Korn Ferry Compass: Beyond public accounting

Explore your career path

Ready to transition your public accounting career to industry?

Public accounting provides a professional foundation, but after a few years many people want a new career challenge. But how do you know what your next role should be?

Korn Ferry Compass is a salaried, career development program that lets you rotate through projects at several organizations, gaining critical knowledge and experience while expanding your network—and never missing a paycheck.

Contact Korn Ferry Compass

Korn Ferry Compass: A career development program for individuals transitioning from public accounting to industry

You’ll be challenged to stretch, reflect and explore professionally through a variety of companies, projects and roles, with the goal of gaining insight on questions like:

What type of company/culture appeals to me?
What skills do I need to build and develop?
What roles and situations do I find meaningful?

What participants say about Korn Ferry Compass

Compass allows you to try new things and stretch yourself. I’ve gained the confidence and experience that equip me to basically do anything in the finance and accounting world.

Yanan Wang

Compass gives me the structured freedom to explore what I want my career to look like. They support me yet give me ownership over my own directions.

Peter Wachtler

I’m getting to see what it’s like to be inside the company—creating reports, managing processes, and being a strategic member of the team.

Lauren Greer

The Compass program provides the opportunity to gain relevant experience through many finance and accounting roles.

Cole Miska

The nature of the program makes you extremely adaptable to new situations. I felt myself becoming a lot more comfortable living in ambiguity and learning new things quickly.

Sarah Brown

Korn Ferry Compass program details

Korn Ferry Compass candidate requirements

Korn Ferry Compass is for professionals with:

At least 1-2 years of recent public accounting experience
A bachelor’s degree in accounting or a related field (advanced degree preferred)
CPA (preferred)
Demonstrated self-starter mentality
An appetite/aptitude to learn and perform at a high level
Flexibility—ability to adapt to new situations
A love of new challenges
Great communication skills
A positive, energetic personality
Strong customer service skills

Types of work you might do

The Korn Ferry Compass team will help you navigate your options based on your goals, skill gaps and interests. In past rotations, program participants have had career-building experiences, such as:

Controller, assistant controller, and accounting manager responsibilities
SEC, regulatory and management reporting
Technical accounting
Financial modeling
Finance/information technology liaison
Project management
Business analysis
Internal audit/risk management
Financial planning and analysis
Cost accounting
Corporate accounting
Business systems analysis
ERP implementation assistance
Due diligence
Acquisition integration

About Korn Ferry Compass clients

Korn Ferry Compass works with all kinds of clients—public and private, large and small, PE- or VC-backed, or entrepreneurs. Many are looking for the right professional to fill a role at their organization.

Salary and benefits

During your time in the Korn Ferry Compass program, you will be a salaried (versus hourly) employee. You’ll receive benefits—and the stability—you’re used to getting. And as your program experiences add up, you’ll see your market value grow, too.

Working hours

Work hours may fluctuate depending on the outcome our client is trying to achieve. We try to pre-identify projects involving overtime and let you know about it during the interview process, so you can make the best decision for your life. Average work weeks range between 40-45 hours.