Accountancy
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I am currently doing my attachment in a local audit firm. As compared to my friends attached to big 4s, I really consider myself lucky.
I'll say you really need to have lots of passion to survive in this line long term. My manager works from 10am and never once she left earlier then me. She even called me around 10pm+ just now and it's from the company's phone.
Another friend's husband is also working in KPMG now. She told me sometimes her husband works from 8am in the morning to the next day 8pm before he comes home.
Well, is that the life that you want and can take? You decide.
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Originally posted by motoway:
wooo walsea is it the expertise that land those dudes in M & A and corp finance or purely the contacts?
I'd say a bit of both - these folks are usually recruited at associate level (or above). So naturally, they'd be expected to have quite a bit of experience. The network is just the icing on the cake that provides them with a bridge for what is effectively a lateral transition into the illustrious world of IB (or so they are led to believe, especially for those who tried unsuccessfully to get a job with an IB at the analyst level).
All said and done, IB as an industry certainly pays better than accountancy for a point-by-point comparison (ie.comparing the remunerations, among other things, of a partner at an accountancy/consultancy firm to a MD at an IB).
For analysts (since I gather most people here are considering positions at this level), the lifestyle doesn't differ that much if you're thinking of a career in corporate finance (be it in an accountancy firm or IB) - in fact, it'd be a miracle if you actually lived to see daylight on a workday at the start of your career. But to many in this business, the remuneration (I've yet to meet anyone who tells me he/she enjoys 16-hour workdays!) certainly more than makes up for the lost youth considering there's not too many other jobs around that'd actually pay you enough for two years' work coming fresh out of college to embark on a top-tier MBA/law school.
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hey walsea u seem to haf much exp in the industry.
care to enlighten me which banking sector are there?
I onli noe corp banking, IB, wealth management, prtfolio management.
for sum reasons all my female fren aiming private wealth management. Dunoe why.
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i heard accountacy is a very boring job .
Although the pay could be quite high
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Originally posted by motoway:
hey walsea u seem to haf much exp in the industry.
care to enlighten me which banking sector are there?
I onli noe corp banking, IB, wealth management, prtfolio management.
for sum reasons all my female fren aiming private wealth management. Dunoe why.
can hook big fishes from private wealth management?
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ya i tink also. But my cousin say they underground zuo jian zi ji u also dunoe. =O
so harsh judgement sia
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youth cannot be weight monetary.
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Originally posted by motoway:
hey walsea u seem to haf much exp in the industry.
care to enlighten me which banking sector are there?
I onli noe corp banking, IB, wealth management, prtfolio management.
for sum reasons all my female fren aiming private wealth management. Dunoe why.
Briefly, an Investment Bank (IB) can be loosely used to refer to a bank that does all the stuff you mentioned (throw in S&T). Broadly speaking, some of the main divisions within an IB would be : Investment Banking (dealing with M&A, Corporate Finance, Equity/Debt Capital Markets), Sales & Trading (known as Securities to some IBs, dealing with products like equities, fixed income, currency, commodities and their respective derivatives), Investment/Asset Management and Private Wealth Management. Different banks call them different names and group some of these operations differently, but the broad picture is there.
In case you're wondering, I'm not a banker - as a matter of fact, I belong to the group bankers hate
(if you're familiar with the industry, you should know what I do now) - although I work at an IB. With that said and done, I suppose my experience of dealing with bankers (it's not very fun having too many friends and a girlfriend in investment banking 
) both professionally and personally has offered me a glimpse of their lives upclose. To be fair, even within investment banking, you do get different hours for different roles (M&A would usually require longer working hours than DCM/ECM), although the commensurating difference in remuneration probably reflects that.PWM is a thriving industry in not just Singapore, but also Asia at large (especially the emerging markets). Hence, that could explain the popularity for it (sorry, I'm not familiar with the demographic profile of analysts in the various divisions and neither do I work in PWM, so I can't explain much on why your female friends are aiming for PWM).
You seem to have quite an interest in banking, don't you? What positions are you keen on? What course and university are you attending? You may wish to drop me a pm if you wish to discuss further.
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auditor!? :D
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I actually wanted to post a similar topic, then I found this thread, heng sia =D
All this talk about LOOOOONNG working hours is pretty scary. As an accountant, are there certain specialisations that don't really have quite such long hours? I know auditors have it worst, especially towards the end of fiscal years. Is there something abit more 9-5 around for accountants? I don't really quite want to waste my youth in some office doing paperwork after paperwork after paperwork. Its a crappy way to lead your life, imo.
Right now I'm considering taking up the accountancy and information system management at SMU (double degree) against Engineering Science at NUS. Having a hard time deciding between the two. Like people says, accountancy does offer quite a hefty amount of remuneration, but the stress is there. Then again, I can't be sure the NUS course can offer me a decent job stability. Please advice, thanks. =)
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Acc and IS at SMU is an awesom combi.. I was contemplating to second major in IS but realise that I have to stay longer and cramp more modules in my current planning of modules so i scrap that idea haha but with these 2 degrees, you will be well sought after haha..
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in smu double major haf to meet a certain GPA score rite?
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accounts must ask mimmy.. :D
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need a role model??? dun choose mi ok.... u will regret!!!!! Good luck in future lah... no comment.
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dbl major? mm dont think so.. not really i think.. dbl degree yes..
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to enemychaser,
specialised urself in taxation, CSP or jus accounting... but doin CSP is more towards the law part coz u will need to learn hw to start up a company, do on shares, know the company Act.. is quite interestin ba...
these few lines are much more relax as compare to auditor... u can try to join the local firm.. at least the workin time/hours is better than big 4...
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im doing tax intern now cos i was thinking of going into a tax career.. any advice anyone? =P
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i taking acc at smu, was planning to major in law. gosh. walesa, am i entitled to advice too? hah.
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LAW OMG U FREAK!!!!!!!
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Originally posted by thousandisland:
i taking acc at smu, was planning to major in law. gosh. walesa, am i entitled to advice too? hah.
What advice would you need? Drop me a PM (I'm leaving for London in a couple of hours) and I will revert to you when I next log in.
For the record, I'm neither a trained accountant nor working in accountancy, so some others might be better qualified to address your concerns if they're directly related to that.
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I am currently deciding between SMU Law and NTU Accounting... Hard choice for me >_< But after hearing so much about the work hours for accountants, I'm somewhat hesitant... Can anyone give me advice on whether SMU Law is good? I'm actually very interested in law, just that I'm worried that SMU Law might not be well recognised, since it's only in its second year of inception...
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hi piguren, i think SMU law is quite good n recognise... n wif recent publication of news abt SMU i think they are almost comparable to the NUS n NTU..
when doing accountancy u will need to touch on company n business law... therefore it required u to study on this law.. and if u chose to do CSP next time.. is short it mean a secretary it required u to go through trainin n u muz understand the law.. if u think secretary is a low pay job then is totally wrong.. coz they are almost equilavent to a company high rank manager coz they can sign contract..
but both course are specialisation... coz both required u to know a lot things and need memorising... but law need more..
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May I know acc course by Curtin or RMIT conducted locally, is it recognised ? Pls advise
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i have been aiming to get into NTU / SMU accountancy since the start of the year. but after seeing this thread, im having second thoughts about it. i dont think i can survive that kind of life..
what courses will you all recommend for someone like me who cant do sciences? (by the way im taking PCME now in jc. and doing quite badly for the sciences)
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Originally posted by walesa:
In case you're wondering, I'm not a banker - as a matter of fact, I belong to the group bankers hate
(if you're familiar with the industry, you should know what I do now) - although I work at an IB.
Are you a risk manager?!?!?! Haha.Back to the topic. I work in an accounting firm in London (not as an auditor though), but still, I may be able to provide some advice.
I believe most of you by saying "accountant" are in fact referring to an auditor. In a nutshell, an auditor seeks to provide assurance over the truth and fairness of financial statements. Therefore, you will spend heck alot of time ticking boxes and doing various tests to gain confidence over the accuracy of company accounts.
My friends in Asia say hours are crazy. Frequently past midnight. But the hours will improve as you move up the ranks. That's just the nature of the beast so you have to endure it to reap the rewards in the future.
Speaking of rewards, there are significant benefits to training as an auditor, especially if you are able to leverage your time in an accounting firm into a professional qualification such as the ACCA, CIMA and what not. The pay jump is significant if you qualify and it increases your marketability (the training increases your business knowledge alot!).
Also, if you were to make partner, the remuneration is ridiculous though not even close to top bankers.
For those of you seriously considering a career in an accounting firm, don't just limit yourself to being an auditor. There are many functions in an accounting firm (go to their websites and take a look) which will appeal to different people. But all in all, join an accounting firm to get a professional qualification, not because of immediate remuneration. The benefits will only accrue in the long-term.
Any other questions, please let me know.