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Compensation Watch ’10: PwC Starts Spreading the News in New York

Posted on by Daniel Braddock

It’s raining bonuses and raises over at PricewaterhouseCoopers these days. Unfortunately, all I’m seeing are news tips (monetary tips or buybacks at the bar are always appreciated). All of my sources are from the NYC office, so if you’re elsewhere in the country, please share your numbers in the comments below. Here’s what we know so far:


• Advisory/Consulting senior associate received a raise north of 18.5%. No, that is not a typo. So in the advisory practice it’s safe to assume the spread is 0% to 19% for raises this year, with the average being about 6% as reported by Caleb earlier.

• A recently promoted associate to senior associate in advisory received a 10.5% raise and a $3,000 bonus.

• Tax bonuses are being handed out now as well. Size matters in this instance, people. Cough up the details below.

This indicates that resources are being spent on what is being determined to be the right people in the right practices. Average performers should expect to receive 4-6% and take it to the bank.

Audit people, what are your numbers looking like? Email us or post your comments below. Practice/office/level are always appreciated

Thanks to everyone that is sharing information. Enjoy the weekend.

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What if Deloitte Moved Out of New York City?

What happens when you’re the Prized Catch of the New York City real estate market? You threaten to move your operations to New Jersey or Connecticut, of course!

Per a report on GlobeSt.com: “According to IDA documents, Deloitte notes that it is ‘currently assessing options’ for its metro area real estate strategy, ‘including the evaluation of existing in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.’”

One could assume that this is just a ploy by Deloitte to frighten the IDA into approving $21 million in tax benefits, but Deloitte – currently in four different buildings around the city – bit back with teeth:

In New Jersey, Deloitte US firms “have significant operations, including recently expanded, underutilized class A office space.” Similarly, Deloitte has more than 30,000 square feet of “underutilized” office space in Connecticut, and adds that “various other jurisdictions are being considered” for future growth.

Now before you East Village wannabe socialites and Park Slope stroller pushers freak, let’s break this down.

Deloitte isn’t going anywhere. Corporate Tax breaks are nothing new, right baseball fans?

Even if it were to move across the Hudson to New Jersey, it is doubtful the firm would go farther than Jersey City. Sure, there are comrades in Parsippany; but it would be very difficult to maintain a city presence from exit 45 off of Rte 80. But from a staffing perspective, this would be corporate suicide. What University of Texas (“at Austin” – sure, sure) graduate wants to move to New York City and Not. Actually. Be. In. New York. City?

Recruitment – shot.

Talent retention – HAHAHA.

A handful of current employees thankful their NJ Transit days are over – okay, I’ll give you that one.

Listen – in reality, this is a rather simple case. Manhattan is bleeding vacant office space; Deloitte is promising 2,100 new jobs; no one really wants to take the PATH train to work every morning. This should be a rather slam dunk case.

Unless, of course, Connecticut governor Jodi Rell catches wind that the Green Dot is looking for a new home.

Are the Edgy Efforts Really Necessary for Recruiting Accountants?

PwC’s Branding Week taught us nothing we didn’t already know.

So as you may recall, PwC launched its massive PR campaign two weeks ago, wrapped up in super-PR spin in this clip from ABC news:


Even if you sat earnestly with pen in hand, I doubt you had any significant takeaways from the video. “Networking starts with the people you know.” “Students should be aware of what they post online.” “Careers are a marathon, not a spring.” Really? For a moment I thought networking was accomplished by connecting with complete strangers on LinkedIn. Please.

Don’t forget about Deloitte’s push to join the 21st century, albeit it a few years late. Talk of Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and YouTube channels, oh my! Come ON. Walk into a campus lecture hall of 100 students and you’ll find 97 of them tapping away on their cell phones. Are they tweeting? Hell no. This generation finds Twitter boring. They need more (as in pictures, tagging, communication channels) than Twitter can offer. Blah.

At the core of it all, are these efforts really necessary? The fundamentals of supply and demand will always make accounting majors one of the top recruiting prizes on college campuses. The major consistently has a top-five placement rate after graduation. Both the accounting firms and the private sector will continue to flourish as hiring grounds.

Then why bother? We all know the profession is sugar coated with promises of worldly travel or volunteer release time; the need for the best and brightest is no secret. That is, in itself, the answer.

Anyone can recruit an accountant, but the best and brightest are chased. Hounded. Stalked. All in the name of tweets.

Three Pet Peeves to Avoid at Work

Happy MOANday, people. Back from the weekend and cranky to be here, today’s post is not supposed to come off as salty.

But it might. My (somewhat sincere) apologies.

Good intentions aside, our coworkers and their habits get to us; this should come as no surprise. It is inevitable – being surrounded by the same individuals for long periods of time – that we will not like everything about our coworkers. Listed below are few popular pet peeves that should be avoided:


Music – This is a catch-all for all aspects of music at work: listening to music without headphones; listening to music with both headphones; humming to your playlist; using red pencils as drum sticks and binders as snare drums. There are other people around. Grow up, Tommy Lee. Keep the air drumming restricted to your Rock Band parties.

Everything about food – Food in the fridge labeled “do not throw out”. Fish for lunch. There’s nothing wrong with bringing a hot lunch to work; but have some respect for the surrounding cubicles. Eat your tofu and bean curd in the same area you heated it up – your floor’s kitchenette.

Personal calls in public spaces – Early in my career my cubicle was adjacent to Lover Boy. Every day like clockwork Lover Boy would speak to his lady friend at 9am, 12:30pm, 3pm, and whenever he closed out for the day. Conversations were always predictable (“I’m eating the salami and Munster cheese sandwich you made me”) and oftentimes cases of TMI. The issue of over sharing on the phone is rooted in the fact that people are comfortable at work; more time during the week is spent in the office than at home. Because of that, people forget that there are strangers within earshot (we all know the person I’m referring to – feet up on the desk, recounting the cake at Aunt Thelma’s 60th birthday bash). Taking the time to find a quiet room or unused conference space to argue about unwarranted cell phone charges shows respect for your colleagues. A good rule of thumb is avoid having a conversation at your desk that you wouldn’t take while sitting next to your grandmother. If your grandmother wouldn’t want to hear it, neither do I.

Expand on these or share your own pet peeves below.