A new study suggests the Big Four’s supposedly meritocratic promotion systems may rely far less on performance than on internal politics — and, crucially, on whether your manager is willing to put their own reputation on the line for you.
Within the Big Four professional services firms — Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, and EY— auditors are evaluated throughout the year after each client assignment.
Supervisors generally award A-to-D grades on technical competence, teamwork, leadership, and client relationships, creating a paper trail that appears — at least formally — to determine who gets promoted in the firms’