Pros
Big Four name on resume always a plus, networking opportunities, comparison opportunity to other Big Four, decent but not great pay
Cons
Staff imitate narrow mindset of upper management. Lack of true team approach to business objectives. If you are not of the approved personality set, religion, and race opportunities for growth and development will be limited if not stifled altogether. If you are not of the appointed and blessed group of the team for which you are assigned you will be left out and generally treated as a second class citizen. However, they are oh so smooth in doing this. I dedicated long hours for huge projects with almost no direction for assignments that required a technical knowledge of databases that I had to hunt down on my own. And the information contained in those databases was less that accurate to complete the projects. I successfully completed the projects with a quality proejct but my success can largely be attributed to my tenaciousness in connecting with resources outside of the team. Performance reviews are nothing but an exercise in personality approval ratings wherein staff are made accountable for the substandard guidance and instruction of their bosses. Managers accept little to no accountability for their performance but instead use the performance review to blame the subordinate for any problems they're having. The question is never asked of the subordinate, "What do you need from me to deliver what we are both on the firing line to produce?" And of course the likelihood that they would genuinely answer is not even remotely possible. Nobody is saying in these reviews "How can we work together, to get you where the company needs you to go?" This is largely because it is a very self-centered, self-focused atmosphere wherein everybody is looking out for number. Doesn't E&Y realize that the "me-first" concept never works on any level in any organization and undermines their credibility and respectability in the marketplace? A good number of the seniors and managers I have worked with are dishonest, lacking in moral integrity and totally consumed with how they can progress and at whatever means necessary. They have lost their moral compass at the altar of greed and profit. Sacrificing quality work for a quickly produced client product and asking people to report less hours than worked in order to come in under budget. It's all about making the partners wealthier.