KPMG as a whole excellent, not all practices LoBs are created equal
i'm no doubt sure than the company as a whole operates more efficiently and effectively than my specific practice did, though i'm sure there are some themes in particular places
PROS
* company "prestige and reputation"--makes you an attractive job applicant/search candidate
* structured get to know the company orientation WBT "training"
* easy to navigate org design/structure practice area (helps to understand biz unit functions)
* true attempt at providing training and "development?" opportunities
* advisory (can't speak for tax and audit or other advisory LoS outside P&C) orientation university sets a decent grounding for learning
* networking is encouraged (also after hours which isn't always a plus for everyone) and events are actually set up to facilitate it. i believe part of it is the drive to push business development down but you NEED business development for success here (its a partner firm) even for your staffing
* clear succession path levels (doesn't mean you'll make it--you better have partners gunning for you--but the path levels are clear)
* opportunity for travel if that appeals
CONS
* i don't know where to start so all i will say is that the people and change practice office in NYC is lead by a partner who is notorious for favoritism, shunning, and exclusion for talent that doesn't fit the "desired" profile. i saw more focus placed on glitzy PPT presentations than meaningful talent content
* terrible terrible onboarding experience beyond the
Points positifsprestige and reputation, structured orientation, networking opportunity
Points négatifstalent management process or lack there off
Pleasant work environment, not a lucrative career for techies.
Been with KPMG going on 5 years. Opportunities for growth are limited for people with primarily a technical skillset. Tax knowledge is vital to advancement in the Tax Technology practice (which makes sense), unless you are in procurement or some administrative group. You WILL be kept busy, which is good.
KPMG "celebrates diversity", and constantly nags employees to contribute to community. But they do not really give a "we care about you as an individual" vibe (in my experience). Some walk the walk issues here. For example recently management encouraged people to use their Sunday to go to an MLK public gathering... but didn't (and never has) given employees MLK day off. They claim to honor veterans but don't give that day off either. In fact there are only about 6 holidays (8 days) off a year unless Partners are feeling particularly generous, they they give a couple extra at year end. During the summers they give what they call Jumpstart Friday (can leave work at 3PM) but client work still comes first, and Manager and above better not be unreachable nights and weekends or you take flack for it.
KPMG pays no overtime, doesn't compensate for extra time put in either, so there is very little incentive to give them any extra. They have a bonus program where people can nominate co-workers for awards... but cap at $1,000 per recipient per year, silly. High achievers should not be limited, they should be encouraged to do more and more. But they do have good work remote and fl
Points positifsPeople say thank you. Can take time off if you need to.
Points négatifsBonuses are skimpy, advancement opportunities hard to come by
KPMG suits people who are ambitious and are willing to sacrifice their own personal life to fight and be promoted.
I'm locating in CA and having cases in NY. In order to accommodate clients' needs, I wake up at 6 AM everyday to check/reply emails. Then I go to the office regularly and continue working until 5ish PM. In addition, work remotely after I get home. The saddest thing is, no overtime paid.
Since it's a very intense working environment, it pushes you into the fire and force you to learn a lot. I improved a lot in communication and consultation skills besides technical aspects.
All managers and directors I've encountered are very nice. They provide helpful advice, feedback and suggestions to me. They provide opportunities to me to learn how to be a PM and lead me through.
I like most of the co-workers. They are dedicated to the projects and help me a lot to fulfill clients' requests. They are also humorous and it's joyful to chat with them. However, since I've moved to CA and am too swamped at work, I don't have a chance to talk to them regularly.
The hardest part of the job is that you have to check emails ALL THE TIME, even after working hours. You have to be very responsive to the projects assigned to you. I have to bring the work laptop when I am on vacation and work remotely when needed. However, again, no overtime paid.
I really can't think of any enjoyable part of the job. Maybe when the managers/director bring us to lunch. But it's just o
Points positifsLots to learn. Free meals occasionally
A typical work day at KPMG is like resuming at the trading floor of a stock exchange. First port of call would be a debrief on all outstanding assignments to the in-charges and team leads, then a review of strategic plan and next steps towards accomplishing the mandate. The next phase of work would require phone calls to various teams across the country to get their reports on on-going activities, a few site visits, conference calls and the review of draft reports.
At KPMG, I gained hands-on experience on M&A transactions across Sub-Saharan Africa, some of the notable transactions are: Advisory service to a South African bank in acquisition of a Nigerian bank and its asset management and pension subsidiaries, Advisory Services on integration of two Ghanaian banks, Due-Diligence Advisory on acquisition of a Nigerian insurance company by a South African contemporary, Capital Raising Advisory (which involved business valuation) of a local airline affiliated to Canadian Helicopters etc.
The hardest parts of the job are transactions with short deadlines, that require all round due diligence, valuation and financial modelling. Such job often require round the clock meetings and analysis.
The most enjoyable part of the job was the regular parties, the off-shore trainings and the TGIFs.
Points positifsThe most enjoyable part of the job was the regular parties, the off-shore trainings and the TGIFs.
Points négatifsThe round the clock meetings, analysis and reportn writing.
I was from the Corporate Tax Planning and Compliance department, where I worked for approx 4 years.
Management is entrenched and blissfully unaware of sentiment on the ground. They favour staff who go out of their way to bootlick, and overlook how these staff will push their actual work to other staff members who are already overworked and under-appreciated. The key issue with the management is that the few who are aware of the extremely toxic culture do not make any attempt to stop it.
Staff are divided into two camps - the bootlickers and the non-bootlickers. The former group will go out of their way to curry favour with management, and as a result have a lot of influence during day to day work and the appraisal process. The latter group will be dumped with significantly more work, yet get rated poorly by the management simply because they do not try to suck up.
Staff turnover has been overwhelming high in the past three years. More than half the department is new. Experienced staff leave simply because their hard work (working ot past midnight almost everyday and being expected to come back to office on weekends) is not appreciated, and the toxic culture makes it unbearable. This is not the place for you unless you can withstand being manipulative, throwing your friends under the bus, and forsaking your morals for the sake of your career.
Points positifsWide exposure
Points négatifsToxic culture, vicious cliques in the office, indifferent management
Avoid the Justice & Security Group like the plague!
KPMG itself appears great, though I haven't had much of a chance to interact with the colleagues from the greater firm. But the J&S practice is literally tied for the worst job I've ever had! The Senior Associates doing all the work are, for the most part, great, and the work is important... but the team culture, as actively dictated by management, is incredibly toxic. Hence, everyone is forced to act the worst version of themselves, just to keep their jobs. People are deliberately pushed to compete against each other, creating a never-ending cycle of "but X does more than Y, so X is better," regardless of actual value delivered. It's all personality-driven, based on egos and luck. There is no concept of work-life balance; in fact, even mentioning it will earn you an eternal mark on your reputation. The amount of lies that are being spread around by both recruiter and management is impressive, if not staggering. Run, do not walk, away from this practice.
No salary is ever worth that level of stress and degradation.
Points positifsThe salary is reasonable, and firm benefits are excellent.
Points négatifsZero work-life balance; toxic working environment
LONG HOURS, NO WORK LIFE BALANCE, LOW PAY, GOOD CAREER STARTER
Like all public accounting firms, expect to work long hours and have no social life during busy season. Don't believe the BS when they drop terms like "worklife balance". There is no balance. It's basically all work.
That being said, if you know what you're getting yourself into, then its manageable. Big four is solid and safe career starting point. The pay is OK. Definitely doesn't pay you game changing money but you will progress every year and learn a lot. The biggest thing it does for you is having a big name on your resume when you jump to another company. During your short stint at Big Four, you WILL be miserable during busy season (which can be over half the year). Working weekends is normal so expect to push 70-90 hours during busy season. Weight gain is normal becuase thats what happens when you sit on your chair for 14/day, 7 days a week.
If you come in expecting to work hard, then I guess its ok. Otherwise, stay away.
Points positifsName recognition on your resume
Points négatifslong hours, poor pay, lack of appreciation
I was recently invited twice by KPMG for seven technical interviews in Albany NY. The employees acted as they were Gods and the people there need to bow them and praise KPMG.
I was told by one of the managers that why should they hire me when they have so many peoplecandidates dying to work for KPMG. It sounded very insulting to me to convince them to hire me like I was begging to work for them.
I was told by one of the Directors that the Partner who interviewed me had no knowledge of what goes on in the firm. This was a little weird to hear that.
I was very confident in replying back all the techinical questions and after excellent interview I was not contacted. I emailed the recruiter and he didn't even bother to get back to me and say No. Such a shameless company who act to be professional and don't even let u know the result.
Points positifsif u have 2-3 years of experience, ready to put in 10-12 hrs a day, in your 20's, looking for less pay and you can be a follower then you're hired
Points négatifsif you have good experience then this place can't afford you.
I could not have asked for a better place to start my career in financial services. A typical day at work consisted of being around people just like myself who like to have fun, learn and engage in challenging projects on a daily basis. It is the planet fitness of the professional realm in the sense that it is a judgment-free zone. Despite the fact that the busy season is a strenuous cycle, you mature and develop in a regimented fashion that all your peers facilitate and understand. The most difficult part of the job is learning on the fly but this is what sets those who excel apart from those that coast. Leveraging resources when needed and client relationships are taught at an early stage in life and individuals are exposed to situations that are incomparable elsewhere straight out of college.
Points positifsFree lunches, PTO, great people, great trainings
Work life balance is a total lie at this company. They rarely treat their people with humanity, you will have to travel extensively on top of 50-60 hour work weeks. They will tell you travel is Monday-Thursday, I only had one engagement where that was the case. All other were Monday thru Friday.
Pay is usually higher than you will find in similar jobs with other non-consulting companies, but their benefits aren't really that great. Insurance is expensive, poor 401(K) matching, they give max of 2.5% if you contribute at least 5%.
Job security is always contingent on not crossing of the wrong person.
Management will frequently dump secretarial tasks on lower level individuals who are rarely thanked for their efforts.
Job culture is a bunch of Type A hyper competitive, who can brown-nose kind of environment.
Points positifsmoney
Points négatifseverything else
Questions et réponses au sujet de l'entreprise KPMG
Comment avez-vous obtenu votre premier entretien chez KPMG ?
Posée le 20 févr. 2018
J'ai postulé en ligne et on m'a téléphoné pour un premier entretien physique avec la RH.
Réponse du 11 mars 2022
Avec la directrice sur rdv
Réponse du 29 sept. 2020
Quelles sont les perspectives de carrière chez KPMG ?
Posée le 20 déc. 2017
Forte perspective d'évolution, à condition d'y mettre l'investissement attendu.
Evolution de poste + de salaire (mini 10% ) chaque année
Réponse du 17 janv. 2023
Pas de perspectives si vous n’êtes pas lèche … et si vous oubliez votre vie personnelle
Réponse du 19 nov. 2022
Comment décririez-vous lenvironnement de travail et la culture dentreprise chez KPMG ?
Posée le 16 oct. 2019
Équipe soudés et agréable
Réponse du 10 févr. 2022
Pas conviviable, aucun effort fourni pour intégrer les nouveaux arrivants
Réponse du 17 mai 2021
Quels conseils donneriez-vous à une personne qui doit passer un entretien chez KPMG ?
Posée le 24 sept. 2018
Rester sois même
Réponse du 21 nov. 2022
Réviser les écritures comptables, savoir se présenter
Réponse du 9 juil. 2021
Quel est le code vestimentaire dans l’entreprise ?
