PwC reviews

Is there anything left? The pay and benefits can appear great, but when you consider the amount that you will work and you will realize that, per hour, you get less than minimum wage. That's the beauty of being a salaried staff - no overtime. The rating system. It's basically useless and completely subjective on how the managers/partners feel about you. You can be rated 1 (Outstanding) or 2 (High Performer) every year and find yourself suddenly rated a 4 (Needs Improvement). The problem with being rated "Needs Improvement" is they never give you a chance to improve. You will be shown the door. Quickly and possibly before you even know how you were rated. I've seen it happen to a number of people. That's why the staff will be scared to be rated a 3 (Performer) because it's viewed as circling the drain. The ratings can be reflective of a big project that you were fortunate enough to be on one year. Because of that, you would be more likely to be rated a 1. Then the next year you don't get a similar job and watch your rating fall. It has absolutely nothing to do with your abilities as an accountant. Because of the fear of PCAOB findings, much of what you will do is based on standardized templates designed to take the thinking out of audit. Based on your responses, the template will tell you what to do next. You will become just a data gathering tool and a data input tool. All those years you spent getting the Bachelors or Masters degree will seem wasted. PwC will use you to their fullest extent. They will take advantage of any opening and any sign of weakness. You have to start at PwC with a plan on what you are using them for. If you don't you will be the one who get's burned in the end.

The work/life Balance is a challenge, We've all heard the horror stories about tax accounts working 25 hours a day.This is somewhat pervasive in other areas. A typical work week is 50-60 hours and you will be focused from the moment you wake up until you pass out. When on a client site, you will spend 10-12 hours on-site along with the requisite 'team dinner', go back to your hotel room to work some more and repeat the cycle until you head home from whatever location you're at. The use a bell-curve annual review process, which basically means you are judged by a group of directors & partners who probably have no idea if you're any good, other than what your 'coach' can advocate in the 5-10 minutes they are allowed to plead your case, along with data on how many billable hours you've had (utilization) and your contributions to community service, etc. Most end up in the middle with a small bonus and single digit raise. That's not necessarily bad, but you're generally made to feel like you're not doing enough to satisfy their expectations. The internal systems are constantly changing. Because its a firm full of smart people falling all over themselves to constantly revising IT systems. They use Lotus notes which is universally hated by everyone; however, it's so deeply ingrained into the IT DNA that they can't figure out how to migrate away from it. The culture is very high performance oriented and you can rarely rest on your accomplishments. You are pushed to continually improve your abilities and 'personal brand' which can either burn you out or form you into a cold corporate machine. A lot of people self-medicate (drinking to numbness) and I've seen all-out mental breakdowns occur. Some people are eventually ushered out and feel relieved when it happens so they can finally get some rest. I'm sure those factors are not unique to any organization, but it seems a bit more pronounced at a 'big 4' firm.