What type of public accounting firm would you prefer to work for-a large or a small firm? One consideration would be the types of clients and services offered by the firm. The large public accounting firms tend to offer a full range of assurance and nonassurance services and have a wide variety of clients, in terms of both size and industry. They also perform the majority of public company audits. Small firms tend to have small and medium-sized clients in a variety of industries. However, some small firms do specialize in particular industries. For instance, a major focus of the Toronto firm of Cowperthwaite Metha is small, not-for-profit organizations (which includes about 120 childcare centres). New staff accountants in small firms are given a variety of clients and tasks and start handling clients very quickly. In contrast, given their breadth of services and clients, large firms often assign new staff accountants to a few clients with specific tasks. Apart from the types of clients, the work environments of large firms can be very different from small firms. One recent graduate interviewed in Career Incubator , an online careermagazine for Canadian students and graduates, described the different work environments: "If you want a relaxed, friendlier environment, it's better to work for a smaller firm. But if you are a very outgoing, competitive person, then you may like a bigger firm better." Other things to consider when deciding on large versus small firms:
● Large firms often hire in big groups with 40 or more new accountants starting at once. This can place a lot of pressure to compete and work overtime. But it also means newaccountants have several peers to share experiences with, whereas those in small firms may not.
● Large firms tend to invest a lot of money in formal training and mentoring, whereas small firms cannot do that and promote more "learning as you go." One new accountant explains: "I really had to learn on the job. It's good for my
career, but it's tough at the beginning." Also, you need to depend upon your supervisors to train you. This can be challenging at small firms "when the people that are supposed to be training you are very busy handling their own workloads."
● For those new accountants who want to see other parts of Canada or the world, large international firms offer many opportunities for relocation or short-term assignments inother countries.
APPLYING YOUR PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT
1. How does industry specialization help firms conduct a high-quality audit?
2. Why do large firms perform the majority of public company audits?
3. A key factor that contributes to audit quality is the review process. However, given their size, smaller firms can find this to be a challenge. What processes can regional and small local firms put in place to ensure that consistent, high-quality work is performed?