please Consulting Firm Or Bank?

Hello nairalanders,

Please i need your advice as to where to start a career as an accountant: a Consulting firm or Banking industry.

What do you think looking at it from all angles.

please i need your responses.

hello Deola,

send me ur email addy

i thought you just got a job in a consultancy firm and you were happy about it??? well it depends on the bank you are looking at and where you intend making a career. if its for the money, by all means go the bank and don't feel guilty.

I'd say you are better off in a consulting firm than in a bank. As an accountant, if you are in the Audit or Financial Advisory practice of a good consulting firm, you get to acquire a wide variety of skills within a shorter period of time than in a Bank. You also get to rise through the ranks at a faster rate - rising to become a Manager within 6 years (or less, depending on your performance rating) strictly based on merit (and not who you know) is not impossible in any of the reputable consulting firms.

If you are good at what you do and you decide to specialise in the Financial Services Industry line of a good consulting firm, you can easily cross over to a bank later and you can be sure you'll be placed at a higher cadre than your peers in the bank.

BUT all actually depends on what YOU want to do. For instance, what role have you been offered in the bank and does it tally with your career aspiration.


P.S. who says banks pay higher than (the good) consulting firms? In the long, and even short, term, you get to earn more as a consultant than as a banker. i.e. using the reputable consulting firms as a benchmark. In any case, Do you want to 'be' or you want to 'have'?  - if it's the former, you are definitely better off as a consultant.

Wish you the best.

@dollyfill,

i believe in a consulting firm you would get to do more jobs that relate to accounting. and once you get a professional certification, the sky is your limit. my problem with the bank is that you may end up being in marketing, which has nothing to do with your accounting background or operations where you do all the hard work and get little or no credit and promotions.

at the end of the day, a career in a consultancy firm appears to be more fulfilling. good luck though in whihever you choose.

Friend, u`ll realize taht everyone favors consulting firms. Theres a lot of benefits, more pay, more experience and who knows u might have to consut for the banks. please choose wisely! i graduated in 2004 and i`ve been in one consulting firm or another - not the so called recruitment agensies in Nigeria who refer to themselves as consulting firms, but mgt consulting firms. Iv had to sit with former head of state, ministers, bank MDs, ambassadors MDs of other sectors like Power etc In 2yrs or so i`ll say i`v lernt more than what any industry can offer. So think well!!!

Thank you all for your response, really appreciate it. i can easily make up my mind now.