Vault’s Verdict

EY is ideally looking for self-motivated, intelligent team players who are eager to learn and have strong academic records, excellent communication skills, and solid leadership skills. Involvement in extracurriculars such as school clubs, sports, and student organizations are also ideal. For students, EY runs an extremely valuable internship program, providing interns with tons of hands-on, real-life experience, many opportunities to meet and network with other interns and staff, and exposure to EY’s culture. For its full-time staff, the firm provides extensive growth and learning opportunities, including significant technical and professional trainings, a lot of early responsibility, and internal mobility options.

Although like at most public accounting firms, the busy season typically requires long hours and it can be difficult to take time off then, EY US is very focused on providing its people with a health work/life balance and offers many quality-of-life initiatives. The firm offers a lot of flexibility with when and where you work, including remote work options, and it’s easy to take PTO outside the busy season (EY has a flexible vacation policy). There is also a general understanding of the importance of personal commitments outside of work. Meanwhile, compensation is competitive and on par with peers, though some insiders say that salaries and bonuses could be better. Benefits and perks, though, are generous. Insiders especially appreciate the parental leave policy, flexible work arrangements, annual $1,000 wellbeing fund, 25 no-cost mental health counseling and support sessions annually, and more.

The firm’s DEI and ESG efforts are also significant. While EY insiders say the firm’s staff could still be more diverse, especially at the senior levels, they laud the firm’s many active and supportive employee resource groups for a variety of different groups of people. In addition, insiders say EY is “green conscious,” tries to be carbon negative, and participates in many local and nationwide philanthropic organizations. As for EY’s business outlook, despite the failed attempt to split the firm’s consulting and accounting businesses, EY is a solid, well-known, respected global brand, its leadership team is strong, and its business is growing. Indeed, the firm is well positioned to succeed for the foreseeable future.

EMPLOYEE REVIEWS

Hiring Process

“We hold virtual interviews generally within one to two weeks of applicants applying. This allows us to interview students and get them through the process quickly. Callback process for students we’re making offers to: we’ll generally call them back the same day they interviewed or within one to two days at the latest. Ideal candidate: we hire the top students from the best accounting departments who are very involved in clubs/sports/student organizations, quick learners, good communicators and presenters, have strong leadership and teaming skills, and sometimes working a part-time job.”

“Our interview process is fairly standard, consisting of primarily campus recruiting, office interviews and follow-ups. Ideal candidate is intelligent, capable, and a team player. Also someone who wants to learn and is interested in building and maintaining relationships.”

“Our firm seems to be seeking individuals who show a history of being proficient at learning new things and willing to learn new things. Knowledge of accounting is required, as that is a basis, but the expectation really is that people who start here don’t know how to do the job, and that’s okay—as long as they're willing to figure it out.”

“I find the interview process to be strong. For college/entry-level position interviews that I have participated in, the process is thorough. For my experience within audit, we are seeking individuals interested in starting their career in audit, are professional and presentable for client-facing interactions, and have a plan to obtain their CPA license. We are seeking self-motivated individuals who are enthusiastic about new opportunities and contributing to a team.”

Interview Questions

“Describe a recent situation in which you went above and beyond what was expected. What was the outcome? Describe an experience when you received difficult/constructive feedback that required you to make an adjustment. How did you respond? Give me an example of how you have built new relationships and networks during a project or through extracurricular activities at school or work. Tell me about a time when a task you were given was unclear. What steps did you take to clarify/further understand the expectations? What was the outcome? When has your knowledge been challenged? What did you do in this situation? Describe a project where you anticipated potential problems. What did you do? What was the outcome? Provide a recent example of how you leveraged and demonstrated your technical expertise to make a meaningful impact on a project, organization, or role.”

“Personally, I want to understand if the student that I’m interviewing will thrive in a fast-paced, challenging business environment. Do they have the drive to be the best? Can I put them in front of a client today? Can they problem solve, think critically, deliver tough messages, etc.?

“Tell us about a time when you had to work in a team and experienced a challenging situation. Tell me one of your worst qualities. Tell me about some of your previous employment experience. What about public accounting appeals to you?”

“EY mostly conducts behavioral interviews, so questions tend to be about the candidate themselves and are looking for the candidate to demonstrate their ability to think on their feet and behave professionally. Tell me about a time when you were working in a group and encountered a challenging situation. Tell me about your biggest weakness.”

Internship Experience

“Best aspects were 1) the relationships and network that I built with my fellow intern cohort members, 2) the on-the-job training and experience that I received, and 3) the exposure to the art of the possible and what life is like at EY.”

“I really enjoyed my internship experience. I was staffed on a public job with a close-knit team, so I was able to ask questions, see the benefits of working on a team, and sit in on internal meetings with different levels of the team. The internship gave me insights into EY’s culture and the various types of services we provide. I also was able to meet and become friends with a number of individuals who have remained life-long friends.”

“EY’s internship was great. It provided me with real-world experience. I was treated just like a staff/associate team member, interacting with clients, performing client-work, etc. The best part was the network and relationships that I built. It was such a high-performing culture that the networking was awesome. I met some of my best friends and business professional network contacts during my internship.”

“The best part of my internship was being able to participate in a digital bootcamp that later led to a data analytics rotation alongside my external audit role.”

Career Development

“You progress quickly and find yourself in a leadership role extremely early in your career at EY. Two years out of college, you are the primary/lead senior on engagements acting as the go-to supervisor for day-to-day operations. We find that we hire the best from campuses, so most are ready to step into this leadership position. At the manager and senior manager levels, the exposure to C-suite executives and board members of clients provides for better career development opportunities than peers working at smaller firms or in corporate accounting.”

“Exceptional experience opportunities. Significant exposure to a number of clients/people to hone skills. Significant educational activities to participate in. If I want to experience more diverse clients or go switch to a different home office, I can just tell my counselor about it. Everyone on the team is always guiding me and answering any questions I have. Overall, it’s an outstanding firm for building skills and relationships. Tremendous technology available as well as learning opportunities.”

“I admire how much time and attention those above me spend to help develop me to succeed in my career. This includes both technical development and professional development.”

“EY has a strong foundation of overall career development and provides employees with the resources to grow and develop. The effectiveness of the resources at EY ultimately depends on the motivation of the employee to develop their career with the firm. Due to EY being one of the Big 4 firms, there are endless opportunities for career growth at the firm, and also changing service lines. A downside is that there is so much information out there that it can be hard to obtain clear direction on what to do next if you want to change roles and responsibilities.”

Quality of Life

“The firm has always been first class in flexibility and allowing our people to do what is important in their life, whether it be regular workouts, kids’ activities, coaching, whatever. On the flip side, this career does not always allow for flexibility in certain times of the year, and the hours during peaks of busy seasons are very difficult to digest. I don’t think there is a great solution—there is work that needs to get done and limited time to do it. We just seem to constantly run on a tight headcount, which means that during peak times the hours are absorbed by fewer people.”

“It’s an extremely flexible environment where one does not have one boss to report to but rather client responsibilities for which one is accountable to supervisors. This allows for a degree of flexibility in how one meets their client’s responsibilities. However, in a professional service business, one must be responsive to the needs of clients, which at times requires a level of responsiveness that can challenge work/life balance for intermittent periods of time.”

“Overall, we have a lot of work that needs to be done, likely more so than peers that work in corporate accounting. However, at EY, we have maximum flexibility to do our work. We don't have a ‘boss’ that we report to; we can show up to work when we want and leave when we want, and generally speaking our deadlines only happen once per year and are known way in advance. I’ve been with the firm for several years and have never had to say ‘no’ to a trip or something important that I wanted to do outside of work.”

“At EY, we have a ‘flexible’ vacation policy, meaning you are not allotted PTO hours but can simply request time off as needed. I find this to be a huge benefit, although the chargeability requirements remain the same (e.g., an employee who takes 10 days off and an employee who takes 50 days off still have to work the same number of billable client hours, one just over a smaller number of days). I have found that as long as you get your work done on time and communicate early, there are no issues with taking time off.”

Salaries and Benefits

“Generally, we get paid market rates, but there’s more to a career than just money. There are significant perks to working at EY. The career progression and exposure to C-suite executives, directors/audit committee members, and other business leaders are really beneficial. It’s a high-performing culture where you get to work with the best and brightest in your field. The parental leave (16 weeks) is awesome. The 401(k) match is okay. We have a pension, but it’s not as lucrative as it used to be.”

“The monetary compensation is pretty on par with the other Big 4 accounting firms, although bonuses are probably slightly lower than our peers. Additionally, other benefits like 401(k) match and health care are fine, but a bit disappointing given the size and stature of the company. I think the firm’s flexible working policy is by far the best non-financial benefit I receive. I get to work from home most days, which gives me more free time in the mornings and evenings since I don’t have a commute or need to get dressed up for work. It also saves me money on things like pet care and eating out since I am home to take care of my pets and can make my own lunch. I can also go into the office when I choose, which helps me coach teammates and build relationships with my coworkers. This is heavily dependent on your service line and team, though, so this is not a standard benefit for all EY employees.”

“Best aspects I believe are the flexible work hours and arrangements, as well as bonus opportunities and benefits such as wellbeing reimbursements, mental health support, and free meals. The worst aspect is that the parking garage for the building is $35 a day. We do have a reimbursement fund to use for parking/commuting expenses, but it runs out fast if you don’t park at alternative/further lots or parking garages.”

“I wish my salary were more. That’s basically the only complaints I have about compensation and benefits. However, the amount of free food we get throughout the year definitely makes up for most of this. Also, the 401(k) is awesome, and the rest of our wellness benefits are great. We definitely have better and more unique benefits than a lot of other companies.”

Wellness Efforts

“Strong efforts with a wellbeing network that promotes well-rounded resources. We have reimbursement programs that can be used on a variety of products and services, as well as Lyra for mental health services. We also have counseling resources available, and a lot of wellness programs are constantly brought up to us during busy times and even when some employees are just having a hard time.”

“There are continual calls/meetings/communications on how you can work on personal wellness as well as looking after the wellness of others. This includes a wellness fund of up to $1,000 a year for reimbursement of many items that would support mental health.”

“The firm has numerous wellness efforts, such as free counseling and different wellness programs available for free. There are also more structured programs throughout the year, but it can be hard to take advantage of them when it’s very busy. The firm offers a lot of different things for your wellness, but they don’t always align with your working hours.”

“The firm does offer initiatives and webcasts on these programs and efforts, which I think is great. However, in my personal experience, I have felt unable to attend many of them due to being busy with my teams. I’d feel guilty using an hour on such a webcast instead of doing work when my seniors are working so much overtime.”

Diversity, Philanthropic, and Green Initiatives

“The firm has many professional groups for a variety of different groups of people that serve as support in navigating the profession and the firm. Additionally, the firm participates in many local and nationwide philanthropic organizations, such as Junior Achievement, Dress-for-Success, United Way, the Aliveness project, etc.”

“I feel that our firm goes out of its way to make sure everyone feels included and promotes diversity in everything we do. EY embraces diversity in hiring and promotions, and is also very ‘green-conscious,’ including efforts to be carbon-negative.”

“Overall, I give credit to the firm as they continue to focus on ESG and diversity, but I believe the firm needs more structured programs and focus to retain and promote diverse professionals once they are hired. There are very few people of color in manager positions and above. EY’s culture is great, but it still takes diverse professionals more efforts than their peers to integrate within a team or feel a sense of belonging.”

“I think the firm has improved a lot over the last five years in respect to its diversity and inclusion practices but still has a way to go. For systemic reasons, I think the population of people who qualify to work in public accounting are already not very racially diverse (prohibitive requirements such as level of college education needed for CPA eligibility can cause uneven pool of applicants). Additionally, I think mentors tend to pick people who have similar racial and cultural backgrounds as them to mentor. The firm is very proactive in its philanthropic practices, and one of my favorite things about the company is how many of its employees are very passionate about giving back to the community and protecting the environment. We have very strong ties to many community organizations, and the firm really encourages philanthropy and volunteerism.”

Business Outlook

“I think that we have continued to have success in the market despite the real or perceived economic headwinds we are currently or are expected to encounter. I think that we have a strong brand in the market despite our hiccup with Project Everest (the attempt to split the consulting and accounting businesses), and I think there will be opportunities there. I think that the on the negative side, there really may be large and measurable economic headwinds to come, and I know that we have publicly stumbled on the audit side with the PCAOB and some penalties there, so I know that is a primary focus on that side that could detract from gaining any further market share.”

“There has been a significant amount of change over the past three years, which brings challenges. There have been changes in leadership, auditing guidance continues to change, the way we work and where and how we work continues to change. How we recruit continues to change. Everest was an unnecessary distraction. This has impacted the employee confidence and to an extent employee satisfaction and employee morale.”

“EY is obviously a very strong, recognizable brand, and I feel very confident in our firm’s business outlook. I think our firm’s leadership is strong, but there’s certainly always areas of potential improvement.”

“EY is always looking forward to improving their business, from including AI/GPT to standardizing our workpapers for ease of use. Currently, EY is recovering from Everest, and the changes in leadership are providing clarity to our overall goals.”