PROS:
- GREAT company values, lots of fun work perks (a pretty good and flexible fitness benefit, for eg), and many great firm socials.
- The environment is pretty pleasant, and you will probably develop a great professional network of ambitious co-workers and wise mentors!
- It seems like there is a huge rate of participation in the firm teams, groups, etc., and a generally high level of pride in the company.
- A sketched out path of progression (promotions) within all factions.
- At the very least, you will learn A GREAT AMOUNT, and make a lot of amazing friends.
CONS:
- This may be typical of the industry, but the length of your workday/workweek varies significantly between the seasons (specific to business cycles of your main clients) - for eg, I worked ~70 hour weeks for 3 months on end (probably 2-3 holidays in total over this period).
- The concept of overtime compensation doesn't exist (at least for co-ops), and this leads to undercompensated work. It's very easy to lose motivation.
- A (sometimes unreasonable) expectation from you to "work-from-home".
- The teams you're deployed as a part of can vary significantly in terms of how welcoming/accommodating/fun they can be. This can lead to a very stressful environment given the long hours.
- For beginners, there is also a concern re: the large variance in the level of support (in terms of coaching) provided by teams (employees are almost always promoted to "Senior Accountant"-level, even though there is a
A lot of calendaring for my executive and some of the other senior level employees.
External and internal meetings as I worked in Advisory Services. This was a very FAST paced environment.
Here I learned to enjoy the fast pace and really time manage.
We submitted a lot of proposals so I am very familiar with editing/polishing powerpoints etc. for presentations to C-suite externals.
the hardest part of the job was making sure everything was done by deadline and so that put a lot of stress on me. It was my first job out of university so I really value the time I worked at EY for I was taught and learned on my own how to handle high pressure situations.
The most enjoyable part of the job was when we won a bid and I knew that I helped contribute to that success.
Management and procedures were very organized and there was room for growth. This place was not hypocritical in their values and they did provide growth for their employees.
Co-workers were either really great to work with (regarded me as a friend and co-worker) regardless of what level. OR they were hierarchical and I did not like this. It was quite a big organization so I didn't get the tight family feeling I receive most times at CPPIB.
Proseducation could be paid from 50-100% depending on what I took, very reputable company, learned a lot of my executive level skills from working here
Conssome people asked a lot of me and it was not possible when I worked for so many people, I would oftentimes burn myself out because I had trouble saying no or delegating.
3.0
Desktop Support Technician | Toronto, ON | Mar 14, 2013
Monkey say monkey do
Worked here for 5 years in their IT department. After 2.5 years they globalized IT. My manager changed and suddenly what used to be a nice place to work wasn't all that nice anymore. Would show up for work, do my work and go home. The perfect work/life balance as once you leave work you wipe your hands clean. Management was horrible as my manager failed to manage people properly. Just because you worked for the same company for 25 years doean't mean you have what it takes to be a manager. I will stop there as there's just too much to talk about. One word is micromanagement.
The hardest part of the job is knowing that no one moves around in the IT sector of the company unless someone leaves or someone dies. If you are in any department other than Core Business Services (CBS) you're in good hands. All my manager wanted me to do was sit at my desk and do my work and go home. No encouragement for taking courses other than stupid online web based ones which only benefit the company itself. For the people that fall under CBS, good luck getting a raise when another recession comes along as people outside CBS got a raise and people within got shafted. My fault as my lazyness kept me working here for another 4 years.
The difference between everyone else and CBS.
Jr. Staff Accountants become managers in 4-5 years
IT Analyst in still an IT Analyst in 5-6 years
If you don't work in CBS working here a few years will do you justice. If you work in CBS, god help you.
Prosthe best work/life balance
Consno room for advancement within cbs
1.0
Senior Staff Accountant | Vancouver, BC | Jun 21, 2022
Fun people, Terrible work-life balance and burnout
The level of attrition within the industry is staggering. I can only speak to myself and my close friends and colleagues, but everyone felt overworked, underpaid and generally excited to exit the firm into industry. Expect an average work week of 55+ hours. Summer hours can be more acceptable (40 hours) unless you have a client going through a special transaction and/or summer fiscal year end.
Due to regulatory and client commitment deadlines, you must be able to work under extreme levels of pressure. Due to the levels of attrition, teams often feel understaffed and thus the burden falls on those that remain.
It's important to note that accounting was not a passion of mine and thus likely contributed to my poor experience at the firm. Although, you will find very few people that are truly passionate about the industry and/or job.
The firm does it's best to provide you with adequate training but the majority of learning will be done on the job. If you have a supportive manager then you will have necessary guidance to survive the engagement. If that is not the case, you will often find the job quite frustrating and draining trying to navigate your assigned tasks.
With that being said, there is a fairly strong sense of unity within the firm as everyone is enduring the same conditions together. You will likely be able to find yourself some life long friends while working at EY.
I worked here as a clerk for a year. It was the most hostile work environment I have ever worked in. The management team consisted of 5 lawyers and 4 managers, all of whom were female. It was difficult to work under 9 female managers, especially when there was clear animosity between said management. Staff were treated like minions, working overtime consistently and being scrutinized when overtime was submitted to management for review. But not working overtime resulted in management considering you to be a poor, lazy worker. The people who thrive in this environment are people who do not care for a work/life balance, have little regard for other human beings, and have robotic like tendencies. Not a fit for you if you are mostly human and care to have a social life.
Most clerks I worked with complained of anxiety, stress, and even depression on a consistent basis.
Toxic horrible place to work.
Proshealth benefits were inexpensive and very good
Senior Program Manager | Toronto, ON | Dec 9, 2014
EY
Excellent Top 5 consulting firm. Located Globally around the world.
Ernst & Young (known as EY) is a multinational professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It was the third largest professional services firm in the world by aggregated revenue in 2012 and is one of the "Big Four" audit firms
The organization operates as a network of member firms which are separate legal entities in individual countries. It has 190,000 employees and more than 700 offices in over 150 countries. It provides assurance (including financial audit), tax, consulting and advisory services to companies
The firm dates back to 1849 with the founding of Harding & Pullein in England. The current firm was formed by a merger of Ernst & Whinney and Arthur Young & Co. in 1989.[9] It was known as Ernst & Young until 2013, when it underwent a rebranding to EY. The acronym "EY" was already an informal name for the firm prior to its official adoption
You get more experience than you would working in easy 9-5 jobs but it comes at the cost of long work hours, working over weekends and even holidays.
Pay is not competitive in Finance roles when compared to other companies. But working for here is comparable to going to a prestigious school, once you're done with it you'll have a really big name to back you up.
There is a focus on work-life balance but it is all bluff and not real. If you work your 40 hours a week you're seen as lazy and same if you take advantage of working from home. The culture is work extended hours regardless if there isn't any work to get through.
Work politics are a big part of this firm, network yourself well and you'll move up quickly and you'll have a good time working. But do the opposite and you'll hate what you do.
ProsGood social events and great benefits package
ConsLong hours, Office politics
3.0
Financial Risk Manager | London, ON | Jan 23, 2017
Experience depends on the team and the Partner you are working for
EY does not actually seem to have a culture. The experience is completely dependent on the team and Partner you are working with.
My personal experience has varied between awful at one end where due to Partners working to their own personal agendas and looking after person favourites there was no interesting work or development, to the other end of the spectrum where I was part of fantastic motivated teams and Partners who work me hard but energized and developed me.
whatever the case, the pay and benefits were very good which made the whole experience a little sweeter.
ProsOpportunity to try new things and work with a variety of people, The basic pay and benefits package is pretty good.
ConsProgression and development is not transparent, It's very political environment with a culture of favouritism.
Environnement de travail agréable, un peu stressant
J'ai beaucoup aimé travailler chez Ernst & Young. J'ai appris à mettre de l'avant ma facilité de gestion du temps en travaillant pour cette entreprise. J'ai appris à faire l'inventaire des produits utilisés sur une base régulière, à remplir et nettoyer des machines à café industrielles, à mettre en place des salles de conférence pour un buffet (et à les nettoter ensuite).
Les gens avec qui j'ai travaillé étaient sympathiques, et le travail d'équipe était une valeur sur laquelle on insistait beaucoup.
Le plus difficile pour moi a été de me retrouver sur les différents étages de la compagnie, j'ai un très mauvais sens de l'orientation...
J'ai aimé travaillé che EY parce que c'était quelque chose de nouveau pour moi, et qu'on me laissait gérer mon temps comme je le voulais. Je me suis fait plusieurs amis dans cette compagnie.
The work culture can definitely be fun socially as in general as co-workers are easy to talk to and click with. There are a substantial amount of people working there who are okay with the long hours without compensation. If you don't believe in no overtime pay, then you're not going to be able to fit in well. The general expectation is that you will work long hours without expectations of monetary compensation.
The most enjoyable part of the job for me was being exposed to different industries such as healthcare, engineering, manufacturing, etc.
ProsGreat learning experience, free meals for overtime, fitness reimbursement, technology reimbursement, car rentals
ConsLong hours, expectation to work without compensation
I am in one of the smallest consulting departments in EY (M&A) which happens to also be one of the highest profit centres due to the scale of projects. However, my pay does not correspond with this as most of the fees will obviously be pocketed by the profit-sharing partners. I have no problem with this but what I consistently find absolutely demeaning is that the partners and managers expect you to give it your all in each engagement yet feel the need to make it very difficult to ask to claim for any of the overtime hence making you the equivalent of a corporate slave and that stems from the fact that there is a big gap between the manager's expectation of work turnaround and your ability to deliver.
This comes at a more stirring time when our already very small department has suffered ridiculously high turnover rates towards the end of 2020, leaving a lot of the remaining seniors to have to pick up the slack in double time and at half the manpower than we had. Our pay has also been adjusted downwards due to the pandemic.
As much as our partners refuse to see to our concerns, the high turnover really boils down to the truly questionable managerial capabilities of many of the managers who abuse their power in some very insidious ways. In particular, I've recently had one who refused to pull her weight in an engagement and expected me to work on the entire project alone and be at her beck and call whenever. Her entitlement made me resent my job as I suffered alone while she
ConsManagers who abuse their authority and uninspiring partners (limited to the department you're in), parking is horrendous and expensive, there is little to no options for food nearby
• Reengineered the process for importing data files from various locations, which reduced the processing time taken by about 70%. • Captured and forma
• Reengineered the process for importing data files from various locations, which reduced the processing time taken by about 70%.
• Captured and formatted financial statements of 90+ Fortune companies belonging to13 different industries from the SEC EDGAR database.
• Gathered XBRL based Business Requirements for developing intelligent financial Accounting agent.
• Authored System Requirements document, Use Case Specifications, Systems Requirement Specification (SRS), System Requirement Change Request, Data Dictionary along with the technical staff and developers.
• Developed Business Model (data/object/network/process) describing future state to-be environment.
• Supported and assisted Developers (JAVA, JSP) and QA in developing Quality Control (QC) test plans and test scripts, as well as supporting and assisting clients in all testing phases through UAT.
• Monitored all milestones, SOP’s and project statistics, such as defect rate and severity of the project.
• Reported defects in a defect tracking system with the use of an extensive XBRL taxonomy, communicated the defects to the developers and/or included it in the systems limitation report.
• Conducted systems evaluation, submitted the system maintenance/ enhancement/ scalability reports and systems limitation reports as the final deliverable.
• Project results were submitted for consideration at the 35th annual Hawaiian International Conference on Systems Sciences.
• Achieved an increased understanding and stan
A typical day at work involved having a brief catch up with my group leader (Asia Pacific Private Equity Leader) to discuss the weeks work in progress and what needed to be completed and then working on those tasks in order of priority and urgency. Tasks could include overseas/domestic travel arrangements or creating itineraries for a client roadshow or important trips, client team meeting preparation and execution (creating agendas/action items), managing partners (three) calendars and monitoring emails, making sure partners are getting to meetings on time and action any outstanding tasks were a typical part of my daily routine.
I learned that I worked well at multitasking different projects including completing different partners specific and demanding requests and making sure I prioritized and was timely on my completion. I also learned that the best way to juggle so many tasks is to put these tasks in order of high to low priority and take it one step at a time as I worked in a very fast-paced environment with the responsibility of three very demanding partners.
Due to an increased transaction workload, the team grew exponentially from about 20 to 40 in about a year and a half. As a result of this growth, we were short on administrative assistance and the pressure on me and my workload increased significantly for a while until we hired another assistant. In the meantime though, I was likable and always helpful and knowledgeable on everything EY related so most of th
Like the other Big 4 public accounting firms, EY is a great place for a budding accountant fresh out of college to start their careers. You can gain exposure to a large number of industries and clients, each facing their own unique issues that EY has to help resolve. There are a ton of great resources to learn from; there literally seems to be an expert in every possible aspect of accounting working at the firm. The company's management is also very supportive of workplace flexibility, although this mindset varies from team to team. However, working here is definitely not without its faults.
As a client serving organization, expectations are set extremely high for employees and there is always a deadline to meet, often times conflicting. Busy seasons are brutal and just when you think it's all over, another client might be facing a new issue and you're working on a new deadline again. Things come up all the time and you always feel on call 24/7. There is a definite feeling of a lack of work-life separation and that can really wear on you over time.
While most people are very supportive here and want to help you succeed in your careers as it makes their lives easier the better you are at your job as well, there will also be times when you don't see eye to eye with a fellow colleague and still be forced to work together on a project. You won't always get along with everyone you work with and you can't choose who you get to work with either. Perhaps the most frustrating aspe
ProsLots of Knowledge about the Industry, Great Resources, Resume Builder, Flexibility Promoted
ConsLong Hours, Very Demanding Profession, High Stress Work Environment
Productive and fun workplace with amazing people working with me.
I worked at EY full-time for 2 weeks
Pros
-Good expense policy (appropriate allowances for breakfast/dinner and you can keep all rewards points for airfare, lodging, rental cars, etc). -Culture is very people oriented. Flexibility and employee work/life balance is stressed greatly by management. EY stresses the importance of taking care of one another. Great maternity / parental leave policies and very flexible work arrangements are available when you need it. I often worked remote from my wife's apartment when we were long distance. -Work life balance is awesome (don't believe the rumors, if you're a smart person and you produce good work, EY will reward you with a generous work life balance). -Vacation policy! 21 days for managers plus 3 personal days and unlimited sick days. -Most teams will work from home on Fridays when traveling -EY has a program where you can decide not to accept a blackberry and instead have EY pay your personal cell bill (up to $150 / month for managers). -Events thrown by EY are larger than life (especially the events when you're promoted to Manager, Sr Manager, or Partner). They are truly amazing experiences. -Opportunity to see many different companies across a broad range of industries -Lots of professional development opportunities -High potential for advancement. You do not have to wait for a spot to "open up" to get promoted. -HR is wonderful -EY really tries to take care of employees at an individual level. If you're unhappy, you can actual
SyCip Gorres Velayo & Co. (SGV), a member firm of Ernst & Young Global Ltd. (EY), is the largest multidisciplinary professional services firm in the Philippines since 1946. The firm is packed with CPA top-notchers, exceptional professionals as well as talented individuals.
Being a Transaction Support professional, it is a must to keep myself up-to-date with the current news and SGV-information center assists us by sending daily news update organized per industry. We also have access to various external resources such as S&P Capital IQ, mergermarket, and Business Monitor International to help us develop our insights as we deliver advice to our clients. As an associate director, it is my obligation to manage my team in order to maximize engagement efficiency, quality, and profitability. I always keep a list of my "To Dos" at the start of the work, after I refresh myself with the current news. This helps me breakdown those requiring urgent attention until the least important matters.
For every project I am engaged with, I see to it that I have a good understanding of the client's objectives and the target's business overview. In Transactions Advisory Services, we are composed of different professionals not just CPAs. These professionals really come in handy whenever we need to consult for a special matter.
I really love to put things in a very orderly and organized manner so that tasks will be achieved smoothly. I ensure that I deliver the right information to
1.0
IT Security Specialist | McLean, VA | May 13, 2022
Do not work here! Toxic culture, below market pay.
I have been working at ey for under a year and I have not enjoyed one minute of it. Firstly, when I was hired I was told that my salary was nonnegotiable which I later found out was a lie from colleagues who were hired. When you are first hired they will make it seem like you are in control of your career and that you have flexibility to work on multiple different engagements that will benefit your career, that is not true at all. If you are not on a project, your experience manager will pressure you to get on a project, regardless of if it has anything to do with your previous experience or interests. I think most of this stems from the experience managers not knowing about what the different engagements actually entail. I have had various conversations with the experience managers and they literally have no idea of the certifications that I hold or the experience that I have, which doesn’t make sense considering the fact that they determine which project you should be assigned to. The culture at ey sucks, managers have this idea that they can use the staff as they please and pretty much assign any task to you. When you are assigned to a project as a staff or senior staff you don’t get assigned a specified set of tasks, you are pretty much there to do whatever the manager tells you to. This is unfair because there is no limit on what is right and wrong. I literally have had managers tell me to lie, and do things that I was completely uncomfortable doing. The funny thing is,
EY is a place with family atmosphere, Enjoyed initiating new programs for staff health and benefit plans for employees
With a bouquet of administrative things handled my previous one gave me immense pleasure in organising programs self handedly.
Arranged for free health camps to check 700 employees BP, Diabetes, Blood count. Took up many measure weekly to ensure they think about their health and reduce their stress.
I was in charge of arranging free bus transport to pick up employees from home to work, this area was 10 kms distance from office to residences of employees. Employees concentrated staying in the city and hence this plan was successful and appreciated by everyone. Dubai summer which crosses 50 deg celcius, smaller bus shuttled from parking area to office, a radius of 5 kms once every hour. Even the higher management would use the bus to avoid walking in the scortching Dubai heat.
Hardest part of the job was to reconcile the medical insurance plan for all employees. I had spotted 17 cases that were reduntant and premium for those were being paid even after the employees resigned a year back.
Management gave us opportunity to manage drivers, I chaired the committee to hear their complaints and bring out solutions for their better professional career. Organised a sponsored body check up for drivers to ensure they are not suffering any disease to ensure they are capable of driving the top management bosses for long distances every day for meetings. Also encouraged them to participate in jobs out of their profile like helping around in a conference with distribution of p
ProsFree air ticket provision yearly for self and spouse and children to all employees
My final grading "***" is simply not to affect the good professionals working in the organisation. My grading would have been a "**"
My experience in this company, over the ten years, varies from working with a highly executive team in the ITS department, to a painful experience at the Global Delivery Network. ITS, International Tax Services, Transfer Pricing, had good executive management and highly trained and skillful managers, where workload was huge in terms of administrative tasks, but where enthusiasm and leadership encouraged a large team of professionals to do their best and developed a high-performance team.
The salaries at the company are significantly lower than for similar positions in other companies, some times much much lower, setting their trained bilingual employees salaries at the same level as surveillance guards or cleaning personnel, etc.
The administrative functions for the company as a whole (HHRR, GENERAL SERVICES, others) lack good professional organisation and standards. Ranks and salaries are managed discretionally, at least for the administrative functions and separately from each other. A rank does not imply a salary or salary range..., they express. A non-bilingual and unskilled clerk might have a much higher salary than other qualified and bilingual employees with good performance. The performance appraisal system for administrative assistants is unprofessional and twisted according to political needs/binds, personal preferences, and
This review is specifically for the Consulting role.
For most people, the main pull of this job is going to be job advancement. While the firm pays a lot of lip service to promoting based on performance over tenure, this isn't entirely true. In practice, there are still a minimum amount of time they want you to spend in each role. Only the absolute top performers (think culture coin) are able to get around this. Additionally, this timeline is changing and can be longer depending on who you roll up to. So, while your area might think it should take 3 years minimum to the next level, other areas will promote at 2 years.
The travel aspect of the role is worse in practice than it is on paper. You may think at the travel percentage and think that it is manageable. Make sure to take into consideration that 4 days before your flight, you might not know when or where you traveling to.
You truly must like travelling for work. This is different than normal travel. You will be in a crowded room with your team until most of the employees at the client have left. You are then typically encouraged to go to a team dinner. This can frequently result in you leaving your hotel at 8AM and not getting back until 9PM. This must be something you WANT to do. I was initially neutral on travelling for work, but I gradually began to hate it as time went on.
Other notes: The type of projects you will be on a largely out of your control. Where you are travelling for you projects are largely out o
ProsExpensing meals while traveling, job advancement (typically)
ConsTravel, uncertainty, work life balance
Questions and answers about EY
What is the promotion process like at EY?
Asked Nov 20, 2022
Very complicated process
Answered Feb 1, 2023
Fast
Answered Jan 31, 2023
How often do raises occur at EY?
Asked Jan 21, 2019
Yearly
Answered Feb 1, 2023
Fast
Answered Jan 31, 2023
Is speaking French needed?
Asked Nov 9, 2017
No french in not needed in India
Answered Jan 21, 2019
French is not required, can be an asset if you work in Quebec office.
Answered Sept 4, 2018
What questions did they ask during your interview at EY?
