"But Salary In a Big 4 is So Low” - A Former Senior Partner from Singapore Shares His View

The plight of lowly paid accounting firm employees, particularly at junior levels in Audit / Assurance, has plagued the industry for lifetimes and is happening both in Malaysia, Singapore and the region.

We spoke with a former senior Partner of the Big 4 in Singapore, who's had over 30 years of experience with KPMG and PwC, on the draws of the Big4 despite their lower salary scale compared to industry jobs.

He acknowledges that Big4 salaries are not as competitive as other jobs which may be available to accounting and finance graduates but that the investment is a short term one, for a long term return on the individual’s career.

“There is a price for everything”, he says, “industry jobs may lure candidates with a higher pay, but people have to think of what they are getting in terms of experience”.

Highlighting the importance of experience across various industries which the Big4 can offer, he gives an example.

“If you were to join a manufacturing company, straight out from graduation, that particular company is where you start and shape your experience. If you join a service organisation like the Big 4, you don't just look at one entity but the way different manufacturing companies run their systems and business, and beyond that to banks, companies in oil and gas, and more. Both Assurance and Tax provide broad industry experience. This can be helpful if you’re still deciding what areas you like best or wish to focus on.”

And eventually, the allure of an industry job can be too strong to resist. “Very often from that broad experience, after 3 - 4 years, if they decide to move on, they go into industry at a more senior level”.

“Sure you could join industry straight away, sure you get higher pay, but you must understand why they are paying you higher.” he cautions.

How Low is Low?

A general starting salary for a fresh university graduate these days comes up to about RM 2,100 - a benchmark figure for those newly seeking jobs. How do the Big4 salaries measure?

Ernst & Young, reportedly fostering positive work cultures and adopting progressive hiring strategies, offers the highest pay among the Big4 in the UK. Malaysian employees can look to received RM 3,700 depending on their level of experience. While most reflect that the culture, environment, and people are fun, like-minded, and good to work with, training is said to be intensitve. True to the senior Partner's insights, broad training and little guidance is said to be received by EY employees. Good real-world training for future senior jobs, perhaps.

Deloitte UK, like EY, has almost moved to more unconventional interview systems to build their own particular profile of entry-level employees with real-world problem solving skills. But how much pay do they get? Malaysian employees can look to earn RM 3,000 to RM 3,500 - a not insubstantial sum for fresh graduates. Training too is expansive and broad, with apparent emphasis on independence, drive, and teamwork.

PricewaterhouseCoopers offers an admittedly modest RM 2,700 - RM 2,850 compared to EY and Deloitte. It too fosters a stimulating and performance-driven work culture, and appears to encourage more guidance, coaching, and structured learning and development opportunities.

Finally, KPMG offers a similarly smaller pay of RM 2,700 for fresh graduates. As with its peers, KPMG strives to build an enriching work culture by participating actively in local initatives, cultural festivities, and charities.

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