I am a graduate, and I have two job offers.One is to study for the ACA with one of the Big Four in Audit in London.The other is to start as an analyst and study for the ACCA in the Finance division of a top bulge bracket investment bank, also in London.I want to use either one as a stepping stone to a career in Consultancy later on in my career. I would consider other career options but I'd like to have consultancy open as a possibility.Which offer should I take? Big Four ACA Audit, or the Finance division of a bulge bracket Investment Bank?

The bank - once an auditor always an auditor as far as non-auditors are concerned. This will limit th etype of consultancy you'll be able to transfer into.At the bank you'll get equivalent training and quals AND build up Financial service knowledge on your CV - Fin Svcs is the single biggest user of management consultancy services.Better options for transferring across to a business unit as well.

I am not accountant or Big 4 or Inv Bank, so objectively I would choose the ACA/Big 4 option unless you want to stay in stay in FS/City for a while.Completing ACA, via Big 4 gives you lots of options afterwards (including MC), and is generally a good graduate move.ACCA is generally less well regarded than both ACA and CIMA (my other half has one of these three, so I know a little about the relative merits)

The IB still haven't 100% decided which qualification they will offer, but there is a chance it could be the CFA. I understand the CFA is more directly relevant for Corporate Finance work (which is another area I'd like to end up).But CFA with the IB vs ACA with the Big Four, is the CFA as well regarded as the ACA?

BB every time.From what I've heard CFA is extremely hard, so if you did go down that route (and passed) then MCs would be at your feet. ACA is a good qual for an accountant but I don't see that much value for an MC (I stand corrected on this point). Prestige wise, working for a BB opens other avenues in the future should you decide that MC or IB is not for you. Trufax.

Anon: "BB every time".Oh dear. My mind tells me go for the IB offer but my heart says choose the Big Four one. Thanks for the advice, gonna do a lot of thinking over the next few days........

The role in the bank would be better preparation for consulting as you would develop a functional/industry expertise that you could then use as a "green" post-MBA hire. In audit, you would learn a lot of bad habits and half-consulting practices that would make it harder to learn the "right" way of doing things later on.If ACCA is available, take that. CFA would pigeon-hole you very deeply in finance, making you unattractive to most consultancies.