It is amazing how much companies and recruiters value the big 4 experience. The multitude of calls and emails telling us about job openings and public and private companies is proof of this. They're constantly telling us that these companies are looking for auditors with 3-5+ years of business experience. Why is this the case? Well, I think it's analagous to the hiring at private equity firms and investment banks, they primarily hire people either from other private equity firms, investment banks, or ivy league colleges. There are still a ton of equally talented and smart individuals from other colleges or companies, but the private equity firms and investment banks are primary comprised of ivy leaguers and bankers, so they tend to show preferential treatment to individuals with similar backgrounds since they already know the type of experience these individuals had. The accounting groups at public companies are primarily headed up by people with public accounting experience, ...
Blogged about my life in the Big 4 and now about life in Private Accounting