Hi dudesJust amazed at all the false expectations of KPMG IT advisory about the different business units IT project management, security advisory, ERP advisory etc. I have done some consulting work but MAJORITY is IT audit. QWhy did the auditor cross the road?ACoz he did it last yearThats how things are looking, not very challenging. Wanted to hear your guys thoughts on this. KPMG created a new business unit performance and tech. Will this help?

No. It will just consolidate the IT audit work and seperate the consulting work into a completely different part of the business.Don't worry - your business card can still say IT 'Advisory'.

Haha dude I want my business card to say Senior Business Analyst. Just wanted some advise to whether to stick it out for about 3 years at KPMG then move on. Would it be worth my time or shud I move now?The clients we get to work with is unbelievable but theres not much process analysis, consulting experience etc. But doing an audit we learn about there business...so confused. Any advice would be highly appreciated

Why 3 years?You need to work out what you actually want to do first. Once you've got that settled, you can try and get there. No point in treading water. So what is it you want to do?

Thank you for your replies. Within 3 years year you get a certified information systems auditor qualification and the people skills you develop are good I heard.On the other hand am not enjoying the work, I want to do more technical and business analyst kind of work. Such as the creation of technical/functional specs. Project management is also something I am interested in.Just very confused and working more for the brand and reputation rather than the work

Hey Mojo, I heard the new P&T is going to be really cool - just not sure that this is the economic climate to launch it into?!

If you don't want to do IT Audit, why hang around to get that qualification? How will it help you meet your career objectives?Sorry to be harsh, but you need to ask yourself these questions and be focussed with where you want to take your career.

@Zang am in South Africa so we still pretty behind in terms of P&T. Not such a large team compared to the overseas firms.Thanks for the advice Tad. Thats very true..my career objective is to open my own consulting firm and be a market leader. It's a big tradeoff to loose the KPMG brand and join a smaller software development company. How would you rate IT Audit for the future? Is it a good field to be in and is there demand for it compared to a BA?

I would look at it this way: what are you learning? I'm guessing you're a first year? So yup, you're firmly entrenched in audit / assurance at the moment. (blech!) But what you are actually learning quite a bit of along the way is (believe it or not) IT governance, risk management, compliance, processes, best practice - all that blah blah. If opening your own company is your end goal, you need to know this stuff! Having KPMG on your CV and having meaningful connections with their client base can ONLY stand you in good stead in the future. I know it is a pain in the ass, but get yourself "in" with managers in the security, erp, gap space... get some different work! YOU'RE driving your career - make the trip count!

Some wise words Zang. I concur with you and I agree am learning quite a bit. Just thought it would be more technological and technical focussed rather than audit. I guess the expectation when you come straight from uni really matters and if thats not what you experience its a big de-motivator.Will hang in there and see how it goes. Hooking up with the security guys is quite difficult in your 3 year grad contract. We get rotated around all the SBU and cant choose the work we wanna do. But when theres a will theres a way.Thanks for the advice again and keep it real. Hope to see you guys for 2010

Mojo,You seem like a sensible and motivated guy, so here’s a suggestion. Hooking up with someone is EASY. Just walk up to them and say “Hi, my name’s Mojo and I’m really keen on getting into your area of work. Are there any documents/books/web sites, that you would recommend that would help me get a taste for it. I’m in the grad programme right now, so it might take some time, but I’m really keen to end up in (insert type of work)”The first key is not to bottle it and ask some junior guy, who might seem accessible, but will in fact see you as a threat. Go ask the partner in charge of the area you want to work in. Most of them will NOT tell you to FXXX OFF but will at least name some book or a pitch document that they did.The second key is to actually read the d@mn thing and then go back to them with a follow up question. This is called networking and without it your career will go very, very slowly. It is not brown-nosing - that is where you pretend to be interested when you are not, just to get a little pat on the head and a gold star. I suggest you apply some of that boundless 20-something year old energy to point out how genuinely interested you are in and show that unlike your sloth-like peers, you’ve got the gumption to put in some extra effort.C’mon Mojo, make it happen for yourself. One of these days that partner is going to say, " I need a junior dogsbody on this deal". Make sure he says "hey - get me that Mojo kid that keeps asking for a break".You think there's a list somewhere so that everyone gets their turn in life? Nope.

Thanks mr cool. Thats some good advice and much appreciated for the response. I am trying to do that but ever since I did a SAP basis and revenue assurance reviews it looks like managers and seniors have seen my ability to deliver on these engagements.Now whenever that type of work comes to them guess whos name springs to there mind. But I guess my days of pure MC will come..as a first year I might be expecting too much and gotta settle for any work for now. The other thing is that when you tell people you work at KPMG..they ask are you doing your articles. I just don't want to be labelled as a auditor in the job market. Working for a company like SAP, Oracle, IBM, Microsoft is what appeals to me...everything is related to technology. But we will see how it goes...thanks again..what a top forum

This is a common issue. Consulting (in its widest definition) is very disparate and that can keep things interesting. However career progression requires specialism – becoming an expert raises your day billing rate and makes you a leader in that area. To have made a name for yourself in even a low-level or junior activity while still in your first year is a great achievement. Well done. Many MC’s struggle to do this even after three or four years – you’ll recognise these people, they are the ones that go from project to project, never leading teams, and often doing work that seems totally unrelated to their previous work. Although you have started the process of making a name for yourself, it is in an area that you don’t covet. Let me assure you that this is better than being in the right area but not making any name for yourself! I suggest that you continue to excel in this area, but make it clear to your mentor/advisor/career rep that you really want to move areas in due course. I’d also suggest that you sign up for any training available in the area you want to be in. You should consider doing some external training in this as well even if you need to pay for it. Personally I would only worry if you do not get the move you want in 12 months time. At that point I’d look at how to achieve what you want at another firm. Moving from your first employer at 24-36 months is often one of the best “leverage“ points (any sooner and you risk going from one grad scheme to another with no respect for the time you have already put in, any later and you should really be climbing the ladder towards a junior manager post). At this point the cream of each grad intake has started to rise to the top and it’s an opportunity for MC firms to poach from each other.Your posts show intelligence, self-deprecating humour, some early success, an appreciation of the value of hard work, ambition and an understanding of what you want to do next. Read some of the other posts from fat, dumb and unhappy MC’s asking why the world has not yet worked out what geniuses they are, and you will see that you are in a good place – I predict that in 24 months you’ll have moved onto another level of challenge.

Top post Mr Cool.