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Leading Companies & Markets

There are lots of excellent companies in the accountancy field.  The “Big Four” are generally regarded as outstanding organisations for personal development and career development. They are all committed to graduate and cadet programs and each have global revenue of between $23 billion to $28 billion and 125,000 to 165,000 employees across multiple countries.  The “Big Four” comprises the following four companies:

• PricewaterhouseCoopers
• KPMG
• Deloitte, Touche, Tohmatsu
• Ernst & Young

There are also excellent mid tier and smaller firms who provide excellent employment for young graduates.  In the current recessionary times, there has been a surge in insolvency and forensic accounting, as well as corporate governance.

Cost accountants, management accountants, financial controllers and Finance Directors or Chief Financial Officers all work in product manufacturing and service corporations ranging from multinational companies like Coca Cola Amital, McDonalds and Nestle to, Sony, Apple and Microsoft, to Telstra, Vodaphone and Optus, and BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortesque Metals in the mining sector and Coles, Woolworths, Harvey Norman, Myer and Officeworks in retail.

Environment and Culture of the workplace

You will probably work in a professional office environment surrounded by intelligent individuals, using the latest in technology and operating systems and have a large workload.  Demand for accountants currently outstrips supply, so your office is likely to be fast paced and time-managed well.  The variety and specialisation of work makes for a good mix of skills, and often cross-functional teams work together on assignments. 

The “Big Four” have huge resources but also huge expectations and budgets to deliver against.  For some people it’s the only place to work whilst for others, a more personalised environment is preferable.  Depending on your industry preference, there is a culture to suit all personality types.