Tag: Ernst & Young

Future Ernst & Young Intern Wants to Know How to Land on a Prestigious Engagement

Welcome to the slightly-less-mad-Friday edition of Accounting Career Emergencies. In today’s edition, a future E&Y intern only wants to work on the sexiest tech clients that the House of Turley has to offer. How can one ensure that he/she lands only on the clients worth bragging to their peers? Let’s find out!

Caught in a busy season love-triangle (audit-cleaning crew-admin)? Not sure if your auditor is being honest with you? Upset over a rival’s shady moves? Email us at advice@goingconcern.comDear Going Concern,

I am a future 2011 Assurance Intern for EY. Do you suggest emailing my contacts in the firm regarding preferences as to industry and clients? They know from my interviews that I prefer tech clients, but is it wise to go into greater detail? I don’t want to seem entitled, but I also don’t want to get stuck on some crappy client because everyone else voiced their preferences and got spots at Apple, Google, Facebook, etc. Suggestions on how to voice such opinions would be welcome also.

– Future Staff 1


Dear FS1,

I like it when someone knows exactly what they want but I feel that you need some perspective. Let me start by answering your question directly. I don’t see anything wrong with voicing your interests in the clients you mentioned to your contacts at E&Y, especially if those contacts work on those engagements. If none of the people that you met during the recruiting process serve those clients, attempt to get in touch with someone via the contacts you did make. “The squeaky wheel gets the grease” or “the hooker won’t land the john in the Mercedes across the street if they don’t yell at him” certainly applies here.

Now for that perspective I mentioned – Apple, Google, Facebook are all sexy names and are obviously prestigious clients but let me be clear, these engagements’ allure is extremely deceiving. When I was a resident in the House of Klynveld, I worked on one of the most prestigious private equity clients the firm had. I landed a spot on this team because this is exactly what I wanted at the time, I spoke up and with some luck, I got what I asked for. It was great experience and I worked with a lot of talented people but the majority of the time, I wouldn’t say it was a pleasant experience. The hours were long, there were lots of political games and it was a GIANT rumor mill. Now if you think you can thrive in such an environment, then I say go for it but in my experience it wears on most people. I would expect the teams you mentioned would be a similar experience.

However, as an intern, I’d expect that you’ll be mostly on the fringes of most of the negative aspects of working on such a team because the firm wants you to think it’s a great place to work and managers and partners on those clients want you to think it’s a great engagement. And because you want a full-time job someday, you’re going to do your best to impress the wrinkled pants off these people. If you accomplish that feat, they will want you back on their team. The problem is that once you’re on that team, it may be very difficult to get off that team when you discover that it is Hell on Earth. Now maybe you’ll get mentored by one of those I’m-working-my-ass-off-for-very-little-gratitude-because-I-want-to-get-ahead-in-this-firm types and you’ll really like it. But if that doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, then learn as much about the team while you are an intern to determine if you want to work on it or a similar client in the future. Talk to the A2s and SA1s (sorry A1s, you’re still clueless) to get their perspective but make sure it’s the people that will level with you about what life is really like on that engagement. HINT: If you get a rah-rah speech about the “experience on such a great client” you’re not getting an honest take.

So make your client desires known to get a taste of the life on a sexy client but once you land there, be sure to take a look around to see what life (or a pathetic version of it) will be really like if you’re still there in the future. Good luck.

Ernst & Young, Guy Who Plays Boy Wizard to be Recognized by Trevor Project

Having seen the rabid crowds outside FAO Schwarz to see this guy first hand, it’s hard telling what kind of internal battle there is at E&Y to rub elbows with Harry Potter (even if he’s likely to be sans spectacles).

Daniel Radcliffe will be honored by The Trevor Project with the Trevor Hero Award during “Trevor LIVE” at Capitale (130 Bowery, NY, NY). The annual show benefits the life-saving work of The Trevor Project and will also honor Ernst & Young LLP with the Trevor 2020 Award.

If you’re not familiar with the Trevor Project, they do great work, focusing on “suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth.” Kudos to E&Y for the recognition.

ESPN’s Website Deemed Not Crucial for Ernst & Young’s Non-Monetary NCAA Bracket Competition

Perhaps circumstances have changed but as of yesterday, access to the most popular and comprehensive coverage on the web will not be allowed.


Which is unfortunate since some offices appear to be supportive of some bracketing.

Are you ready for March Madness?

As part of _______________ into spring campaign, it’s time to join the festivities during the 2011 NCAA Basketball Tournament. The “Madness” begins today with a non-monetary NCAA Tournament bracket competition. Everyone in the ___________ office can submit an online Tournament bracket. At the end of the Tournament, the person from each service line who picks the most winning teams will receive _____________________ (and bragging rights!).

You must complete your Tournament bracket before Thursday, March 17 __________________. Expand the section below for instructions on how to submit a bracket under your service line. During the Tournament, which concludes with the championship game on April 4, you can visit your group’s page and see how your bracket is performing compared with your service line colleagues’ brackets. If you have any questions, please contact ____________________________

Not exactly sure how you guys feel about a non-monetary competition but as far as strategy goes, since we’ve already given you access to the best strategy you can find. Of course some people are enjoying this immensely.

Latest Epic Video Out of Ernst & Young Includes Lots of Bleeps, Faux-Coffee Diss, Best Lyric Ever

It’s been increasingly obvious that Ernst & Young has the most talented video producers amongst the rank ‘n’ file Big 4 professionals. Last year we saw a video from the Las Vegas office (it was pulled) that was not the most impressive in terms of the talent presented but a Elvis impersonator made up for the rest of the group.

More recently from the Black and Yellow we’ve seen a farewell rock video and a mockumentary from across the pond (also pulled) that both demonstrate the sort of right-brained capabilities that exist within E&Y. Today, we bring you the latest in epic E&Y videos that brings voice to the frustration of being stuck in a JIT (“just-in-time”) cubicle.


So there’s a lot to digest here but I’ve got my favorite moments picked out:

1. I’m not sure who wears vests to the office these days but it’s fashion-forward and I like it.

2. Cursing right off the bat (and not letting up) score bigs points with Adrienne.

3. A Flavia diss is always apropriate.

4. Best lyric ever: I’M THE KING OF EY; ON A JET LIKE TURLEY; YOU’RE IN PUBLIC ACCOUNTING, NO YOU AIN’T LEAVIN’ EARLY

5. Kicking the roller was mean (but hilarious).

6. They should have known they were doomed when they wrote the lyric about a partner “seeing me now.”

7. Chuck Norris? Obama? Paddycake? Things really took a strange turn at the end.

The word from the tubes is that it’s been making the rounds inside and outside E&Y so we’re not exactly sure when this was made but our tipster was a little miffed about the possibility of these guys not having anything to do:

Here’s another video produced by auditors in the midst of busy season who somehow find time for this shit. This one comes courtesy of EY San Jose. Apparently it’s been making it’s rounds inside (and outside) of EY all day. HR must be thrilled at this use of company time (and property, from what it appears).

Apparently it never occurred to our tipster that this was a firm-sanctioned production since the Vegas vid went over so well. There’s only one way to find out so I left voicemails for both of these guys to try and get the behind-the-JIT story. So far I haven’t heard back from either of them but it’s still a little early out in San Jose. But whenever you can guys, email us.

Your thoughts on this latest bit of video ingenuity are welcome at this time.

Ernst & Young Video Accurately Portrays First Year Associates in Their New Habitat

This came by way of Jersey (this Jersey, you idiots) and the footage is incredible.

A few things that I observed and/or learned from watching this video:

1. “Duckling syndrome” is something I was familiar with but not that it had a name or was a syndrome.

2. All tax professionals seem to behave exactly the same, no matter where you encounter them.

3. Apparently this was filmed on a casual Friday based on the denim worn by the guy that appears at the 4:00 mark.

4. Timesheets are due at 5:30 on Fridays?

One thing that was less surprising:

1. “At some critical stage in their development, tax professionals generally fail to attain the basic skills necessary for social interaction.”

Leave your own observations below.

What Did Ernst & Young Call Lehman’s ‘Goat Poo’ Assets?

Considering E&Y was, ya know, the auditors and all, they should have been aware that these assets were a grade or two (or three) below human excrement and probably had some name for them.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc (LEHMQ.PK) filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 15, 2008 and then quickly sold its prize investment banking assets to Barclays Bank (BARC.L). JPMorgan had been Lehman’s banker. The court papers, filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan on Thursday, said that Barclays and Lehman called certain Lehman assets “toxic waste” and “goat poo” and knowingly excluded them from their sale agreement.

Jim Turley has been a willing participant in this whole thing so far but were far more interested in what you guys think.

JPMorgan says Lehman called assets “goat poo” [Reuters]

How Long Does It Take to Climb the Ladder at Ernst & Young?

Welcome to the where-the-hell-is-Bahrain? edition of Accounting Career Emergencies. In today’s edition, a future E&Y tax associate wants the lowdown on the black and yellow ladder. How high are these rungs, anyway?

Caught in a career conundrum? Have a co-worker that keeps swiping your red Swingline? Want to put the moves on a fellow auditor in the copy room? Email us at advice@goingconcern.com and we’ll help you avoid anything that involves in a knuckle.

Back to our girl on the partner track:

Hi,

I will be starting in the tax dept of a Big Four soon.

How long would it take to move up the tax ladder? (Yes, yes I know your response will be to start first before I start thinking about promotions… But I am thinking ahead…)

What is the minimum number of years typically required at each level? Are exceptions ever made? What goes into promotion decisions? How long would it take to get to the partner/director level? Is the promotion criteria generally standard across all Big Four or is there some variation?

Thanks,
Ms. Thinking Ahead

Dear Ms TA,

You’re quite the eager….errr, go-getter aren’t you? That’s good, I like my accountants ambitious. We’re not intimately familiar with the ladder at E&Y but we’ll give it a go and let the bean gallery fill in the gaps.

Typically, you can expect to be an associate two to three years before being promoted to senior. Depending on the needs of your practice group and your performance, this could be shorter or longer. In order to get the bump to manager, you can expect another three years at a minimum, again, subject to the needs of your group and whether or not you’re impressing the pants off the brass. From there, you can expect at least two years at manager, another two to three as a senior manager and then, if you’re lucky and you have a good business case, TPTB might start looking at your for admittance to the partnership. Altogether, you’re looking at a bare minimum of nine years before you can even get a whiff of partner and twelve to fifteen is probably a more realistic time frame. There are exceptions of course but that’s more or less the timeline.

Because tax doesn’t have the same fee pressure as their audit counterparts the wait might not be as long but don’t forget, not just anyone gets into the partnership. You need to be a performer and be able to win new clients. The benefit of tax is that it has more diverse career paths available, so if you find discover that you’re a wizard at transfer pricing or M&A, you might see a quicker ascension.

This presupposes the fact that you obtain your CPA in a timely fashion as most tax practices will not promote you to manager without a CPA, a JD or EA. How about it black and yellow tax troops? Dispel with the gory details as necessary.

Ernst & Young Employee Ups the Farewell Email Bar By Including Self-Made Rock Video

Last month, we kicked off a new year of epic farewell emails by sharing an ex-Deloitte employee’s somber sendoff. This was followed-up with a P. Dubber who answered the call to fight crime on the streets of Baltimore.

Today, we bring you the latest in epic sendoffs, this time courtesy of the “Black and Yellow.”

My fellow citizens of EY nation past and present. I know the EY grapevine talks, so this email probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise, but I wanted to personally let you know. Tomorrow is my last day here at this beautiful place called Ernst & Young. It’s almost been 6 years, which I believe EY years to be somewhat like doggie years, so that probably comes out to more like 7. Monday, I am moving into a new role as a [number cruncher] for [new employer] (here in [a city]). I am very excited about this new opportunity, but over the past few weeks, I have become oddly nostalgic about this place. So those 17 pages of EY jabs and complaints that I’ve been compiling for this day will have to stay with me. Just kidding! It certainly hasn’t been an easy road, but I honestly know I’ve gained some valuable experience, knowledge and skills I wouldn’t have in another position. I’ve also really enjoyed working with you all over the years and hope our paths cross in the future. Even though some of you are crazy workaholics, it’s so nice to be able to know that you will get the job done and even share a joke or a story along the way. I appreciate all that has been done for me and as a token of my appreciation I’ve thrown together a going away present from me to you:

Favorite lyrics and whether he’s as good as Steve Beguhn are now on the floor for discussion.

Jim Turley Wasn’t Impressed with the State of the Union

The Ernst & Young Global CEO chimed in di-rectly from Davos.

President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address failed to convince executives and economists at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting that he’s serious about taming the U.S. budget deficit.

Hours after Obama used the speech to propose a partial freeze on government spending, delegates at the conference in Davos, Switzerland, said the U.S. is lagging foreign counterparts in cutting a budget deficit of more than $1.2 trillion.

“There is an unwillingness to deal with the real gorilla in the room,” said Martin Sorrell, chief executive officer of advertiser WPP Plc. James Turley, CEO of Ernst & Young LLP, said, “we need a heck of a lot more action on it” and that Obama’s speech “lacked details.”

The Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For: Ernst & Young #77 (2011)

Well, there had to be a biggest loser in Fortune rankings this year amongst the accounting firms and this year the honor belongs to E&Y. Now, we’re sure you’ll give us your thoughts on why you think the firm took a dive from #44 (highest ranked firm last year) to #77 but the fact that Fortune indicates the firm dropped subsidized gym memberships could be a good place to start. Maybe E&Y decided it prefers its people on the frumpy side? Or maybe they’re simply saving for the Lehman Brothers defense fund?


Ernst & Young – Previous rank: #44. Need reasons? How about corporate citizenship? Fortune says, “The consulting and auditing firm donated some $31 million to charitable causes in 2009, including $6.4 million in matching contributions.”

Stats of note:
• New Jobs (1 year): -1,751
• % Job Growth (1 year): -7%
• % Voluntary Turnover: 11%
• No. of Job Openings at 1/13/2010: 10,000
• Most common salaried job: Manager – $102,593
• % Minorities: 29%
• % Women: 49%

Taking a look at last year’s stats, new jobs, percentage job growth, voluntary turnover, average salary for most common job all trended negatively. Percentage of minorities was flat and percentage of women ticked down 1%. The number of job openings jumped from 622 last year to the 10,000 above, so interpret you can either interpret that as “we’re desperate for people” or “we’re growing like gangbusters.” Arguments for each, thoughts on the 33 slot drop or speculation on what kind of cigars Jim Turley (Cohibas, we thinks) took to Davos are welcome at this time.

Earlier:
The Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For: Plante & Moran #26 (2011)
The Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For: Deloitte #63 (2011)
The Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For: PwC #73 (2011)
The Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For: Ernst & Young #44

You’d Be Wrong If You Thought the Ernst & Young Golden Globe Auditors Were Taking a Back Seat to Other Award Show Auditors

Because, really, is team of Ernst & Young and Ricky Gervais versus PwC, James Franco and Anne Hathaway even a debate?

If you feel strongly about it we’ll hear you out but it’ll take some convincing.

The winners of the 68th annual Golden Globe® Awards will remain a secret until they are revealed January 16 to millions of viewers around the world, thanks to the efforts of Ernst & Young LLP, a leader in assurance, tax, transaction, advisory services and strategic growth markets. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has relied on Ernst & Young for the past 38 years to conduct the ballot tabulation process of the Golden Globes® with security, integrity and reliability.

And just in case you’re concerned about Ernst & Young’s “security, integrity and reliability” because of you know who, the protocols have been laid out in detail:

• Winners are known only to three senior Ernst & Young executives in advance of the telecast;

• Ernst & Young is also responsible for qualifying voting members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, confirming that their credentials are current and meet the standards set forth by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association;

• Ernst & Young controls the entire voting process beginning with the nomination ballots, and maintains control of the ballots until the telecast is over;

• Results are triple-checked to eliminate any margin of error; and

• Winner envelopes are assembled by Ernst & Young and are maintained exclusively under Ernst & Young’s control until they are handed directly to each celebrity presenter moments before they appear on-stage.