Job Responsibilities
I have work for RSM McGladrey for over a year (when I started, I
worked for American Express Tax & Business Services, but AMEX
sold us Oct 1, 2005) and I have worked on the same project. This
project is a Sarbanes Oxley 404 compliance project for a Fortune
100 Client. I work in the SOX PMO so we provide guidance to the
clients different business units and make sure that the project
is on course. This project has been very difficult- the work is
not very glamorous- it is mostly project management work. I have
created many status reports that help track the many different
deadlines that we have. In addition, we have helped implement a
SOX Deficiency Management Tool and are currently training the
client how to utilize this tool. Lastly, my team has maintained
hard copies of SOX documentation for the client and maintained a
document repository as well. Communicating the next steps of the
project and making sure that the different business areas meet
their deadlines is a very important aspect of this project.
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Job Requirements
I started working for RSM McGladrey immediately following the
completion of my undergraduate studies. I was a political
science major and had no economics/businss background which is
unusual for RSM. RSM McGldarey is mostly comprised of
accountants; thus, most employees have accounting degrees. The
majority of the people in the Business Consulting group have an
economics background and most have Big 4 experience (many former
Anderson people). Training for consultants is essentially non-
existent. The first day of work is spent in the main office in
Baltimore, Maryland (though people in the Business Consulting
group live all over the U.S.)and you get your laptop and are
introduced to time entry/expense system and some firm policies
and then you are shipped off to a project. Since I have started
there has been no training offered at all. Some individuals have
attended training for Business Process Management (such as
Cognos, GEAC, etc.) but all training is on the job. The RSM
McGladrey Business consulting group does not encourage training
(likely because they want everyone to be billable at all hours).
Many of the managers and directors have MBA's but RSM does not
pay for any graduate school for our group). There is RSM
specific required training for consultnats but our group (the
business consulting group from AMEX TBS) does not participate in
this training but is supposed to soon as part of the
integration. The workload is probably normal for consulting-
around 55-60 hours per week though that varies. I have worked on
weekends before - you are at the liberty of the client.
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Uppers
I enjoy the exposure to senior management that I get on a daily basis. It is
nice to be able to interact with so many high level folks at the client. In
theory, I should acquire a variety of skill sets from being at a variety of
clients, but I have been at the same client. I do feel like I could do another
Sarbanes Oxley project easily and with alot less guidance. I look forward to
traveling for work (frequent flyer miles, hotel points, and expensing of all
meals) and learning a variety of skill sets that working for one company would
not offer.
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Downers
The worst part of this job is always being at the mercy of the
client. In other words, I do undesireable tasks that I would not
expect to be doing. In addition, I must work long hours and get
whatever the client wants done by the time they want it. Entry
level consultants are given alot of work and not alot of
guidance. If you are looking for alot of help from higher level
consultants (managers, directors, partners) forget it!
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Lifestyle
I would go in not expecting to be trained or taught- most of the
learning is on the job. I would try and work for a big 4 firms
or a strategy consulting firm such as McKinsey, Bain, BCG, etc-
larger bonuses better salary. I think the outlook is strong- it
is great for people who want to work in business/finance but
arent exactly sure in what specific area- the variety of work and
clients allows you to figure it all out.
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Compensation
Starting salary is $47,000.00 I have received bonuses of
$15,000.00 thus far and I will find out salary increase in
August. The fiscal year ends on May 1 (tax season). No stock
options, but good health benefits, and RSM matches 401 k after a
year. In addition, there are many discounts you get- cell phone
among other things.
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Advice to Jobseekers
I would go in not expecting to be trained or taught- most of the
learning is on the job. I would try and work for a big 4 firms
or a strategy consulting firm such as McKinsey, Bain, BCG, etc-
larger bonuses better salary. I think the outlook is strong- it
is great for people who want to work in business/finance but
arent exactly sure in what specific area- the variety of work and
clients allows you to figure it all out.
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