Many business students, especially accounting majors, dream of landing a job at a Big Four accounting firm. When people think of the Big Four, high salaries and intense workloads often come to mind. But what exactly are the functions within these firms? Does studying in the U.S. help? Which master's majors are most valued by the Big Four? This article will give you a comprehensive look!
Introduction to the Big Four
The Big Four are the world's four largest professional services networks:
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC): PwC has the largest and strongest audit practice among the Big Four. In 2019, its audit revenue reached $17.38 billion, accounting for 40.9% of total revenue.
Deloitte (DTT): With 312,000 employees globally, Deloitte is the pinnacle of consulting among accounting firms. By retaining its consulting arm at the start of the century, Deloitte secured an early-mover advantage; its consulting revenue reached $27.8 billion in 2019, ranking No. 1.
KPMG: KPMG holds a significant market share among financial services clients, a clear competitive edge. Its client quality is also among the best in the industry, with over 75% being Fortune 500 companies. KPMG places great emphasis on employee development, offering many systematic training opportunities.
Ernst & Young (EY): EY has the fastest revenue growth among the Big Four and provides the greatest upward mobility for women, with women accounting for 26% of new partners. EY also boasts the best training system in the Big Four.
Main Functions in the Big Four
Audit
Audit is the core function of an accounting firm, and its scope extends far beyond the public perception of just working with numbers. Auditors must gain a deep understanding of every aspect of a client’s business, review financial statements, issue audit reports, handle audits for IPOs, mergers, demergers, and liquidations, as well as internal control reviews, fraud investigations, and dispute coordination, all while delivering value-added services to clients.
Tax
Tax is the highest revenue-generating function in an accounting firm. Responsibilities include filing tax returns, tax planning, providing tax advisory services, and supporting the audit division with tax reviews to ensure clients’ tax liabilities are adequately provisioned. Tax professionals work extensively with forms and documents and must be able to independently draft business reports and emails.
Advisory
The advisory division tackles issues faced by clients from strategy to implementation, focusing mainly on operations and finance. This includes helping businesses improve and sustain internal performance, such as optimizing supply chains and enhancing operational efficiency, as well as developing integrated, comprehensive risk management approaches that enable clients to benefit from their internal control investments.
Advantages of the Big Four
In China:
The Big Four carry strong brand recognition, making them an attractive choice for fresh graduates. Domestically, they offer well-established training mechanisms that help students transition from campus to the workplace and cultivate their professional skills. Big Four experience is highly valued even when seeking future job changes, and starting salaries are competitive, with annual increases.
Overseas:
If the Big Four are attractive domestically, the benefits in the U.S. are even better. Over 90% of U.S. public companies are audited by Big Four firms, resulting in higher fees and better employee compensation. Moreover, accounting offers stable career development; layoffs during economic downturns are rare, and the lifestyle is not as grueling as investment banking, with less relentless travel and overtime. First-year audit associates at U.S. Big Four firms start around $60,000, with transparent promotion paths and significant annual raises. After five to six years, a Manager can earn $150,000–$200,000.
Advantages for International Students Returning to China to Join the Big Four
Most Big Four clients use English for communication, and even daily office communication may be in English. Compared to domestic graduates, international students often possess stronger English skills and social abilities — qualities that the Big Four highly value. Therefore, the Big Four are keen to hire graduates from QS Top 200 universities, especially those with aligned majors.
What the U.S. Big Four Look For
First, any large company places importance on the reputation and ranking of a candidate’s university and major. GPA and internship experience are also critical, and a top-tier university background implies stronger alumni networks, which can give a candidate an edge through networking. Another key credential is the USCPA. As the premier qualification in the U.S. accounting profession, holding a USCPA certificate effectively grants the unique right to sign audit reports — an asset of immense value at Big Four firms. However, the USCPA exam is quite difficult, so the choice of undergraduate and graduate coursework becomes crucial.
Majors That Lead to the Big Four
Accounting
Accounting is arguably the most in-demand major at the Big Four, leading to roles in audit and tax. For audit positions, obtaining a CPA license is essential. In the tax area, tax and financial accounting are closely intertwined, with most or virtually all accounting principles applicable to tax accounting. In the U.S., tax is a major focus of accounting work and a primary specialization for international students.
Recommended Programs:
University of Illinois — Master of Accounting Science (MAS)
Columbia University — MS in Accounting
Washington University in St. Louis — Master of Accounting
Financial Engineering / Financial Mathematics Master’s
These majors are closely tied to the management consulting business of the Big Four. Consulting engagements often involve substantial financial knowledge — such as M&A and restructuring — requiring model-based quantitative analysis that tests candidates’ foundational expertise.
Columbia University — MS Financial Engineering
New York University — MS Financial Engineering
University of Southern California — MS in Financial Engineering
Master’s in Business Analytics / Data Science
Graduates from these programs also enter management consulting at the Big Four, as the consulting industry demands strong numerical sensitivity, extensive quantitative skills, and significant time spent communicating with clients to collect, analyze, and present data.
University of Chicago — Master of Science in Analytics
Columbia University — MS in Applied Analytics
Massachusetts Institute of Technology — Master of Business Analytics
Master’s in Finance
Finance is a broad discipline. Earning a CPA is beneficial for entry into the Big Four. It should be noted that the Big Four operate within the financial services industry but are not the most direct link to finance itself; in many roles, they serve as a third party executing specific components of capital projects. Pure finance graduates may find it relatively challenging to enter the Big Four.
Columbia University — MS in Financial Economics
Johns Hopkins University — MS in Financial Economics
New York University — MS in Global Finance
If you are interested in applying to the above programs, scan the QR code below to start a one-on-one consultation~
