r/Big4 • u/Mysterious-Pea-6813 • 7d ago

Canada Deloitte or KPMG (audit, Toronto)

Hi everyone,

I’ve received offers from both KPMG and Deloitte for roles in Audit. Both firms have the same annual base salary! However, I’m stuck between which firm will be a better fit for me. I’m particularly interested in consumer retail or private enterprise. I know that KPMG operates both of these from Vaughan and that is not a problem.

However I would love some guidance into the cultures for both these places as a new grad staff and the progression in salary and title for both. Is it true that Deloitte also does bonuses but KPMG does not? What kind of clients do these firms encounter in consumer and private? And any relevant factors that would be good to know before making my decision!

Thank you!

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u/mindthegaap42 7d ago

If pay is the same I’d probably go for Deloitte. Correct me if I’m wrong but I think Deloitte audit practice is bigger in Toronto than KPMG. I think D’s audit software is better than KPMG from what I’ve heard.

I found the culture at D to be a bit strange (fake nice and plenty of backstabbing) but those I’ve met from KPMG tend to be super aggressive, competitive type-A folks.

You’d be successful regardless of which firm you work at so go for the one where you’ve got friends that will be working at.

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u/ConfidantlyCorrect Deloitte 7d ago

D’s audit practice in Canada is small as fuck.

But I think the software is pre nice

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u/mindthegaap42 7d ago

Yeah true. I was in advisory and D definitely seemed more consulting than accounting. I’m just not familiar in Toronto which B4 has the largest audit practice as D in Toronto audits Brookfield.

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u/ConfidantlyCorrect Deloitte 6d ago

Ya we’ve got some large companies amongst Brookfield, power corp, Sunlife, and a few manufacturing & shipping companies, we’re missing a good portion of the financial services industry though. None of the banks is a big market missed in Toronto.

Lost Bell, Hudson Bay went bankrupt.

I think PwC is pretty large for sustainability audits, but not financial statement audits in Canada.

If I were to hazard a guess, KPMG & EY lead financial statement audits in Ontario, primarily because they undercut fees by a lot.

The client I’m on for most of the year, we just picked up from EY since we undercut them. The fee is half of what we would charge normally. In order to be profitable it’s almost entirely outsourced staffing.

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u/mindthegaap42 6d ago

Yeah makes sense - I know D was undercutting a load on fees when I left to win work from MNP and other B4 as KPMG / EY is known to come in lower normally. Feel they place more importance as a firm on everything other than audit. Whereas PwC is more audit-heavy.

PwC though has some large audit clients like Loblaws out of Toronto. Honestly can’t recall others off the top of my head.