Audit vs Advisory (1 Viewer)

[nukewell]

Hey guys

im a commerce grad (acc/fin) @ melb and having trouble deciding between Audit or Advisory in my grad applications this yr

i have no experience so im not really sure what career paths both offer - it seems to me audit a good place to start, develop some skills ect - but what about advisory - i see its quite a growing area in the indusrty - does if offer a good career
where might it take someone?
would you still do your CA?
what other positions might it lead to, consulting elsewhere? is that all?

thanks in advance and sorry if makes no sense

 

[seremify007]

Audit is good if you're new and want to learn things. IMO I don't get how one can offer any advisory services without being out there in the field and seeing what real companies do to solve their issues. Audit lets you see normal businesses and you can try to learn what you can by getting that insider's look.

Advisory is much tougher to get into but may not require you to do CA. Advisory leads to consulting work moreso than audit though.

 

[Vagabond]

Its not bad to start in audit then move into advisory. Advisory in general prefers people with a bit more experience behind them.

If you're def. not interested in technical accounting though, you can always skip the audit part.

I'd avoid using the umbrella of advisory though... there are so many divisions and sub-divisions doing completely different things; from business modeling to actuarial to transformations to insolvency. You should really try to learn more about the different areas because they're all quite different.

 

[nukewell]

I'd avoid using the umbrella of advisory though... there are so many divisions and sub-divisions doing completely different things; from business modeling to actuarial to transformations to insolvency.

ye ive noticed that, when i say advisory i generally mean strategy, performance improvement.

in my head i find it hard to understand how a new grad can just go into advisory without any industry experience...i spose it would just like observing and doing research/valuations and stuff at the start.

Down the road i have a rough goal of getting into management in commerce and industry - do u think audit would be a good grounding for this sought of thing? im guessing it would since you would make some good contacts - but there seems so many other more interesting options in accounting firms these days

 

[Vagabond]

Even saying performance improvement means very little.. But meh.

Go audit if you want your CA and some technical background. Advisory will get you a consultancy background. I'd say somebody with their CA in Advisory would have the best of both worlds.

 

[turtleface]

Wow haven't been here for ages, good to see you again Seremify, and vagabond I remember you too

I'm really tempted to go something besides audit but imo audit still gives the best stepping stone to other areas, it's hard to get back into audit from non acc lines (though that might be because nobody wants to)

 

[seremify007]

^ It's because when you've been elsewhere for too long, you lose out on the KPIs/metrics which are used to gauge someones' progression in audit. Things like technical knowledge (both industry-wise and of audit methodology changes), client relationships, and just general knowing of who's who in your own division (since turnover is quite high). Sure you can come back in, but would you really want to go back to your "old" grade/level whilst people you started with are ahead/higher ranked than you now? Awkward I'd say.

And audit definitely teaches you the most in the shortest span of time- there's considerable amounts of training and development the firms put into you so that you can rock up to a client and have a half decent idea of what's going on (both industry-knowledge and technical).

nukewell- do you know what kind of industry you'd want to work in later on though? For example, FMCGs would not require you to be ex-Big4 audit to know how things work and to be involved in management accounting (or management in general) but of course it always helps. On the other hand, working in a bank or financial institution would definitely benefit (considerably more) from extensive audit experience in those fields.

 

[Omnidragon]

Wow haven't been here for ages, good to see you again Seremify, and vagabond I remember you too

I'm really tempted to go something besides audit but imo audit still gives the best stepping stone to other areas, it's hard to get back into audit from non acc lines (though that might be because nobody wants to)

Do you remember me?

 

[nukewell]

nukewell- do you know what kind of industry you'd want to work in later on though? For example, FMCGs would not require you to be ex-Big4 audit to know how things work and to be involved in management accounting (or management in general) but of course it always helps. On the other hand, working in a bank or financial institution would definitely benefit (considerably more) from extensive audit experience in those fields.

no i dont really know what industry i want to work in, i guess after i get some experience in the field it will help me.

ive got final interviews with PWC - i think risk division and also Deloitte - Audit so im keeping my options open.

ATM im prob leaning toward audit but havnt decided yet