Big 4 Interview Questions | EY Business Consulting Interview | Risk Advisory | EY Interview Question

Summary

In this insightful interview, Pranav Shah shares his journey from qualifying in the November May '22 attempt to landing a role in risk advisory at EY through personal networking. He emphasizes the importance of good connections, flexibility in job hunting, and the value of diverse experiences in risk advisory. Pranav provides a detailed account of his interview process, the relevance of his articleship, and the growth trajectory in his role. He also discusses work-life balance, the benefits of working at EY, and offers advice for aspiring CA students.

Takeaways

• 😀 Pranav Shah, the interviewee, works in risk advisory at EY Business Consultants, a role he secured through personal networking rather than campus placement.
• 🔍 Pranav was introduced to the field of management consultancy through a workshop and was determined to pursue a career in this area, despite the competitive nature of the industry.
• 💡 He emphasizes the importance of networking, as his job opportunity came through a friend's referral on Instagram, highlighting the unconventional ways job seekers can find opportunities.
• 🎯 Pranav initially aimed for a career in management consultancy but was open to exploring other domains, demonstrating flexibility in his career path.
• 📚 His articleship experience in indirect taxation provided him with valuable professional skills, such as taking ownership of assignments and client relationship management, despite not being directly related to his current role.
• 🛠️ Pranav's role involves foreseeing business risks, recommending solutions, and identifying control or process gaps, which is a mix of technical and advisory work.
• 🚀 He views risk advisory as a stepping stone to management consultancy, suggesting it offers a solid foundation for understanding business functions.
• 🤝 Pranav's interview process at EY was streamlined due to a strong performance, indicating the importance of preparation and adaptability in the hiring process.
• 🌐 EY's global reach and brand value offer employees exposure to diverse clients and travel opportunities, contributing to a rich professional experience.
• 🌱 The growth trajectory in risk advisory is seen as faster with fewer hierarchical levels, allowing for quicker progression to senior roles.
• 🏖 Work-life balance in the role is described as flexible, with periods of intense work followed by less pressure, reflecting the dynamic nature of consulting work.

Q & A

How did Pranav Shah land his job at EY through personal efforts?

Pranav Shah found his job at EY through a friend who sent him a vacancy notice on Instagram. He expressed his interest in interviewing, and fortunately, he was granted an opportunity and successfully secured the position.

What was the role of networking in Pranav's job search process?

Networking played a significant role in Pranav's job search. He informed his friends about his interest in management consultancy, and one of them sent him the job opening at EY, which eventually led to his employment.

How did Pranav's preparation for management consultancy interviews benefit him?

Pranav's preparation for management consultancy interviews helped him develop a strong foundation and confidence. This preparation made him well-equipped to handle the technical and case-based questions during his interview at EY.

What was the initial confusion regarding the role Pranav was interviewing for?

Initially, Pranav thought he was interviewing for a management consultancy role, but during the interview, he realized it was for a risk advisory position. His prior preparation for management consultancy helped him adapt well to this realization.

What does a risk advisor or business consultancy advisor typically do?

A risk advisor or business consultancy advisor mainly foresees risks in a client's business landscape, recommends solutions, highlights control or process gaps, and assists in improving those areas. They also perform tasks like internal audit and SOP implementations.

How does Pranav describe the growth trajectory in his role at EY?

Pranav explains that in his role, he would progress from a consultant to a senior consultant after three years, then to a manager level, and eventually to a director and partner if he stays with the firm for 15-20 years.

What misconception does Pranav clarify about risk advisory being just internal audit?

Pranav clarifies that while internal audit is a part of risk advisory, risk advisory is a broader field that encompasses various other assignments and is not limited to just internal audit functions.

How relevant was Pranav's articleship experience to his current role?

Although Pranav's articleship was majorly in indirect taxation and not directly relevant technically, the experience helped him develop professional skills, ownership of assignments, and client relationship management, which are valuable in his current role.

What advice does Pranav have for those preparing for interviews, especially for management consultancy roles?

Pranav advises to prepare for the worst, meaning to prepare thoroughly for management consultancy interviews as it equips one with the ability to handle any type of interview situation with confidence.

How does Pranav describe the work-life balance at EY?

Pranav describes the work-life balance at EY as flexible, with the need to work extra hours when required but also having periods of less pressure. The firm compensates with travel opportunities and a supportive team environment.

What are the potential future steps for Pranav in his career at EY or beyond?

Pranav is considering potential steps such as pursuing an Executive MBA, moving into management consultancy if opportunities arise, or continuing to grow within EY, possibly becoming a partner in 10-15 years.

Outlines

00:00

🤝 Networking and Personal Initiative in Job Hunting

The first paragraph introduces Pranav Shah, who works in risk advisory at EY Business Consultants. Pranav shares his experience of securing the job through personal networking rather than campus placement. He emphasizes the importance of having a strong network within the CA community and how he leveraged social media, specifically Instagram, to find his current position. The paragraph highlights the value of personal connections and the unconventional way he landed his job, showcasing the power of networking and maintaining good relationships.

05:01

🎯 Career Aspirations and the Journey to Risk Advisory

In the second paragraph, Pranav discusses his career aspirations and how he became a risk advisor. Initially aiming for a role in management consultancy, he found the domain fascinating and prepared intensively for related interviews. However, due to the competitive nature of the field, he broadened his focus to various domains and applied widely. Pranav eventually found his role in risk advisory, which he views as a stepping stone to management consultancy, and explains the misconception that risk advisory is merely a branch of internal audit, clarifying that it encompasses a wider range of responsibilities.

10:01

📘 Insights into the Role of a Risk Advisor

The third paragraph delves into the day-to-day responsibilities of a risk advisor. Pranav explains that his role involves identifying potential business risks, recommending solutions, and improving client processes. He also touches on the significant portion of his work that involves internal audit tasks and standard operating procedure implementations. The paragraph clarifies that while internal audit is part of risk advisory, the latter is a broader field with diverse assignments, and it serves as a strong foundation for those aspiring to move into management consultancy.

15:02

💼 Interview Experience and Professional Growth

In this paragraph, Pranav shares his interview experience at EY, detailing the typical three-round process but noting that his interview was conducted by a director and a manager, bypassing some stages due to a strong performance. He discusses the importance of technical knowledge and case-based preparation, attributing his confidence to having practiced with a buddy from a workshop. Pranav also reflects on the relevance of his articleship experience, highlighting the non-technical skills developed during that time, such as taking ownership of assignments and building client relationships.

🚀 Career Progression and Work-Life Balance

The final paragraph addresses Pranav's career progression and work-life balance in his role. He outlines the growth trajectory from a consultant to potentially becoming a partner at EY within 10 to 15 years. Pranav also discusses the flexible nature of his work, which includes traveling and meeting various stakeholders, and the support he receives from his team. He concludes by recommending the risk advisory profile for those seeking business understanding, travel opportunities, and a dynamic work environment.

Keywords

💡Risk Advisory

Risk Advisory refers to a professional service that helps businesses identify, assess, and manage potential risks that could impact their operations or financial status. In the video, Pranav Shah discusses his role in risk advisory, emphasizing its importance in foreseeing business risks, recommending solutions, and identifying control or process gaps. It is a stepping stone to management consultancy and is portrayed as a comprehensive service that includes internal audit as a part of its broader scope.

💡Business Consultancy

Business Consultancy is a service where professionals provide expert advice and guidance to organizations to improve their performance and efficiency. Pranav was initially attracted to this field after attending a workshop and was preparing for roles in this domain. The script mentions that business consultancy is a niche profile that many CA students aspire to enter, indicating its prestige and the challenges of entry.

💡Internal Audit

Internal Audit is an appraisal activity conducted within an organization for examining and evaluating its own activities as a service to the organization. It is a part of risk advisory, as mentioned in the script, but it is not the sole aspect of it. The distinction is made clear that while internal audit is a significant component, risk advisory encompasses a wider range of services and functions.

💡Management Consultancy

Management Consultancy involves providing expert advice to organizations, particularly on how to improve or manage their operations. Pranav had a keen interest in this field and was preparing for interviews in management consultancy. The script highlights that management consultancy is a goal for Pranav, and he sees risk advisory as a stepping stone towards it.

💡Campus Placement

Campus Placement refers to the recruitment process where companies visit educational institutions to hire students directly from the campus. In the script, Pranav clarifies that his job at EY was not through campus placement but through his personal hunt, which involved networking and proactive job searching.

💡Networking

Networking is the process of building and maintaining professional relationships to exchange information and access opportunities. Pranav emphasizes the importance of networking in his job search, as it was through a friend's referral on Instagram that he learned about the opening at EY and was able to secure an interview.

💡Interview Process

The Interview Process in the context of the script refers to the series of meetings and discussions that a candidate goes through to be considered for a job. Pranav describes his interview experience at EY, which included technical questions, case-based questions, and personality-based assessments, highlighting the comprehensive nature of the selection process.

💡Technical Questions

Technical Questions are those that pertain to specific knowledge or skills required for a job. In the script, Pranav mentions that he was asked technical questions related to risk management and audit during his interview, which tested his understanding of the subject matter relevant to the role.

💡Case Study

A Case Study is a detailed analysis of a specific situation, typically used in education and business to illustrate a point or test understanding. Pranav was prepared for case study-based interviews as part of his management consultancy preparation, which he found beneficial even for his risk advisory interview.

💡Articleship

Articleship is a training contract for Chartered Accountancy students in India, where they gain practical experience under a practicing Chartered Accountant. Pranav reflects on his articleship experience, noting how it helped him develop professional skills, take ownership of assignments, and learn about client relationships, which have been valuable in his current role.

💡Work-Life Balance

Work-Life Balance refers to the equilibrium between an individual's work responsibilities and personal life. The script discusses the perception of work-life balance in big four firms like EY, with Pranav sharing his positive experience, mentioning the flexibility in work hours, the opportunity to travel, and the supportive team environment.

Highlights

Pranav Shah shares his journey from CA to a Risk Advisory role at EY.

Pranav secured his position at EY through a personal connection on Instagram, not LinkedIn.

The importance of networking within the CA community for job opportunities.

Pranav was initially aiming for a management consultancy role but ended up in risk advisory.

Risk advisory serves as a stepping stone to management consultancy.

Pranav's approach to job hunting involved applying broadly and then selecting the best opportunity.

Risk advisors identify and recommend solutions for business risks and control gaps.

Internal audit is a part of risk advisory, but not the whole scope.

Pranav's articleship experience provided indirect tax knowledge and professional development.

The growth trajectory in risk advisory can lead to senior consultant, manager, and potentially partner roles.

EY offers a flexible work environment with opportunities for travel and client interaction.

Pranav's advice on preparing for interviews by aiming high and being ready for any challenge.

The interview process at EY includes technical and case-based questions, as well as personality assessments.

Pranav's view on work-life balance in the Big Four and how it varies by role and assignment.

Risk advisory provides a comprehensive understanding of business functions and a broad exposure to different industries.

Pranav's recommendation for those considering a career in risk advisory or EY.

Transcripts

uh so hi today we have pranav Shah with

us who is working with who's currently

working with the eny Business

Consultants and his profile is into risk

advisory or you can call it business

consultancy risk profile uh

pranav has qualified in the November May

22 attempt so high pranav how do you

feel

thank you so much for having me here and

then now being a guidance to a lot of

students

uh

how did you get land into eny like did

it happen through campus placement or

was it through your own personals hunt

so it was uh completely into my own

personal hunt

um post uh gr Workshop I was very keen

on getting into management consultancy

and that was I had informed some friends

of mine as well that if you land up upon

something some openings or such uh then

do please let me know a friend actually

so funny thing is that people find their

jobs through Linkedin I found mine

through Instagram oh actually yeah

[Music]

had a vacancy in their business

Consulting team at DUI and a friend a

friend sent it to me that maybe this is

something nice for you I texted that

person that uh I would like to interview

and I I was lucky enough to get one

things worked out well and right now I'm

you know it turned out to be a business

Consulting risk or risk advisory as you

say literal but worked out well for me

okay so we can say that creating a bond

nurturing it and then converting that

formula actually worked out for you that

uh Shivam balance or promotes that that

is absolutely applicable in your case

100 yeah so having good good uh networks

in the ca Community he goes along

honestly yeah can't emphasize on that

enough

that's that's that's great so uh pranav

what was your uh like domain like what

were your targets like did you always

focus on getting into the profile that

your right now into that is being a risk

advisor or were you targeting any other

profiles yeah so uh once I did the gr

workshop with CMO uh that was where I

got introduced to the the domain of

management consultancy and I was head

over heels for it honestly uh it uh

attracted me so much that uh I Was

preparing 100 for those interviews only

and uh later on once the results came

out I realized that openings in that

domain are not money and whatever

openings are there those are mainly for

experience Cas with uh consultancy

backgrounds or for a MBA from Top B

schools some CFS do get into it but

those are people with ranks or with

attractive industrial training

experiences so for me I realized it

would be a practical thing to do if I

just uh focus on other things as well

other domains so the approach that I

what I followed was I selected a couple

of domains where I would never like to

work

a couple of domains I applied for

everything which came my way I gave

interviews everywhere wherever I could

and uh then I just selected with

whatever the best opportunity was

available to me

again risk advisory as a domain

um for me it worked well because I

thought this was management consultancy

initially before I gave the interview in

the interview I realized that it is risk

advisory and later I took it up because

it helped me it will help me with a good

understanding of business functions and

everything yeah absolutely so I think

you went through the process of

elimination first you decided on what

you would absolutely don't want to do

and then you were like okay these are

things these are the things that I would

still consider or you know uh put myself

into and of course business consultancy

being one of the most Niche profiles

every CA student aspires to get into it

and but the entry barriers is definitely

there so you have 200 you have to do

yourself let me land you four years or

three two years down the line it may you

know give you a route or you may land up

in a business right exactly so risk

advisory is like a stepping stone from

YouTubers management consultancy to be

honest

so tell us something more about what

exactly does a risk advisor or a

business consultancy advisor do

yeah oh my a main function is to foresee

any risk in the business landscape of a

client and recommend them solutions for

it as well as highlight major points

where they can you can say that there

are any kind of control gaps or any

process gaps and they can improvise on

those controls or processes apart from

that you can say that 50 60 percent of

our work is into enter audit which a

normal charger content would do and uh

the other half of it would be sop

implementations

um testing of various kinds there are

many kinds of assignments which we get

various or normal started accountants

student one they wouldn't even imagine

them honestly and apart from that I

think um yeah I think that's all for

risk advisory

okay so you can we can say that internal

audit is a part of risk advisory but

it's not entirely that a lot of people

have this misconception that risk

advisory is just a fancy term given to

internal audit but that's not the

absolute case exactly exactly risk

advisory is like a bigger umbrella under

which uh intervalid is like a branch of

it you can see obviously it is a it is a

major portion of it but not 100 the

various and the other assignments or

things which you can do under risk

advisory

so internal audit is just part of the

risk advisory and risk advisory as a

profile is great for like you know uh

building a good profile in general I

would say 100

stepping stone towards your bigger goal

that is management consultancy exactly

exactly so as you might know even icai

has introduces elective sub liquor risk

management that is 100 risk advisory 100

uh I can actually relate because that

was my elective back then I can actually

relate it to that okay this was what I

studied and this is what I'm

implementing now yeah so it was quite

easier it was a little easier for you to

get into a you know practical experience

regarding something you'd already

studied about so what was the procedure

like what is the interview process like

at ey for this particular role

yeah so for any normal uh interview time

there would normally be three uh

interview rounds first being the manager

around where there are some technical

questions

are there and third would be the partner

round where your uh half of it is the

technical base and half of it is

personality be used for me luckily it

happened directly through the manager

and my interview was taken by the

director and the manager the manager

also and the director and um it was a

one-hour interview where they grilled me

on my technicals as well as some

case-based questions also some

personality based and I was expecting

that there might be a second round with

the partner but I think the director

liked me so much that they took me in

after the first round itself

so usually in because they have these

three like three uh processes or three

stages like first you give your

interview to the manager and then

obviously before that you have the HR

around and then those things are

definitely there and then you move to

the managerial ground and then you have

the director interviewing then the final

one is the partner taking your rock into

it okay sometimes they may eliminate a

few stages if they are convinced that

the candidate is good enough and all of

that exactly exactly so I have to see uh

quite a few cases where they do uh take

this exception but only in some cases

not all some cases

them uh so did was there any technical

questions coming your way during the

interview process were there

or was it a case study based interview

what was it yeah so uh what happened is

there is a funny story again in this uh

in the interview just after introductory

questions were asked uh they asked me

that you have a taxation background

background and why do you want to get

into risk advisory well in my uh

understanding I was interviewing for

management Council in zero I had

prepared also for a Management Institute

so that was a confusion between them and

me and over there my intuition say that

go ahead with it let's see what happens

uh on listening this the director had a

management consultancy background and he

asked me that some keys based questions

obviously because he he was amazed that

okay this person is uh willing and uh

willing to go in that direction apart

from that obviously there were some

technical questions around risk

management and audit as well but yeah

that's it so you already prepared for

the worst like management consultancy is

something that requires maximum

preparation so you already went into the

uh whole interview process thinking that

oh I'm appearing for a Management

Consultant so anything below that is

just a cakewalk for you I feel that 100

yeah the kind of preparation management

consultancy interview takes honestly

even so during my GI Workshop one of the

management consultancy mentors has said

that if you prepare for a management

consultancy interview everything else is

taken care of it's taken care of exactly

so that was that it really worked in

your favor and that is yeah one of the

advices that most of people should take

like prepare for the worst so then

whatever comes oh you expose yourself to

maximum questions or like you know case

studies so you develop a thinking and

then you know during the process

obviously they throw something different

than what you've gone prepared for with

yeah so it is going to really help you

okay yeah so because I had to practice

these interviews it takes a lot of uh

confidence a lot of impromptu questions

and answers uh to you know go through

the management hence it helps a lot

so practice did you actually call up a

friend and do it like face to face with

someone or did you what was your

preparation like or did you just yeah

uh so I was lucky enough to find a buddy

from the gr Workshop itself and uh me

and her prepared with each other for

case interviews for normal interview

questions standard interview questions

which are the workshop emphasizes on a

person may have also prepared uh

individually that is obviously required

but having a buddy helps a lot helps a

lot yeah it keeps you motivated in a lot

of ways I have this particular role how

relevant was your articleship experience

like did it matter a lot or was it

irrelevant like okay for this uh

particular role you didn't need much of

your background what was that so uh

actually I overall as uh articleship

helps a lot uh for us to develop uh

because three years ago I was just a

student now I am actually I can actually

be a professional and face uh CEO of big

organizations and everything from from

my articleship experience it was majorly

an indirect Taxation and hence technical

wise it was not that much of a help but

the warnings which I have from there

around uh taking ownership for my

assignments because I was from a small

or you can say mid-sized for I had to

take ownership for a lot of assignments

uh in my second and third of articleship

uh I had to plan and Implement them by

myself there was no Kiko Hub hand

holding over there apart from that

obviously my principal uh had lot of

learnings to share with me in case of

client relationships dealing with

colleagues auditing uh client visits

everything which I cherish a lot it has

been a great experience and obviously uh

I consider my Principle as a teacher

only not just as your former principal

but I think that is the good part about

being placed in a small or a

medium-sized form you get you get a lot

of uh client facing work or your

exposure is way more than water say

upper midsize uh article may have

because you have a lot of assignments on

your own like you support from the start

to the end you have to handle the whole

thing so I think that is definitely a

good position for a person to have it's

like a d like a good enough experience

even though it looks it may look not

very fancy on the CV but uh quality wise

I think it really solves so bedroom so

yeah

yeah so in my article ship actually we

had Saturdays walking as well we used to

sit till later for deadlines and also we

used to face the clients firsthand visit

uh officers firsthand so it helps a lot

in building a lot of skills which uh

before requires absolutely absolutely so

what is the growth trajectory in your

role to Anna like uh where do you see

yourself going three years now down the

line or five years down the line in this

role or do you see yourself taking a

exit route from there

so that is uh still uh thought to be

made but yeah in this role currently uh

right now I'm a consultant and risk

advisory two all three years down the

line I would be promoted to a senior con

level right now my major work is

execution of assignments once I become a

senior consultant it is reviewing uh the

assignments executed by my peer

Consultants post that uh maybe five six

years down the line I would get promoted

to a manager level where my major work

is to overview whether the assignments

are executed properly or not and also

bringing in new business new clients

anything about manager level uh in

business Consulting is mainly with

client relationships and uh

you can say building new business apart

from that for me I am still not sure

where would I go ahead with management

consultancy obviously still in my mind

yeah yeah maybe two three years down the

line if I feel like it if opportunity is

Prevail I would like to go out with that

maybe I would go ahead with some

Executive MBA program let's see where

life takes us so I think as a risk uh

risk advisory in this profile I feel the

hierarchy is a lot smaller than the

other profiles and I think one can grow

faster is that the case

true yeah so between me and the director

level there are only four uh uh upgrades

I become a senior manager then Cinemas

and director and if I stay in this uh in

the same team for you can say 15 20

years I would become a partner at UI

that that is that's a decent uh growth

rate I feel like if you are uh getting a

partner's role in like 10 to 15 years

then that's really good enough

uh so coming to one of the most uh

sought after questions or most looked

forward questions is what is work life

Harmony you're coming from a big four

big four is like you know has a

reputation of you know uh not giving a

very good work life how many situation

do with employees so what has your

experience been like post qualification

clearly see my dark circus

yeah so work-life balance I wouldn't uh

emphasize much or you have to work extra

hours whenever required in mainly in

business consultancy it is very flexible

you have to work on weekends uh extras

whatever required you can work remotely

as well but uh as a compensation

whenever a new assignment is initiated

whenever assignment is a closure is

there there is a little less pressure

you can take your time a little bit you

can have half your day to you also for

the weekend for yourself obviously apart

from that the life ad Eva is amazing I

have traveled to four cities in my short

tenura Ty of three and a half months

already wow there's a lot of traveling

involved my team is amazing they have

been extremely supportive of me in my

initial few months in a new role uh help

me learn and everything uh I made

various stakeholders of the of clients

every day I meet uh various colleagues

of my name is various backgrounds my

teammate has MBA graduates has graduates

who have come up from analyst level to

consultant level and it's quite amazing

honestly yeah so all in all I think uh

it gives you it makes you work but then

it also compensates and compensates in

other ways that you don't feel that

pinch like okay I have to work longer

hours but I think risk advisory as a

profile you have to work around the

calendar I don't think there is a

specific season that you're where like

your burdened too much in this specific

season I think around the calendar you

have to keep

your assignments will be based uh mainly

quarter based quarterly based

assignments uh quarter to quarter it

will happen and uh learning was also

it's nice

so all in all you would recommend

somebody to get into this profile and

also if I as a phone yeah so ey as an

organization has a great brand value it

has amazing clients in India uh it has a

global reach obviously everyone knows

that uh risk advisory as a profile if

you want to gain a good business

understanding if you don't have a good

business understanding from your article

ship experience if you want to gain it

uh it is a amazing thing to go ahead

with it has decent money obviously uh

the traveling is amazing you get to

travel per clients around the globe

wherever the client requires you to go

to and overall I think yeah it has been

good for me and for whoever wants to go

ahead with this profile uh it would be

fruitful for them as well okay so I

think you've summarized it really well

in the end like uh this role provides

you with a lot of business understanding

and then of course you get an exposure

into advisory and how do you advise your

clients into doing their business well

there's obviously good compensation here

and then travel opportunity

opportunities I think a lot of us

definitely after getting out of the

isolation of studying for months and

months we definitely look forward to

looking you know seeing a few countries

or maybe a few States also for that

matter so I think this is great A very

good profile if one has these uh

priorities in their mind

you get to meet various stakeholders

every given day you get to travel and

meet stakeholders from different areas

in the in India itself or even across

the globe so you get to learn from that

there as well a lot

that's that's amazing I think that's all

the insights that we'd require on this

role or on ey as well uh as a firm and

itself so thanks a lot for coming on

board and sharing your experience I'm

sure that your journey of this interview

process and the placement and the post

placement all these experiences are

going to help somebody to land into

their dream job thanks a lot for coming

on board with us thank you so much

rishika for having me thank you so much

all the best to everyone who uh who's

watching this thank you