Ex-Lehman bankers resort to accounting
Lehman CVs are trickling down into the Big Four accountancy firms and beyond. An ACA at a top 10 audit organisation says his team has been hit with various Lehman applications, not all of which have been viewed particularly favourably. "You have to wonder how they'd cope with the cultural differences," he says.
Deloitte seems more receptive to Lehman talent. "We've picked up a number of really good people from Lehman's," says HR director Stevan Rolls. "We're also getting some interest from people who were on Lehman's graduate scheme."
Amanda Coughlin, head of recruitment at KPMG, says they saw some Lehman CVs in the weeks after the bank went under. And Brendan Collins, head of HR at Mazars, says they haven't received any Lehman CVs but there's still time to send them in.
Accountancy firms' hiring has definitely slowed, but it hasn't stopped. Rolls says Deloitte is being "more cautious" but is still recruiting across the board, and that ex-bankers could slot themselves into corporate finance, financial consulting or financial services advisory groups.
Collins says Mazars has around 30 positions open nationally and is looking for actuaries, tax advisors, transaction services (AKA due diligence) people and ACAs who can work with financial clients.
Coughlin says KPMG is looking for people for its "advisory function".
