Big Four accounting
firm partners

A career at the pinnacle of global finance; a unique set of financial challenges

Balancing professional expertise with personal financial management

As a Partner working in a Big Four firm (Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY), KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)) as well as other notable firms internationally, you've reached the apex of the accounting profession. Your position comes with substantial rewards, but also with a unique set of financial challenges that go beyond those faced by most expatriates or even other financial professionals.

Navigating restrictions, maximising opportunities

As a Partner at a Big Four firm or similar, you are in a prime phase of rapid wealth accumulation. However, this phase won’t last forever. Your earnings are often complex, shaped by performance, profit-sharing structures, equity stakes, and your firm’s retention strategies.

At the highest levels, Partners at these firms can earn substantial compensation, particularly in international financial hubs. The global demand for advisory, audit, and tax expertise—driven by regulatory shifts, corporate restructurings, and digital transformation—creates exceptional opportunities.

However, this level of success comes with significant professional and financial challenges, which is exactly why many Big Four partners seek expert financial guidance. The nature of the profession presents unique stressors that can impact long-term wealth planning and well-being, including intense workloads and targets, constant market and regulatory shifts, demanding travel and client expectations, succession planning, and burnout, to name but a few.

Your role also comes with several unique restrictions and challenges that require careful planning. Unlike executives in industry, you must navigate professional limitations, regulatory obligations, and cross-border financial complexities:

1. Independence requirements: You may face limitations on personal investments to maintain audit independence. This can restrict your ability to build a diversified portfolio and requires careful structuring of your investment strategy.

2. Insider knowledge considerations: You have access to sensitive financial data about global corporations, which brings both ethical and regulatory obligations. Restrictions on trading and disclosure mean that even routine investment decisions must be carefully considered to avoid conflicts of interest.

3. Cross-border tax complexities: Big Four Partners frequently work across multiple jurisdictions, leading to complex tax situations. You may be subject to taxation in more than one country, with differing rules on income, capital gains, and wealth taxes. Mismanagement of these obligations can lead to unexpected liabilities, double taxation, or compliance issues.

4. Frequent relocations: Many Partners relocate multiple times throughout their careers, moving between offices in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, or North America. This disrupts traditional financial planning strategies, requiring flexible wealth management solutions. Pensions, real estate holdings, and tax-efficient investment vehicles must be structured to account for potential moves and varying regulatory environments.

5. Currency risk: Your earnings and investments may be spread across multiple currencies, adding an extra layer of complexity.

You've outgrown basic financial advice

Standard expatriate financial planning often falls short for someone in your position. Yet developing a carefully considered and thoughtful plan is vital at this exact stage of your career and life. You need financial life management - the comprehensive delivery of wise counsel, akin to a personal CFO to you, the CEO of your life.

Whatever stage you're at in your financial journey, our process has been designed to place you in a position of strength – where your financial affairs are aligned with your life goals; your tax implications are expertly addressed; your portfolio is built using Nobel prize-winning investment theory.

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Pursuing a better investment experience

Download this free guide and discover 10 principles that provide a systematic, time-proven way to reach your ﬁnancial goals.

The one reliable route to the future you want

As a Big Four partner, you're likely asking: "How can I ensure my personal finances are as strategically managed and optimised as the businesses I advise, without sacrificing the time I need for my career and family?"

The right way to answer this question is to work with a caring professional who uses financial planning software to model your family’s net worth from now until the end of your life, accounting for all expected inflows, outflows, investment returns, and tax rates.

But before we crunch a single number, we listen - to what motivates you, what worries you, where you are now and where you want to be. Understanding who you are and what you want from life means we can build you a tailored, intelligent financial Life Strategy.

Book a Discovery Call

Great financial life management is like an iceberg, with most of the real story happening below the surface. There are much deeper conversations to be had. AES advocates strongly for a well-planned, intentional, and flourishing future for all the accounting firm partners we serve. Book a no-obligation, no-commitment chat.

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The information in this material is intended for the recipient’s background information and use only. It is provided in good faith and without any warranty or, representation as to accuracy or completeness. Information and opinions presented in this material have been obtained or derived from sources believed by AES to be reliable and AES has reasonable grounds to believe that all factual information herein is true as at the date of issue. It does not constitute investment advice, recommendation, or an offer of any services or products for sale and is not intended to provide a sufficient basis on which to make an investment decision. It is the responsibility of any persons wishing to make a purchase to inform themselves of and observe all applicable laws and regulations. Unauthorised reproduction or transmitting of this material is strictly prohibited. AES accepts no responsibility for loss arising from the use of the information contained herein.

‘AES’ refers to the AES Group’s separate but affiliated entities generally, rather than to one particular entity. These entities are AES Middle East Insurance Broker LLC registered with the UAE Ministry of Economy, United Arab Emirates, Licence no. 571368, and Commercial Registration no. 75162 and regulated by the UAE Central Bank license no. 189; AES Financial Services Limited, incorporated and registered in England and Wales with company number 06063185, authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority FRN: 464494; AES Financial Services (DIFC) Ltd, registered in the Dubai Financial Centre (DIFC) as a foreign company, license no.2128, and regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) Reference No F003476; AES International Limited, a private company incorporated and registered in the British Virgin Islands with company number 1839872; AES International Global Limited, a private company incorporated and registered in the British Virgin Islands with company number 1887885. Please visit our authorisations page for further information on regulation, redress and accessibility.

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Big Four accounting
firm partners

A career at the pinnacle of global finance; a unique set of financial challenges

Balancing professional expertise with personal financial management

Navigating restrictions, maximising opportunities

You've outgrown basic financial advice

The one reliable route to the future you want

Book a Discovery Call

Services

Company

Contact

Big Four accounting firm partners

A career at the pinnacle of global finance; a unique set of financial challenges

Balancing professional expertise with personal financial management

Navigating restrictions, maximising opportunities

You've outgrown basic financial advice

The one reliable route to the future you want

Book a Discovery Call

Services

Company

Contact

Big Four accounting
firm partners