Don't get placed on PIP - Experienced Audit Associate EY Employee Review

4.0
Apr 17, 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Looks great on your resume and down the line if you continue to pursue accounting in public or private. The experience you get here will always be valuable no matter where you go. The training you get is excellent, though that really depends on which engagements you get placed on. I had a particularly tough client and huge team so was able to learn loads. Every skill I had from my previous mid-size firm was honed to a higher standard at EY. There are further opportunities outside of audit if that's not your thing. But if you want to get in to Forensic. FAAS, or TAS, it's doable but very difficult. Bring it up with your counselor/partner to get placed on M&A audits if TAS interests you. Make sure to build on skills that interest you so you can leverage them down the line; try dabbling with Alteryx/Tableau if data analytics interests you.

Cons

Appearances are valued too highly. I came from a mid-size before joining EY and went right in to busy season with one of the most notorious clients in the NY office. There was a large learning curve and the client made things worse. After busy season, was placed on Performance Improvement Plan, was told it was nothing to worry about by counselor and HR. Later on was able to roll off to a different client completely and realized how much easier it was and got a better review. Then was called in by HR and a partner both whom I never met before and was laid off. It's terrible how the people who get to decide whether you stay or leave is determined by someone who has never worked with you (in this case one of my counseling partners). Also, plenty of people get bad ratings but are still at EY; these people simply get shifted off from one engagement to another engagement to deal with. It's important to ensure your counselor and team truly have your back when things get tough so they can vouch for you. Also, my general advice is, if you're placed on PIP, start looking for another firm as it's hard to salvage.

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Pros

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Cons

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5.0
Feb 21, 2018
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Pros

1. You will have a very hard time not falling in love with every single person you meet there. 2. Seriously, you will meet your soul mate(s) there. 3. Prestigious and looks great on the resume. 4. Your brain will grow a thousand times more powerful. 5. Forces you to conquer your fear of public speaking. 6. Fun team bonding and lifelong friends. 7. Stepping stone to high paying jobs. 8. Helps you work on perfecting your charm. You will learn from the most charming people how to really get people to like you. 9. HR really cares. 10. Big support network (IT, creative services, etc.). 11. Teaches you to be calm and in control.

Cons

OK, I'm going to be discussing all the taboo things, and there are a lot of them. In spite of these cons, I still admit it's worth a five star rating. 1. High performers are "designated" (you have very little control over your rating) by the partner group (can be a pro if you get selected. Seriously, I have worked with some of the supposed "fives" and they are not any different than my threes and fours. 2. Quality is extremely low. Sometimes I felt like I was working at McDonalds and not a professional services firm. The emphasis is on getting through work as fast as possible and expectations for quality are not realistic. 3. EY has a very hard time firing bad employees. If you get stuck with one it can be a nightmare. 4. EY has a heavy emphasis on wasting time. For example, there are lots and lots of checklists which have no value that you have to fill out. Also, they wasted money and time on creating "Canvas" which is literally slower and more awkward than the previous workspace tool, GAMX. There is a heavy emphasis on "reinventing the wheel" and fixing problems that aren't broken with even worse solutions. Instead of wasting money on useless tools, that money could have been spent on your employees in the form of compensation. Like I said, EY is really focused on attempting to look as though value is being created when in fact it is not. 5. Lots of meetings. Appearances are very important. 6. Employees on global 360 accounts get better treatment. 7. Some employees (executives mostly) tend to overemphasize how important this work is. Let's face it, if it was really glorious work then we would have action figures. 8. Looks are very important. Seriously, if you are a girl, you will get promoted based on how hot you are (the quality of your work is largely unimportant). If you are a guy, you are treated a little better but there is still a sexist undercurrent in the environment. This is advice you won't get from HR obviously, but that doesn't mean it isn't true. 8. You will be forced to eat hours. 9. Your ethical compass will start to get weaker. 10. You will get a little cynical. 11. Lots of driving and travel. 12. "Family men" and married couples with children are more likely to be promoted. If you want to be a partner, you have to be married (few exceptions). 13. You will work on vacations. 14. Loss of relationships with family and friends. 15. Some backstabbing and credit-stealing (but not very common). 16. Comp is below market but that's to be expected. 17. Employee retention is not something management is interested in. This makes you replaceable and expendable (yes even as a manager, unless you have been "designated" as a high performer by the partner group).

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