)
Cons: 1. Association of KPMG brand with "Big Four" audit can at times make it difficult for clients to see KPMG as an option for projects in other domain areas (i.e., need to work harder to be in the consideration pool);

2. Despite competitive base salary and many standard benefits options, bonuses tend to be limited / capped (even for top performers), making it difficult to recruit, motivate, and retain best talent;

3. Career direction/pace of advancement tied to strength of partners that you work with and your relationship with those that matter (i.e., they control your destiny despite how well you manage and execute)