BDO reviews

Compared to Big 4, BDO seemed to be behind in adapting to new audit practices as Partners were not always willing to retool their audit approach. As a Manager, was responsible for Senior and Staff level work (e.g., smaller clients with consulting projects often only required 1 consultant, which resulted in manager doing all levels of work).

Although I spent much more time and gained much more "resume big ticket" skills with BDO than I did @ a Big 4, I still get more "street cred" for my Big 4 heritage; the Big 4 stint is all people want to talk about. Collectively, the Big 4 push out much more bodies than the Nationals/Regionals, so they're probably the ones doing the hiring, and sadly, some can still be a little snobby when it comes to assuming that someone from a National/Regional is less equiped than someone from Big 4, and dare I say it...forget about it if you come from a local firm. Understandably, it's a reputation and perception thing, and while I don't agree with it, it's just that way it is. So while I feel my current success is more attributable to BDO, I would advise people to really think about the perception that comes with a National/Regional and how that plays into your future plans; you may want to consider going to a Big 4 just for the name eventhough your experiences might not be as diverse, or even better, doing both Big 4 and National/Regional. It's kind of like, the Big 4 name gets me the interviews, but my BDO experiences enable me to back it up when I get there.