Les critères de sélection en audit au sein des Big Four et l'attractivité de ces cabinets auprès des jeunes diplômés

Abstract

Nowadays, the war for talent is omnipresent and plays in favor of young graduates. In this context, the success of large international Big Four-type firms largely depends on the recruitment of young university graduates and the retention of qualified professionals. The first objective of this thesis is to analyze the attractiveness of the Big Four to young university graduates. The second objective of this work is to understand the Big Four's up-or-out management system, in order to define the criteria that determine the success of the auditors within them.

First, a review of the existing literature on the attractiveness and the management system of the Big Four is carried out. This literature review establishes the theoretical framework of this thesis. Following this, a qualitative study is conducted on three different targets using, on the one hand, the questionnaire survey technique and, on the other hand, the semi-directive interview technique. Our sample of interviewees is composed of Master 2 students enrolled in the "Financial Analysis and Audit" Master's degree at HEC-Liège, Junior auditors with one to two years' experience and professionals who have an insight into the recruitment process of some of these large firms. The results obtained are analyzed and compared to the theoretical framework. They lead to the conclusion and recommendations to be drawn from the concepts studied.

Based on the qualitative analysis that is carried out, it appears that the Big Four are attractive in the eyes of young university graduates – the most frequently cited assertion being that they are mainly interested in using this first professional experience as an asset for their future career. Then, in terms of the criteria that determine the success of the auditors, it appears that in the first two to three years, technical skills are quite important but that they are considered to be acquired from the Senior 2 grade upwards. Therefore, processes such as socialization and successful integration, which are set out as soon as the auditor joins the firm, reveal to be important for the auditor's success within the firm. Finally, three recommendations are made and addressed to large international firms regarding the maintenance of their attractiveness and one recommendation is addressed to young university graduates to ensure their success from the very beginning of their career with the Big Four.