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Here’s Your Open Thread for PwC Compensation (2017)

pwc steven cohen

You’ve got to hand it to PwC, they’ve really embraced announcing stuff on Twitter. I’m looking forward to the day when people starting tweet their PwC compensation details at @going_concern.

Anyway, here’s a tweet from last Friday:

On a personal note, if anyone on PwC’s Twitter team is feeling unappreciated, you’re more than welcome to work for GC as a full-time Twitter hunter to help us keep up on these things. You’ll have to take a massive pay cut and forego lavish perks, but you would get the pleasure of working with moi.

But never mind that for now. So on the one hand, yes, #PwCPromotionDay. Congratulations to all of you that earned a promotion. Tim Ryan is proud. Captain #TaxIsSexy Mark Mendola is proud. Holy shit, what is Michael Phelps doing here?

But on the other hand, #raises, #bonuses, #justthankgodyourenotoneoftheOscarsPartners.

One of the perennial charms of this here site is the willingness to bring formerly taboo subjects out in the open for discussion. None of these subjects have been more popular than that of compensation. Last week, readers started reaching out, asking for our annual thread and it’s about time we got this party started since PwC is already in front of this thing. Here’s what one tipster had to say about the mood in the DC area:

A few of my Tax friends are seeing some good bonuses ($8k-$10k) and a few Advisory folk are seeing good bonuses ($20k) as Advisory fully funded the bonus pool as opposed to last year.

For the newcomers, traditionally, people have shared things such as:

  • Position, promotion (if applicable)
  • City (preferred) or region (we’ll begrudge you)
  • Line of Service
  • % Raise
  • % Bonus (if any)
  • Old & New Base

Part of the subtext of these annual threads, I think, is that employees of accounting firms — large and small — have the right to openly talk about their compensation. Sure, you might have to tolerate some trolls and other mildly despicable internet behavior, but in general, this is a safe place where you can talk about what you’re getting paid and try to get an idea if that’s fair. Or maybe it’s just a good chance to get something off your chest vis-à-vis your firm’s compensation (e.g. Your firm’s tradition of paying bonuses in chocolate gold coins is not appreciated.)

This glorious time of year on Going Concern always starts with PwC compensation discussions, but over the summer, keep us informed about your firm’s communication to its employees about performance and compensation so you can join in the fun. These yak sessions about money aren’t just for Big 4 firms; everyone deserves the chance to kvetch or boast about the money they’re making. In this instance, the more is certainly the merrier.

Okay, we’ll dispense with any further comment and let you all take it from here. Try to keep the noise down.