Did anyone go to the PA event on 12 March? If so, what did you think?

I attended and to be honest thought it was a bit of a let down. The people there were pretty nice and open and I can see why PA is viewed as a good employer. However, despite some pretty senior people being in attendance I could see why PA are not a major force in FS and will not be for the forseeable future at least. For example, I asked a very senior consultant about their views on MiFID and digged a bit deeper on their PoV that was available and being showcased to the attendees, and to be frank, she didn't have a clue. Also, my questions relating to the state of the FS market in general and PA's involvement were somewhat evaded with some pretty vague responses. There were some fairly good candidates that attended that evening, and it be interesting to see what other people's view was.

Thanks AA. I got the impression that PA's a friendly place to work, but am concerned about their FS practice. I'm thinking of applying to PA but think I might do better elsewhere in the company. How do you think I should approach it?

My advice, having worked at PA would be to go non FS, provided you are happy working in other areas (even if you join the FS practice, unless at a more senior level you might not work on FS jobs)Working for one of the service practices and effective networking can get you on to FS jobs, but your not reliant on the practice for hitting your utilisation targets etc

PA and FS sounds like chicken and egg to me.PAers are good folk as far as I see it, but if you dont interview with an FS client, seemingly virtually in attendance, then the bottom line is they dont know how to commit. Fine for grads or those looking at other areas, but how many top clients in the City are going to want to cow-tow to a system like that?Imagine a candidate that could join, hit a reasonable utilisation rate and help build their FS practice with them - chances are you'd slip through their net anyway.

Thank you Anon, but please could you clarify the following:"PAers are good folk as far as I see it, but if you dont interview with an FS client, seemingly virtually in attendance, then the bottom line is they dont know how to commit. "

I forgot to mention, I felt somewhat like a "cheat" at the event... almost as if I was having an affair or something. Is this a normal feeling to have when 'testing the market' if you're slightly unhappy with your current employer? It was amazing how many people were keeping their heads down, possibly in the fear of being spotted by somebody they recognise.To Another Anon - what did you think of the Barclays guy that asked the 'mysterious' question at the end of the presentation?

I must've missed that. I switched off when the last presenter started talking about his experiences in South Africa.

Clarify it? Well they are not bad folks but I dont necessarily see the need for that level of clarification. Your English seems to be fine nn! Where was it that they wrote 'When you are more worried about Who is there than What is said you have to question Why?'Some nerves are normal at such events. A step into the unknown is likely to be more testing on the nerves to start with because you are going to be challenged by the asymmetry of available facts in another working environment.Its not simply about being in the preserve of a new consulting firm that motivates me to want to go forward without others labelling us cheats. Quote me on that if you must!

To Another Anon - glad I wasn't the only one. He came across as a nice honest guy but I found the whole 'international travel' thing a complete turn-off. I wanted to join PA to AVOID the travel, not to be shipped to south africa for 6 months then off to taiwan then singapore then canada etc... The instant he showed the slide with about 20 different flags I thought "this isn't for me".The barclays question was "interesting"... basically some guy hinting at how he has all sorts of insider knowledge about how he could improve barclays and thinks they can do better... it wasn't so much what he said, it was how he said it... absolute idiot

I'm a senior consultant in PA's FS practice and wanted to clarify a few points which seem to be commonly misrepresented in posts on this site. Size of the practiceThe FS practice is a successful, rapidly growing and important part of PA. FS revenues account for well over 10% of the company revenue which in a company of 3,000 people is a reasonable amount. FS is also a sector with high growth targets which it is hitting and exceeding - we have more FS work available to us than people to do it.Client baseOver the last two years in the FS practice I have had utilisation of 90+%, worked with four different tier one players, and reported into the MD, CIO, CEO and CIO respectively within those clients. We have a healthy mix of stragegy and implementation work and work at a senior level within each client (rarely under CxO level). We have at some point worked for almost every tier one and two player within capital markets, retail banking and insurance, and currently have in the region of 15-20 active clients who we consistently sell to.Quality of the peopleThe practice has a good mix of talented young consultants together with more senior industry experienced consultants. This is a major part of our proposition. These aren't mean't to be defensive comments but merely statement of fact. I think the FS practice at PA is a great place to be - lots of opportunity, interesting assignments, meritocratic with talented consultants.No consultancy will fit everyones criteria, but if you're interested in joining a strong player in the FS consultancy space PA is definitely worth investing.

"These aren't mean't to be defensive comments but merely statement of fact"I would suggest some of them are facts, others, like much of what is on this site are actually your opinions.

Hi PA Consultant (FS Practice),Are you looking for peeps with SOX and Mifid experience?

Most of the facts disclosed by the PaEr are wrong. For a start Financial services does not contribute 10 percent of revenues. PA Revenues are about £300 million and FS global contributes £10 million.I also dispute everything else he/she has said, but neither do i have the time nor the energy. All i can say is be very skeptical as to what is said on these forums.

Agreed, for example: 'We have at some point worked for almost every tier one and two player within capital markets, retail banking and insurance' ...is simply not a statement of fact.

I have to disagree. Everything said so far is completely accurate. It must be because I'm an MC and I've posted here. My socks are blue.

My socks are pink. Therefore what I say is true........ wtf