senior consultant

manager

technology consultant

senior auditor

senior manager

•	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 standardization of XML based reporting tools.
•	Responsible for developing the XBRL Repository for the XML based applications.
•	Experienced in strategic and efficient management of personnel and financial resources, leveraging managed-services, ensuring timely execution and integrity of division-wide reporting, leading risk and controls function for projects and production environments.
•	Conducted JAD/DRP sessions to create solution alternatives & Assessments and served as the key analytical member in formulating systems scope and objectives relative to the groups' / organization's business plan, strategy and industry requirements.  
•	Recognized and defined all systems impacts and API code changes.
•	Lead the effort in migrating from Legacy environment to BEA Web Logic 7 application server.
•	Designed and developed XML based code changes to the XML parser.
•	Developed and executed test cases for systems testing and User Interface Acceptance testing.
•	Reviewed Design documents, Requirements analysis specifications and EJB calls with the Project Lead, Business owners and the Technical Lead.
•	Managed Change Control Requests (CCR) and updated the scope with the new changes.
•	Helped Data Architect to understand the business requirements to create the database models and resolve the data migration issues.

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 aspect, you can't even pick your projects most of the time. Project assignments are distributed based on who has capacity and one week you might be expecting a slow week that quickly turns into a fire drill when engagement management assigns you a new project with no prior indication.

However, for a young aspiring accountant, working at EY is a very smart career move. Big 4 experience looks great on a resume and exit opportunities are plenty for the alumni network. Getting exposure to many different clients and industries can also give you a sense of what you enjoy or don't enjoy about different aspects of accounting. 

Overall, the Big 4 experience is really what you make of it. This career is definitely not for everyone. It is incredibly demanding and requires a very strong willpower or sense of passion to truly succeed. When I first started, a partner told me, "if you see working here as a job, not a career, you won't make it far." After 4 years with the firm, I truly understand what he meant. Unfortunately for me, the demands of this career finally caught up to me and I felt don't feel the same passion for this profession as when I first started. But, I will always recommend anyone who wants to enter the accounting industry to look towards EY. It really is a great place to learn. 

As an Associate Director here's a brief review of my experience:
Prestige and reputation: Joining a Big 4 consulting firm instantly adds value to your resume and opens doors to various opportunities. The firm's reputation and prestige attract top clients and projects, giving you exposure to high-profile engagements.

Professional growth: Working at a Big 4 firm provides excellent opportunities for professional growth. You'll collaborate with talented and experienced professionals, learning from their expertise and gaining valuable insights. The firm typically offers extensive training programs and resources to enhance your skills and knowledge.

Diverse project portfolio: One of the significant advantages of working for a Big 4 consulting company is the diverse range of projects you'll be involved in. From strategy development and implementation to technology transformation and process improvement, you'll gain exposure to different industries, clients, and business challenges. This variety keeps the work exciting and helps you develop a broad skill set.

Collaborative work culture: Big 4 firms foster a collaborative work environment. You'll have the opportunity to work with cross-functional teams, including consultants, analysts, and subject matter experts. Collaboration and teamwork are highly encouraged, allowing for innovative thinking and the exchange of ideas.

Client interaction: As an Associate Director, you'll have direct client interaction and be responsible for building and maintaining client relationships. This aspect of the job allows you to develop strong communication and presentation skills, as well as the ability to understand and address client needs effectively.

Long hours and high pressure: It's important to note that working for a Big 4 consulting company can be demanding and may involve long working hours, especially during critical project phases. The fast-paced nature of the job, coupled with high client expectations, can create a stressful environment. However, it's also an opportunity to develop resilience, time management skills, and the ability to work under pressure.

Work-life balance challenges: Achieving a work-life balance can be a challenge in a Big 4 consulting firm due to the nature of the work and client demands. However, firms have been making efforts to improve work-life balance initiatives, such as flexible work arrangements and well-being programs, to support their employees.

Overall, working for a Big 4 consulting company as an Associate Director offers immense learning opportunities, a chance to work on impactful projects, and exposure to a network of talented professionals. While it can be demanding, the experience gained and the doors opened by working at a Big 4 firm can be highly rewarding for your career.



This place and its management teams seem nice on the surface but only if you don't ask questions and do as you're told. The management team claim they are a "family" and take care of their own, they don't in the ways that matter. Company also states they are "inclusive" and understating of those who are neurodivergent, this is the case as long as you mask and don't make others feel uncomfortable, otherwise you are labeled as the problem. Extremely underpaid for the work you do as one of their "Agency Affiliated Counselors" (AAC). Major issues with AACs having autonomy over their schedule. Some issues with taking PTO time, even after it was approved. Slow accrual of sick/PTO time (Max of 6 days a year). No training or education to improve your skills nor do they compensate you/give raises for obtaining outside certifications/licenses. Raises are based on a 5-point scale and its difficult to get anything above a 3 because of their matrix. Employees are not informed of this matrix but only of the scale used. If you do get a raise, its often less than $1.

Company expects you to use your own personal cellphones for all telehealth appointments with no reimbursement. There were no options to do video calls at the time of my employment nor were there any phone lines connected, or planned to be connected, to the offices. We were told that this is what we needed to do as there was no other options.

Will accept any client even if that client needs a higher level of acuity, such as a licensed mental health provider, to provide them with actual psychotherapies. When asked, "supervisors" would say "if you don't feel comfortable you don't need to take them on," knowing they would be reassigned to another AAC. "Supervisors" have the same level of credentialing as any new hire or recent college graduate. The only "licensed" healthcare professional is Rikki Cook, the owner. She does no direct oversight for any of the AACs operating under her "license." AAC's are able to diagnose just so insurances can be billed. I was told it didn't really matter if my diagnoses was correct, just that I was able to "justify" any diagnoses I thought "fit". This meant parroting from the DSM.

This place has nothing more than glorified life coaches that the company is parading as "counselors" so they can bill insurances. Go somewhere else to work, or to receive care, it may seem like a good place to get your feet wet if this is the career you are pursuing, but it comes at a cost to your own mental health if you are good at maintaining boundaries and advocating for yourself. Find a place that will pay you what your worth and treat you with respect and dignity for the sake of doing what's right, not what's "right for the company." - 



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, your success and promotional opportunities are solely based on the subjective feedback that is provided by your manager and this is not verified or checked for accuracy. I have complained about some of the wrongdoings of my manager and I was told to suck it up until the project was over. No one here cares about you, everyone is trying to climb there way up to senior manager and partner level and they will do anything to get there. There are so many more things that I could continue to list. Overall, this is not a healthy environment for anyone. The pay is below the market considering all of the overtime that you are not compensated for. The turnover rate is high because employees are constantly burned out. There is a lot of work that needs to be done. Do not fall for the brand name “ey”, that’s about all they have going for them.

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 of your control. The compensation is competitive with other Big 4, but don't ever calculate your hourly rate. 

That all being said, this is a great job for some people. People that are genuinely energized by working. People that are able to create a team within the company that works well together and on projects they are interested in. People that are shooting for rising up the ladder and willing to put in a ridiculous number of hours. People that love massive (uncontrollable) variation in every aspect of their job. People that are extroverted and will be reenergized by spending a lot of time with people.

A lot of jobs say that they are a fast paced, entrepreneurial environment. This job takes that to an extreme.

My Review of Working at EY

Working at EY has been a valuable experience overall, especially early in my career. The firm offers strong training, structured career development, and a genuinely supportive culture. I felt that people were approachable, and there was a clear emphasis on helping juniors grow quickly.

Workload & Expectations

The workload can fluctuate heavily depending on the project and the season. During busy periods, long hours are common, especially in Consulting and Transaction-related work. Still, EY generally maintains a better work–life balance compared to more intense industries like investment banking or pure strategy consulting. Outside peak times, the workload 

Learning & Career Growth

One of the biggest advantages of EY is the learning curve. From day one, I had exposure to real clients and meaningful responsibility. The firm invests a lot in training programs, certifications, and structured promotion paths. Growth is predictable, although it can feel bureaucratic at times.

Culture

I genuinely appreciated the culture at EY. The environment is team-oriented and relatively non-hierarchical for a large professional services firm. People are collaborative, and the atmosphere is more supportive than competitive. Of course, experiences vary by team, but overall I felt respected and included.

Compensation

Compensation is competitive for the Big 4, but it doesn't match what you’d earn in top-tier consulting or banking. Bonuses are modest. However, the benefits, stability, and international mobility opportunities make up for some of that difference.

What I Liked

* Great learning environment and steep development curve
* Supportive and collaborative colleagues
* Strong brand name that opens doors
* Clear promotion structure
* Good global opportunities

What Could Be Better

* Pay could be higher relative to workload
* Bureaucracy can slow things down
* Work hours vary greatly by project and season


EY is a great place to start or build a career if you want strong professional development, a recognizable brand, and a supportive culture. While the workload can be demanding at times, the overall experience is rewarding and sets you up well for future opportunities in consulting, finance, or corporate roles.


I must say, before I hired I heard some not good things about The Firm. But, I took a leap of faith and stepped outside of my comfort zone. I was a government contractor since since 2006 until my resignation in 2013 when I joined The Firm. When I was first hired, they flew me out to Cleveland, Ohio where their home office is for a meet and greet session and orientation. Only when I to the hotel, come to find out The Firm had not booked my room where they assigned me to stay during my visit to Ohio. That really started out my time with The Firm with a bad taste in my mouth. So, orientation went smoothly and I met some really cool people during my meet and greet. So, I get back to DC 2 days later. That Monday, I get to work, Its a gentlemen there to assist/train for me 2 weeks until I get a hang of the way The Firm operates. Well, that night after work, my trainer played in a pickup game of soccer and tore his ACL. He was out of work for 10 weeks. You would think The Firm would send a replacement trainer to assist me in my first week at The Firm, but they did NOT. So right then and there, i was already behind the 8ball. But, I made due. As time went on, I slowly but surely grabbed a hold of the way The Firm operates with one day of formal training (self taught). During my time at The Firm, the group I worked for Creative Services Group (CSG) was under and major construction with the their job log in system, job receiving system and email system(from Lotus Notes to Outlook) so there were major system outages and crashes for hours at a time. Meanwhile the request kept coming in. I had one color machine which was always in demand and one black and white machine, so when it was busy tax season, things really got hectic, customers got pushy and started complaining, and the ultimately lead to my termination.

The job upon starting was great!  I quickly learned (inside of 6 months) that the person I was primarily supporting did not like me.  Never came to me directly; went to admin Manager.  The training did not set me up for success; definitely for failure.  I didn't know what I didn't know.. Definitely people working there that were untouchable and some of the most challenging people to work with (these people were in administrative positions - NOT EXECUTIVES!).  Literally, had to gift folks in certain position to help me do my job.  I was dumb-founded.  High-level and visible position and was trained for two weeks.  The person who trained received a promotion and just wanted to move on.  I did have a mentor but because we didn't really relate to one another (culturally different), a waste of time.  But the person was able to use that as credit to them working and being a team player.  I was told I did not engage enough by admin manager... If I work with you one on one why go to someone outside of the  group.  I was encouraged to be "too friendly" and it was something I failed at miserably...mainly because I don't have the knack of being fake.  Was moved to a different department.  Worked out much better. However, it was lower tier and it literally was like crabs in a bucket.  cliques and favorites.  If you are not a big social person you have to navigate very carefully.  Meaning; be everything to everybody.  Just wanted to do job and go home.  Others opinions of you became a part of your review and led to fake chats and "Hi's & Byes".   you could be interrupted a gazillion times a day by people you don't even support.  It's a thing where your doomed if you do and doomed if you don't.  I never learned the perfect balance.  I think because it was a job to me; EY never defined me.   However, it's very impressive when people hear you've worked at EY in and outside of work.

Ernst & Young no doubt is one of the most reputable Big-4 consulting firms of the world. I was very proud to be a part of it, and on paper, it was the answer for that dream jobs that I had been looking for.

The reality, and neither their fault nor mine, is that I was hired to do one thing and one thing only, to consult on a specific hospital inventory software system - derived from my previous work. Unfortunately, this system was not really in demand at the time (1998-9) and I found myself "on the beach".

Initially, this was OK as it allowed me to decompress and figure out the corporate structure and culture. I have never seen one line it before nor since, and to this day I am not sure if it is the way to run things.

My tenure there was short, and I grew frustrated of not being deployed to engagements, as they called them; assignments around the country to do what I do best.

In the meantime I took internal and external training at their expense, and brushed up on a lot of new technologies while I appealed to change departments and fit me into an engagement where I could not only utilize my skills, but leverage my languages and international work experience. This never happened, and the frustration grew.

As a result, I wound up leaving and returning to Europe for a fruitful 12 years until the Great Recession set in.

I would recommend this company solely based on its outside reputation, however, those interested in joining the elite should read up on the culture and corporate lifestyle and see if they can fit into it. It is for the very few - and it works for some and doesn't for others.

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