Am considering a move to KPMG's advisory arm.I'm aware of the various grades (E->A and Partner). I was wondering what KPMG's policy is to promotion? How quickly could an external hire be promoted to A-grade and what is the normal rate of progression & pay between the grades?Thanks in advance.

Well, obviously the speed of promotion to A-grade (Director) would depend on what level you come in at! If you come in at B-grade, you could make Director in a couple of years if you perform well. If you come in at E-grade, it's going to take longer!Generally speaking, even if you're a strong performer you'd expect to be at your entry grade for a couple of years before promotion - you're not going to come in and then get bumped up in six months.Promotion opportunities also depend on the growth of the business, and unless you're in restructuring or some other counter-cyclical business, growth (and therefore opportunities) might be limited in the next year or two.

I agree with Ex-expat's last point. The following is taken from an FT article that appeared online last Sunday:"Staff at KPMG, the accountancy firm, who are looking to earn brownie points during the downturn should prepare for hard lessons in loyalty and perhaps even household budgeting.“'We expect our people to be flexible over their job role, their hours and their place of work and to learn new skills if necessary,' says Dave Conder, UK head of people.“'Some will be forced to abandon pet projects, others will take on new ones and may be given new titles at the same time. And no, there won’t necessarily be any more money in the pot for doing so because that’s simply how it goes in a recession.'”