About PwC
If you had to summarize PwC in one word it would be REAL. With PwC you can be confident that the results will be real and have a great, palpable impact. Whether you are a client or an employee, PwC will let you develop and get you to learn new things. Browsing through the Internet you will find that PwC is a little under appreciated if you compare it with the big firms; but in reality PwC delivers great results following one simple formula: “delivering bold ideas and solutions which are human-led and tech-powered and meaningful experiences which deliver real-life results”.
This has been proven true throughout the whole life of the firm. With 160 years of experience under the belt, PwC has overcome many hardships and become even more resilient. Now, PwC is at the top of the game, considered one of the Big 4 firms and the world’s largest professional services firm by revenue, and it offers its services to more than 80% of the Global Fortune 500 Companies.
PwC has its own consulting branch called Strategy&; we have a seperate profile for that matter; this profile focuses on PwC as the overall company
History
Edwin Waterhouse c. 1907
Source: Wikipedia
Price Waterhouse & Co
PwC is the result of a very big merger between two big firms. PwC history goes back more than 100 years ago, since 1849; when Samuel Lowell Price founded an accountancy practice in London. In 1865 Price formed a partnership with William Hopkins and Edwin Warterhouse; Hopkins left shortly after and the firm would be known as Price, Waterhouse & Co from then on.
By the late 19th century, Price Waterhouse had gained a lot of recognition and began its organic global expansion, opening an office in New York in 1890. In 1904, it opened an office in Liverpool and soon after they had offices elsewhere in the United Kingdom and worldwide, establishing separate partnerships in each country. In 1989, they were on the verge of merging with IBM but the negotiations fell through given the very different views of business that they had.
Cooper & Lybrand
On the other hand, in 1854 William Cooper founded an accountancy practice in London, seven years later it became Coopers Brothers when his three brothers joined. In 1957 it merged with two other firms, Lybrand, RossBross & Montgomery and McDonald, Currie and Co; from the US and Canada respectively; taking the name Cooper & Lybrand in international practice. In 1980 it acquired Cork Gully to expand its expertise in insolvency and in 1990 it merged with Deloitte in certain countries.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
Finally, in 1998, Price Waterhouse merged with Coopers & Lybrand to form PricewaterhouseCoopers. After the merger, although cyclical, its Management Consulting Services (MCS) was the fastest growing and most profitable area of the practice. The major cause for the growth was the implementation of complex integrated ERP systems (a software program that organizes and tracks large companies’ resources) for multinational companies in the decade of the nineties.
Accounting scandals
Similar to other firms, PwC went under scrutiny for providing consulting services, particularly financial systems design and implementation, to its audit clients since it was a clear conflict of interest.
In the US, these conflicts increased with the addition of different services, including the outsourcing of IT and back office operations, that end in financial auditing scandals like the Worldcom or the fallout from the Enron which resulted in the creation of the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to regulate how public corporations report its financial records and limit the interaction between management consulting and auditing services.
Because of this context, PwC became independent from its consulting division and in 2002 hired an outside CEO, Greg Brenneman, to run the new global firm. A new, unusual, name was created called “Monday” which was described as “a real word, concise, recognizable, global and the right fit for a company that works hard to deliver results”. But before this plan could follow through, the entire consultancy business was sold to IBM for approximately $3.9 billion.
New beginning
In 2009, PwC started to rebuild its consulting practice acquiring Paragon Consulting Group and the commercial services business of Bearing Point. Then, continuing this process, it acquired Diamon Management & Technology Consultants Inc in 2010, PRTM in 2011; Ant’s Eye View, a social media strategy development and consulting firm, in 2012 and Booz & Company in 2013. In that same year, it partnered with Pneuron Corporation to help firms manage big data.
Today, PwC serves 26 industries and offers a variety of services including assurance, tax, human resources, transactions, performance improvement and crisis management helping solve complex client and stakeholder issues worldwide of large companies, educational institutions, federal government, non-profit and international relief agencies, including 40% of companies in the FTSE 100 Index and 45% of the Fortune 1000 energy companies. Overall, PwC’s consulting practices are expected to grow in the following years.
| Website | https://www.pwc.com/ |
| Founder’s Name | Samuel Lowell Price, Edwin Waterhouse & William Coope |
| Foundation | 1849, London |
| Headquarters | New York, NY & London, England, UK |
| Type | Different structures (US & UK: limited liability partnerships) |
| Locations | 150+ countries (as of 2021) |
| Key People | CEO: Robert Mortiz (as of 2021) |
| Number of Employees | 290,000 + employees (as of 2021) |
| Revenue | $45.1 B (as of 2021) |
| Consulting Services | Cloud transformation, digital operations, deals, enterprise strategy, finance transformation, forensics, front office transformation, HR transformation |
| Other services | Alliances and Ecosystems Audit and assurance services
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| Industries | Aerospace, defense & security Automotive Capital projects & infrastructure Consumer markets Energy, utilities & resources
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| Interesting fact | |
| Social Media |
With more than 295,000 people in 156 countries, PwC is among the leading companies in the sector; providing services and delivering quality in Assurance, Tax and Advisory services to 84% of the Global Fortune 500 companies. In contrast to many unregulated consulting firms, PwC does not operate as a global partnership, instead, each office acts as an independent identity and PwCIL (PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited) simply acts as a coordinating entity but it does not offer any kind of services to clients.
PwC has received multiple diversity focused awards and it usually ranks among the first places among the lists of best places to work for women. It is widely known for providing flexibility and support for working mothers and parents who are adopting children. It also invests in different resources to its employees’ well-being like mental health and meditation apps or racial trauma counseling.
PwC is also very committed to combat climate change, being part of the United Nations Race to Zero campaign and Business Ambition for 1.5°C; they have also made a “worldwide science-based commitment to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030”, validated by the Science Based Targets initiative, to target scopes 1, 2 and 3 emissions.
In 2021, PwC reorganized its “career areas” in two categories: Consulting Solutions and Trust Solutions. The first one, works with companies to manage the pressures of growth and competition, come up with solutions on serious events and identify and pursue new opportunities; this division also has a tech team of specialists that supports the firm’s work. The second career area “Trust Solutions” specializes in audit and tax services; helping its clients with complex financial accounting and reporting issues such as capital markets transactions: it also provides its clients tax services and in-depth knowledge of the industries.
PwC has a third unofficial career area referred to as “Internal” which houses its business services division which provides strategic and creative services to internal clients related to marketing, HR, finance, office operations, risk management, HR, finance, office operations , risk management, learning & education among others.
“Build trust in society and solve important problems. In an increasingly complex world, PwC helps intricate systems function, adapt and evolve so they can deliver sustained outcomes for communities and society – whether they are capital markets, tax systems or the economic systems within which business and society exist.”
Being a big global firm means that PwC has a lot of employees who come from different backgrounds, cultures and traditions. In an effort to give a guide on how people should work with each other in order to set realistic expectations to their clients, PwC conducts its practices with 5 main values with the objective of gaining the trust of their clients, its people and society. The 5 values and their underlying behaviors, as stated in their website, are as follows:
Act with integrity
- Speak up for what is right, especially when it feels difficult
- Expect and deliver the highest quality outcomes
- Make decisions and act as if our personal reputations were at stake
Make a difference
- Stay informed and ask questions about the future of the world we live in
- Create impact with our colleagues, our clients and society through our actions
- Respond with agility to the ever changing environment in which we operate
Care
- Make the effort to understand every individual and what matters to them
- Recognise the value that each person contributes
- Support others to grow and work in the ways that bring out their best
Work together
- Collaborate and share relationships, ideas and knowledge beyond boundaries
- Seek and integrate a diverse range of perspectives, people and ideas
- Give and ask for feedback to improve ourselves and others
Reimagine the impossible
- Dare to challenge the status quo and try new things
- Innovate, test and learn from failure
- Have an open mind to the possibilities in every idea.
What distinguishes PwC?
a) Following a great understanding of its clients, PwC developed its own strategy to its services which “focuses on two interconnected needs that clients face in a world of technological disruption, fractured geopolitics, climate change and the enduring impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic”: trust and sustained outcomes.
b) The first part of their strategy is to help their clients build trust with their stakeholders. Their approach is “designed to meet rising expectations of transparency and stakeholder engagement. It includes organizational culture, executive mindset, aligned standards, certified professionals, stringent controls, tailored technologies, and appropriate governance. It continues to place a commitment to quality at its core.”
c) The second part is to deliver sustained outcomes. Beginning by visualizing the outcome that they seek to achieve with their efforts, they then “mobilize expertise in strategy, digital and cloud services, value creation, people and organization, tax, legal and compliance, amongst other areas to deliver the agreed outcomes”
Why work at PwC?
84% of employees at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP say it is a great place to work compared to 57% of employees at a typical U.S.-based company.
Source: Great place to work@ 2021 Global Employee Engagement Study.
PwC takes very seriously the necessity of a balanced life and makes multiple efforts to help its employees to maintain their physical and mental health. PwC is always in the top 100 of best companies to work for and according to Great Place to Work, 84% of its employees recommend it.
Health & wellbeing
- Medical Plans , Vision Care Plan, Dental Plan, and Health Saving Accounts
Time off
- Extended holidays around July 4, Christmas and New Year
- Vacation (15 – 22 work days)
- Family & personal sick time (five or fewer consecutive days due to illness, injury, medical treatment or to care for a sick family member)
Financial
- 401(k) Savings Plan, Retirement wealth builder plan
- Student Loan Paydown (up to $1,200 USD a year)
Caregiver support
- Parental Leave (8 weeks)
- Phased return to work (additional 4 weeks for 60% of hours)
- Paid family care leave
- Family building support (adoption, surrogacy, fertility program)
- Childcare and eldercare resources
- Mentor Moms program
Family support
- Emergency backup child care reimbursement program
- Nursing parent program
- Mother’s room
- Full Circle program
- Dependent care flexible spending account
- Childcare discounts and back-up care
- Disability Caregivers Network
- Nanny assistance
Flexibility
- Work-life resource and referral (learning resources for PwC employees and immediate families)
- Year-round Flex Days
Insurance
- Basic Life Insurance
- Supplemental LIfe Insurance
- Accidental Death Insurance
- Business Travel Accident Insurance
- Auto & Home Insurance
- Employee Mortgage Program
- Identity Theft Protection
- Legal Plan
- Pet Insurance
Be well, work well
- Ginger emotional health coaching
- Gympass discounted gym membership
- LiveWell resources
- Well-Being Rewards Program
- Smoking Cessation Program
Compensation and rewards
- Annual Performance Bonus
- Credential Bonus Award Program
- Employee Referral Awards
- Career milestone Awards
- Promotion to Client Service Manager award
- Promotion to Client Service Senior Manager or Business Services Director
- CPA Review Course Program
- Credential Bonus Award Program
- Educational Support plan
- Educational Matching gift program
- Digital Badge program
Other perks
- commuter benefits program (pay transit and parking expenses with pre-tax dollars)
- eMobility (monthly invoice and data services covered)
- International SOS program
- Travel discounts
For more information about the benefits at PwC, you can visit their webpage.
In contrast to other consulting firms, PwC network is not allowed to operate as a global partnership, including being identified as a single multinational corporation. Because of this, PwCIL simply acts as a coordinating entity and each of its firms organizes itself, including the services that it provides. This also means that the career path can differ from country to country.
According to reviews, the speed of promotions varies among the career areas. In Strategy& you can expect a similar career path as those in the MBA, as stated in their official page. You can expect a similar path in the USA and strong European Markets:
| Career Path | Time |
|---|---|
| Associate (undergraduate entry) | 2 – 3 years |
| Senior Associate (MBA & PhD entry) | 2 – 3 years |
| Manager | 2 – 3 years |
| Director | 2 – 3 years |
| Partner | 3+ years |
Salary Overview of MBAs
Although salary changes from country to country, according to glassdoor, a good estimate based on the average of multiple offices would be 73,000 USD.
| Role | Work experience | United Kingdom | USA | Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senior Associate | 1-3 years | 46,577 GBP/year | 105,000 USD/year | 86,966 AUD/year |
Salary Overview of Non-MBAs
Same as the MBA salary overview; a good estimate based on the average salary of multiple offices would be $74,000 per year as an Associate, which are usually undergrads, M.A/M.S or experienced hires with 2 or 3 years in the industry, besides the base salary.
| Role | Work experience | United Kingdom | USA | Australia |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Associate | 1-3 years | 27,781 GBP/year | 68,165 USD/year | 63,000 AUD/year |
- PwC was named a leader in business consulting services in the worldwide, Americas, and Europe, Middle East and Africa markets, according to the 2012 IDC Market Scape reports.
- Company ranked #5 on Diversity Inc’s 2012 Top Companies for Global Diversity list.
- Received a citation for being a 2012 Employer of Choice for Women thus making the company one of the most favorable and sought after companies to work for, for women.
- For the 11th year in a row, PwC Brazil was named The Most Admired Audit Company by Carta Capital/ TNS InterScience.
- For a record ninth year running, PwC UK was placed #1 in The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers for 2012.
- Ranked #7 of the World’s Most Attractive Employers by business students in 2012.
- PwC US made the Fortune 100 Best Places to Work at #48, up 25 places from 2011, and #11 among big employers.
- PwC UK placed #5 in the Sunday Times Best Big Companies to Work For in the UK – up from 11th in 2011 and the highest of any of the Big Four.
Source: Green World Investors
PwC shines for its multiple employee benefits and the multiple programs and events that it organizes. Here are some of the events that PwC has prepared to its’ employees:
Celebrating the profession on Auditor Proud day
Volunteering to make meals for teen mothers and their children at Hope House in Colorado
Promotion day celebration
Volunteering at the Furniture Bank of Metro Atlanta
Source: All images are from Great Places to Work
- Donald T. Nicolaisen – Chief Accountant for U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission between 2003 and 2005
- Enrique Zorrilla Fullaondo – Chief Executive Officer for Banamex in Mexico
- Joseph F. DiTrolio – Vice President- Financial Operations of Comcast Corporation
- Kamal Dua – Senior Vice President and General Auditor of Comcast Corporation
- Karen J. May – Executive Vice President of Global Human Resources for Kraft Foods, Inc. (responsible for the company’s human resources function worldwide)
- Keith Bradley – Executive Vice President and President of Ingram Micro North America
- Laura K. Ipsen – Senior Vice President of Global Policy and Government Affairs for Cisco (since 1996, she is responsible for developing Cisco’s public policy agenda and managing government affairs activities worldwide)
- Lawrence J. Salva – Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer and Controller of Comcast Corporation
- Mark Kingdon – American angel investor (invested in companies such as Twitter, SAY Media, Kidzui, 140 Proof, NiftyThrifty, and Fab.com)
| Insights | PwC Research & Insights |
| The New Equation | PwC New Equation |
| Global Review 2021 | PwC Annual Global Review 2021 |
| News | McKinsey News |
| Publications | PwC Publications |
The process
Similar to the career path, the hiring process at PwC differs from country to country. To understand more about the specific process that you need to go through, make sure to review PwC’s page. Here is a general overview about what the process looks like and what to expect.
There are 6 steps in the hiring process: application, game-based assessment, video interview, assessment center, interview with manager or partner and the offer.
Application
The first step in the hiring process is to upload your CV on their personal system Workday. Once you create your profile and complete it the best that you can, you will be able to apply to the open positions that are on the webpage and you will also be able to check the progress of your application.
Game-Based Assessment
The first step in the hiring process is to upload your CV on their personal system Workday. Once you create your profile and complete it the best that you can, you will be able to apply to the open positions that are on the webpage and you will also be able to check the progress of your application.
Video Interview
Rather than asking you to submit a Cover Letter along with your CV, PwC asks for its candidates to submit a video interview; this should be addressed in the same way; emphasizing your strengths and making you stand out. Because it’s done through an online platform, you will have the freedom to select the time and place that you want to respond to the interview.
Assessment Center
After the video interview, the next stage of the hiring process is the visit to the assessment center; where you will need to go to one of the offices for an in-person exam and some exercises. In this stage you can have some individual and group case interviews so you should prepare beforehand.
This stage usually lasts all day and consists of two to three stages. Although difficult, this stage is a great opportunity to show-off your skills, learn more about PwC and overall become a great learning experience.
Interview with Manager or/and Partner
Finally, the last step before getting the offer is a one-on-one interview with one of the managers or partners; another great opportunity where you must display your strengths and talk about how you handle your weaknesses. This is a more personal interview and they are also assessing your level of compromise with the career, and whether or not you are a good match with the firm.
Offer
Finally, the last step before getting the offer is a one-on-one interview with one of the managers or partners; another great opportunity where you must display your strengths and talk about how you handle your weaknesses. This is a more personal interview and they are also assessing your level of compromise with the career, and whether or not you are a good match with the firm.
Overall, PwC is evaluating if you have what it takes to be a “PwC Professional”. PwC already has a previously defined set of expectations about the attributes and behaviors that their employees need to have in order to “build trust, gain a better understanding of our clients’ challenges and needs, and provide valuable and effective solutions”. This expectations are based on five leadership attributes:
- Whole leadership
- Business acumen
- Technical capabilities
- Global acumen
- Relationship
PwC will also take a look at whether or not you are coachable and are willing to develop yourself through self-learning and keeping track of your progress. PwC development approach is centered on three principles:
- 10% Formal Learning such as classes or online courses
- 20% Learning from others (coaching)
- 70% Learning by doing
To know more about the PwC Professional expectations you can read more in the following link: PwC Professional Development
Positive & Negative Reviews
Positive:
- “At the end of the day, culture matters more than anything else, because if you look forward to going to work with your fellow employees, you’ll enjoy your job a lot more and you’ll be happy. I know many investment bankers who hate their jobs even though they do make a lot. PwC has an amazing culture of friendly, smart people who are willing to spend time to help you if you need it, will pass your name along for the next great project coming down the pipeline, and are always down to grab a beer after work and are great to spend time with on a personal level.”
- “The firm has implemented strong programs to promote balance as we have significant research that shows healthy and rested staff and partners are more effective. We encourage and monitor vacation balances to make sure team members are taking vacation and not getting burnt out.”
- “PwC is a great place to both start your career and continue to develop as a professional. The opportunities and support you will get here will set you up for success whether you decide to stay with the firm long term or look externally for your next opportunity.”
- “Early responsibility and learning opportunities at every turn, led by gracious management and helpful colleagues.”
- “Our firm is determined to succeed but also do right by our society, communities, and have an impact on the world around us. We work hard but always do the right thing.”
Negative:
- “The hours can be very long sometimes and travel can get tiring but as long as you communicate your needs, I haven’t had a problem taking a break or changing something to make it more manageable.”
- “There is a lot of flexibility in terms of working hours and accommodating schedules, however there definitely is an expectation to be “on” most hours of the day/night and we are expected to respond to emails. I see that as more of [a result of] being in client service as opposed to the firm.”
- “While transparency in diversity has been a major focus in the past months, there is still a lag in diversity in leadership… The firm is doing a good job to prioritize these efforts and make a difference, but there is a long way to go.”
Overall rating
This score is calculated based on 7,959 evaluations and it can change:
Work & Life Balance
Enjoyed the experience. It was challenging but fun. Dynamic diverse crowd. There are always new things to learn. Managers are supportive. Less work life balance.
Compensation & Benefits
The job is nice but the hours are long and can be stressful. You do get to learn a lot about the client and the opportunities. The benefits are also good.
Job Security & Advancement
Wlb is less than optimal. Tech stack is fairly new age. Opportunities for advancement were plentiful if you put in the hours required. Good pay and bonus.
Management
Worked at the Columbia acceleration center. Pay was extremely uncompetitive, but the work was alright. However, it was project dependent. Some projects have amazing management with lots of growth opportunities and some look strictly at your production. Little input on what projects you could be on
Culture
Culture is generally good. People care but are overextended. Revenue and metrics drives work assignments without balancing impact to staff. Pace and load of work is consistently fast and high with few breaks. Plenty of opportunities for growth and advancement. Very difficult to adjust if coming from industry. If I had to do it over, I would have found a role in one of the Internal Firm Services (back office) departments… same culture and advancement opportunities without the stress and pressure of bringing in revenue and meeting utilization metrics.
Conclusion
If we learn something about PwC during the writing of this article, it is that the firm is really committed to the success of its clients and the wellness of its employees. PwC has multiple programs and benefits that ensure that its employees maintain their physical and mental health; they know this will allow the firm to deliver great results. The firm cares about making a difference not only to their clients business but also in its people’s lives and society.