Vault’s Verdict

One of the most prestigious accounting firms, EY US is ideally looking for hardworking, driven, curious candidates who are willing and eager to learn in a fast-paced environment. For students, the firm runs a valuable internship program. Interns have access to real-world experience, networking opportunities, and a clear look at what full-time positions entail. For its full-time staff, EY US offers extensive career and leadership development opportunities, including excellent training and mentoring, the ability to rotate through various areas of the firm, and a very supportive culture where colleagues are willing to help, teach, and discuss professional growth.

While there are certain times of the year (busy seasons) when it can be very difficult to achieve work-life balance, EY provides numerous wellbeing initiatives that make it easy to achieve a healthy balance outside those peak periods. Insiders say that the firm is very caring about employees’ physical and mental health, and that flexible work options and a generous PTO policy go a long way . Meanwhile, salaries are competitive, and perks and benefits are very generous.

With respect to EY’s business outlook, although some insiders express concern about the impact that AI will have on the industry and the firm, most say that the firm is in a great position. It’s growing and has a strong leadership team in place to navigate the road ahead.

EMPLOYEE REVIEWS

Quality of Life

• “The firm ensures that everyone’s health and safety come first and works extensively to ensure all employees are happy and healthy. If there’s something that’s vital to your mental health, teams are extremely accommodating to make sure you can still incorporate it into your life. There’s also the ability to work remotely if you so desire, which is beneficial to a lot of people.”
• “EY promotes an environment that emphasizes work-life balance and making sure to take care of your mental and physical health. However, I think there are certain times of the year where it’s extremely difficult to prioritize those things due to the hours required (i.e., during busy season and some internal firm milestone deadlines).”
• “I get to interact with amazing coworkers. Everyone is generally understanding and collaborative and has a great attitude. However, we’re often short-staffed and have many strict deadlines, which often results in long hours.”
• “Tremendous amount of flexibility at the higher ranks within the firm, and a reasonable amount of flexibility at the early career ranks considering the level of experience and needs of the business. In my experience, quality of life is largely influenced by the individual employee’s behavior and mindset. If they recognize that work-life balance is a two-way street and are willing to flex towards work when needed, there is a corresponding opportunity to flex towards the personal life and maintain high quality of life.”

Compensation

• “Although you work hard, the pay and benefits are very strong. There is also a high degree of flexibility, allowing you to feel like you are able to accomplish professional and personal goals.”
• “I think EY has some of the best compensation packages in the market. They pay a decent salary and offer great benefits and perks. There are pretty standard offers like 401(k) matching as well as other perks such as the Wellbeing Fund, Connection Fund, per diems, etc. I am overall happy with the salary; however, sometimes I do think the bonuses could be a little better.”
• “I think the salary progression is very generous, and if you’re someone who likes to negotiate your salary, EY is an organization that’s very good about opening up space for this. The perks are also very generous, as EY offers a commute fund, a wellness fund (i.e., funds for personal wellness such as sports, travel, tech items, etc.), and reimbursement for cell and internet costs (i.e., a fraction of your bill).”
• “Best: Sustainable pay for the location I’m living in and the benefits are very generous. There are multiple reimbursement funds, a fund for your wellbeing, and so much more. Worst: We only get $500 for parking each year in a city where it costs $20 a day to park.”

Career Development

• “The firm recognizes that our most valuable asset is our people and invests in career development heavily as a result.”
• “Career development is vast. Training opportunities, both live and virtual, are available and encouraged. Also, mentoring and sponsorship opportunities are widely available to those who want them. There are formal programs as well as informal programs where colleagues are eager to help. The firm leaves it up to you to drive your career, which some might see as a negative (but I don’t).”
• “EY encourages continuous learnings and provides various required and optional learnings throughout the year, and employees to shift into roles where they are able to facilitate trainings in addition to their regular job. Opportunities for rotations are becoming more available, especially as the firm embraces 360 Career.”
• “We do a great job of continuing to follow the apprenticeship model, mentoring and challenging our younger staff to help them succeed as they progress. There are a plethora of senior partners and experienced managing directors that are happy to carve out time to meaningfully discuss career development opportunities. However, the nature of the job and client service can make it difficult to seize and pursue these opportunities.”

Business Outlook

• “I think the firm does a good job at bringing in new clients and working to keep the ones we have. I think there is potential for more clients to be brought in, and I do believe leadership is strong enough to make it happen. They also have a lot of office events and smaller events for smaller groups you are in, which really increases employee morale.”
• “Lots of big projects coming in, lots of long-term clients, basically an infinite money loop—EY isn’t going anywhere. EY is the best of the Big 4, nobody else comes close. EY stand out in regard to work product delivery.”
• “EY is a very strong organization and one that people like working for, so I think that only will benefit in the future. The one thing that worries me about the future is the impact that AI will have on the industry and on jobs like mine.”
• “I think there is a lot of uncertainty about the impact of AI on our business and how our resourcing model will need to flex to meet the changing needs. I also believe we need to grow the practice, but growth is challenging and not always guaranteed. However, I believe we have strong leaders that are taking actions to position us for success, even when the road to reach that success is tough.”

Intern Experience

• “I was introduced to and learned a lot about audit concepts directly related to my future role. I met a lot of people and was able to network and feel comfortable with all my coworkers. And I was given access to many resources to further my learning and become the best audit associate I can be. It was truly a very good experience.”
• “Best parts of the internship included having the opportunity to work on different types of audit clients (public vs. private, large corporation vs. smaller company), having the chance to network with seasoned EY professionals as well as other interns from across the country, role flexibility, great benefits and compensation, and great location. For the worst parts of the internship, there were not many, but I did intern in a slower season at the firm which resulted in certain days or weeks as not having many meetings or calls to sit in on.”
• “The internship was a great chance to understand the day-to-day of a full-time job and different career opportunities. More importantly, it gave me a chance to get to know the people that I would be working with and ensure that I felt like I fit in.”
• “The best parts of the internship included extensive training programs, on-the-job training, and the opportunity to work on various engagement teams with clients in different industries. There were no particularly negative aspects of my internship experience.”

Hiring Process

• “The interview and callback process is very quick. Usually within a week after the interview, you’ll know if the firm decides to move forward with the hiring process. The ideal candidate the firm is looking for is someone who is willing to learn and able to take initiative by asking questions.”
• “For most accounting positions, the ideal candidate is an accounting major pursuing a CPA. The interview process is extensive, and the process provides an opportunity to learn more about the candidate and if they’re a good fit for the firm.”
• “The firm has a multi-stage interview process and frequents campus events to help boost our pipeline. Ideal candidate is someone who has an inquiring mind, is willing to learn new concepts, and can build relationships with colleagues and clients.”
• “I think that our firm is seeking intelligent and driven individuals who are eager to learn and grow in a fast-faced, quickly evolving environment. I have noticed we have like to hire individuals who desire a tremendous amount of growth as auditors and overall professionals.”

Interview Questions

• “The main question asked was ‘Why tax?’ I think they are looking for someone dedicated to the profession who is striving to grow and succeed. They also asked behavioral type questions in order to find the right type of person to integrate into the team.”
• “Tell me about a time when you failed in the past and how you reacted. Tell me about a time you were not given directions on a task and how you worked through this.”
• “Tell me about a time where you had a conflict and how you resolved it. Tell me about a time you had a team member you did not agree with—how did you work together to achieve your goal?”
• “Describe a recent situation in which you went above and beyond what was expected. What was the outcome? Tell me about a recent time when you had difficulty in communicating with others. What made it difficult? How did you overcome the difficulties? Describe an experience when you received difficult/constructive feedback that required you to make an adjustment. How did you respond? Tell me about a recent time that you had to adapt to a new technology. What steps did you take to learn and implement this learning? What resources did you use to adapt to the new technology? What was the outcome? When has your knowledge been challenged? What did you do in this situation? Give me an example of a time when you introduced or applied a new concept or development to a project. How did you gain support from stakeholders for your idea? What were the main challenges and how did you overcome those challenges?”

UPPERS

• “Great culture and exceptionally smart, friendly, nice, knowledgeable people.”
• “Emphasis on professional development—a lot of career growth opportunities.”
• “Having the name EY on your resume and getting experience with public and private clients.”

DOWNERS

• “Long hours during busy season is probably the worst part, but that’s common in most firms.”
• “Stressful and urgent environment.”
• “Corporate bureaucracy and politics.”