just noticed the AP grade at Deloitte for the first time - is this a new development? Director still seems to be around too, so I guess it's a goalpost distancing ploy....

Left Deloitte at tail end of last year and the grade was in existence then. Been around for a while. not really a ploy, APs are salaried, Partners are not.

oh OK, just that it used to go from Director straight to Partner... Director was always a bit of a logjam, so adding a new layer will have eased the traffic congestion.

AP is not on the route from director to partner. It is a different destination, a fork in the path.

...so in their old terminology a 'car park' not a 'tunnel'.. consultancies always seem to agonize over the partner-alternative position for SME/less-revenue-generating valued individuals, but it makes sense to me

A deloitte recruitment agent called me last week offering an AP role - was adamant that it is perfectly normal to move from AP to Partner... is this true?Thanks

100% not sure - if you become AP, a 'proper' Partner is never going to happen. It is a choice of one or the other - there is no progression route to go AP --> P.

Sorry, meant "100% not true".

Promotions to partner appear to be a bit of a black box, even to those in the process themselves. I expect most people's information on this subject to be based at least in part on rumour/3rd hand info.However, it is a fact that there has been at least one promotion from AP to P that I can think of in recent years. They do not appear to be common and certainly not the norm.I'm told...that promotion from Director to AP is in most cases not a choice made by the individual. In these instances the path to P is extremely unlikely.However, if recruited at AP, I would expect there to be greater opportunity to progress to P with strong performance.

so what kind of comp range are Deloitte APs on?

Deloitter is wrong. There is a route to move from AP to P... not an easy journey one would assume, but *theoretically* possible.

What is the pay at AP level and how does it differ from a Director and a new partner?

I'd say pay range for AP is between slightly and significantly higher than a director and between much and a bit lower than a new partner, probably.

you can move from AP to P, quite a few people did this year