Assurance - IT Auditor EY Employee Review

2.0
Jul 9, 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great company to have on your CV, challenging work environment, mostly great colleagues to work with predominately outside this service line. Opportunities exist for secondment into other service lines/other areas of the business on occasions. Great work location over looking Tower Bridge especially in the evenings.

Cons

The company structure, service line and service offerings by EY are confusing despite management explaining that we 'broadly' sit within Advisory, other members of the firm are not quite sure. Salary does not match job role, length of service or breath of technological experience prior or during work at EY. Bonuses only started a couple of years back and despite over exceeding forecasted revenue for the year our department has so far only been rewarded once, the reward was below par. Also the only merit - Instant Rewards of £50 (vouchers) have been cancelled and replaced as of last year. Feedback occurs only in one direction hence from engagement to engagement you work with different managers/senior managers, year end review is based on feedback from these managers yet you do not have the opportunity to feedback upwards hence you could do fantastic work, deliver work of the highest quality, within the budget and on time, manage your activities efficiently, manage internal and external yet at the end of the engagement you can receive feedback and rating of 'unsatisfactory' because as most of your time was spent at the client site you were seen as 'not visible enough' at the office. There are better salaries in industry, pension scheme has just started this June the 1st only driven by regulation, besides all this the business is doing really well and has been engaged in millions pounds of engagements as of early this year alone but the drive to win tenders and provide work at discounted rates to client means that you can end up working inhumane unsociable hours without receiving a 'thank you', reward or extra time pay. Especially during the busy audit season (for example May 2013 - February/March 2014) you are not allowed to take any annual leave, if you wish to take your annual leave you have to plan and put approved space holders on the booking system else if you lose this chance then you have to jump through several hoops to book annual leave which is at the discretion of management. Promotion is based on years of experience as opposed to how well you do, no advice or information is provided on the characteristics you should display to progress except 'you should be working at the grade above'...which no one clearly understands. HR are useless, be prepared to show them your passport on several occasions after starting your job role.

Explore other reviews about EY

5.0
Jun 12, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Varied experiences and client scenarios Intelligent colleagues Excellent benefit package

Cons

Variable working hours Challenge to manage business development and project delivery simultaneously Confusing leadership and service line structure -- in constant state of flux

5.0
Feb 21, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

1. You will have a very hard time not falling in love with every single person you meet there. 2. Seriously, you will meet your soul mate(s) there. 3. Prestigious and looks great on the resume. 4. Your brain will grow a thousand times more powerful. 5. Forces you to conquer your fear of public speaking. 6. Fun team bonding and lifelong friends. 7. Stepping stone to high paying jobs. 8. Helps you work on perfecting your charm. You will learn from the most charming people how to really get people to like you. 9. HR really cares. 10. Big support network (IT, creative services, etc.). 11. Teaches you to be calm and in control.

Cons

OK, I'm going to be discussing all the taboo things, and there are a lot of them. In spite of these cons, I still admit it's worth a five star rating. 1. High performers are "designated" (you have very little control over your rating) by the partner group (can be a pro if you get selected. Seriously, I have worked with some of the supposed "fives" and they are not any different than my threes and fours. 2. Quality is extremely low. Sometimes I felt like I was working at McDonalds and not a professional services firm. The emphasis is on getting through work as fast as possible and expectations for quality are not realistic. 3. EY has a very hard time firing bad employees. If you get stuck with one it can be a nightmare. 4. EY has a heavy emphasis on wasting time. For example, there are lots and lots of checklists which have no value that you have to fill out. Also, they wasted money and time on creating "Canvas" which is literally slower and more awkward than the previous workspace tool, GAMX. There is a heavy emphasis on "reinventing the wheel" and fixing problems that aren't broken with even worse solutions. Instead of wasting money on useless tools, that money could have been spent on your employees in the form of compensation. Like I said, EY is really focused on attempting to look as though value is being created when in fact it is not. 5. Lots of meetings. Appearances are very important. 6. Employees on global 360 accounts get better treatment. 7. Some employees (executives mostly) tend to overemphasize how important this work is. Let's face it, if it was really glorious work then we would have action figures. 8. Looks are very important. Seriously, if you are a girl, you will get promoted based on how hot you are (the quality of your work is largely unimportant). If you are a guy, you are treated a little better but there is still a sexist undercurrent in the environment. This is advice you won't get from HR obviously, but that doesn't mean it isn't true. 8. You will be forced to eat hours. 9. Your ethical compass will start to get weaker. 10. You will get a little cynical. 11. Lots of driving and travel. 12. "Family men" and married couples with children are more likely to be promoted. If you want to be a partner, you have to be married (few exceptions). 13. You will work on vacations. 14. Loss of relationships with family and friends. 15. Some backstabbing and credit-stealing (but not very common). 16. Comp is below market but that's to be expected. 17. Employee retention is not something management is interested in. This makes you replaceable and expendable (yes even as a manager, unless you have been "designated" as a high performer by the partner group).

1015
See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All