Company: KPMG
Date: 2018-11-26
Overall rating: 1/5
Employment status: current
Experience level: Junior

Shoddy remuneration, overworked, an the ACA counts for little in a world where graduates can go straight to banks
Pros: Exposure to the corporate world
Cons: The pay is shocking - when compared to other professional services, advisory graduate employees at KPMG are tantamount to indentured workers. The compensation that they pay for your qualification means nothing when they opt for the cheapest package from BPP that involves little to no face to face time depending on the exam, and punitive fees if you subsequently fail. The remuneration is incredibly poor for the hours demanded of you, but the culture is such that you have no choice but to work those hours, or risk never progressing with your career. That there is a churn of about 30% of my current team in the past 12 months is perhaps indicative of the dissatisfaction within certain parts of KPMG. 

I guess it is a bitter pill to swallow when your salary is 1/3 of that of lawyers and bankers and yet your hours are equivalent. 

Furthermore, the credibility of the ACA is hugely undermined when graduates can go straight into banking roles and come out with a far stronger CV, whilst the reputation of accountancy is continually eroded by audit scandals. My advice to any prospective graduate would be to seriously avoid the Big 4 (and particularly KPMG) unless you have no other viable route into a corporate role.