Poor pay, long hours, unrealistic expectations, toxic environment. The Big 4 model has long been underpaying and overworking those at the associate and senior associate positions to compensate Partners of the LP more. This results in a toxic environment in which the tone at the top is often stated with greed. The Business Tax Services unit in Houston is impressively incapable, relative to other big 4 service lines. In it, you will find unrealistic managers who do not care to assist you in your career development. Long hours are mandated (minimum weekly 55-65 hour requirements) from July - October, and many are lucky enough to also experience it from January - April. The compensation resembles that of a moderately motivated uber driver, even for those who have obtained a Master's Degree and CPA. Those who desire to leave will find out that the exit opportunities are much less fruitful than peers in Audit or Advisory. I strongly advise anyone in accounting to focus their search on those fields, or, if insistent on tax, to seek out mid-market or industry positions elsewhere. Big 4 Tax Services is a dying pit of toxicity, and KPMG is the black hole in this metaphor.
