From the Big 4 to Global Tech: What Changes When You Move In-House?

A career at a Big 4 firm is often seen as the ideal launchpad for finance professionals. The learning curve is steep, the standards are high, and the exposure is intense. You work with smart people on complex problems under real pressure. You learn fast – often faster than you expect.

But after a few years, many people start to feel the same friction.

Three members of our finance team transitioned from the Big 4 to JetBrains at different career stages.

Nadija Katzová, Financial Controller, came from Deloitte Audit and joined JetBrains for more ownership and more hands-on, business-focused work.

Mariia Afonina, Senior GL Accountant, previously at EY and Deloitte, was looking for a more sustainable pace and the chance to grow as a subject-matter expert rather than follow a purely managerial track.

Jean-Paul Straetmans, Head of Group Tax, spent more than a decade in international tax consulting at EY and has now been at JetBrains for over six years, giving him a long-term perspective on what it really means to move in-house.

Together, their stories offer an honest look at what changes when you leave consulting behind and take on long-term ownership inside a product-driven tech company.

Why finance professionals leave the Big 4

For Nadija, joining JetBrains after working at Deloitte Audit came down to depth.

“In audit, there isn’t time for many things, and it’s not possible to go very deep – deadlines are strict,” she says. “At JetBrains, there is an opportunity to work with complex topics that need to be explored in detail. As a specialist, I have developed a lot.”

She also felt that while the Big 4 offered strong technical exposure, she had already gained most of the hard-skill experience available there: “I was missing a deeper business involvement, which I would like to develop further before moving into a managerial role.”

Mariia, who joined JetBrains after audit roles at EY and Deloitte, felt something similar. “In the Big 4, you have to move toward managerial leadership; there is no other option. I wanted to follow a different path than management and grow as a subject matter expert,” she says.

Workload and work-life balance were a big part of her decision, too. “In consulting, there is constant switching between clients. You never know what kind of client or team you’ll get. Deadlines are tight, and weekends and holidays often become workdays,” she says. “Changing industries can be intimidating, but for me, it was definitely for the better.”

Moving from consulting to in-house finance

The biggest shift when moving in-house is simple but profound. You’re no longer advising – you’re deciding.

In consulting, structure is built in. There are clear hierarchies, defined processes, and layers of review. Even at senior levels, there is usually someone above you, plus a broad expert network to lean on.

In-house feels different.

“At JetBrains, you have to be independent and make decisions that you take responsibility for,” Nadija says. “Everyone is hired as an expert. You’re expected to handle complex topics on your own.”

Jean-Paul describes the same shift: “You are no longer advising – you are the decision maker.” That also means learning to act without having every piece of information perfectly in place.

For Mariia, the first months were challenging in a different way. Despite prior experience, she felt like an intern again. She had to learn new systems, new people, and new ways of working. Even with a supportive team, stepping into a senior in-house role comes with a steep learning curve.

Another adjustment is structure. Consulting often runs on strict processes and documentation. At JetBrains, the environment is more flexible.  That freedom creates room for improvement and initiative, but it also requires comfort with ambiguity.

What skills transfer from the Big 4 to tech

All three agree that a Big 4 background translates well into an in-house role.

“You learn a huge amount in a very short time,” Nadija says. Technical knowledge, organization, and communication skills become second nature. So does being results-oriented and disciplined about deadlines.

Mariia highlights adaptability. Switching between clients trains you to orient yourself quickly in new environments and communicate carefully across different stakeholders.

Jean-Paul points to another advantage: stakeholder management. Consulting teaches you how to work across cultures, personalities, and competing priorities. In-house, where finance overlaps daily with legal, HR, sales, product, and leadership teams, that skill becomes invaluable.

The foundation built in consulting doesn’t disappear. It’s simply applied in a different context.

What in-house finance at a tech company looks like

At a product company like JetBrains, finance is closely connected to the business itself. You don’t deliver a report and move on. You live with the consequences of decisions and help shape what happens next.

For Nadija, the work is project-heavy and cross-functional. She collaborates with accounting, legal, tax, FP&A, sales, procurement, and IT teams. She oversees complex accounting topics, supports group reporting and audits, and drives improvement initiatives across entities. The focus is not just on closing the books, but on raising quality and improving processes.

Mariia’s role combines operational responsibility with increasing involvement in more complex cases and cross-team coordination. After the initial adjustment period, she now has a clear scope and growing ownership.

One major difference from audit is time. While external deadlines still exist, internal work allows more space to think, improve processes, and prioritize quality over speed. The pace is serious, but more sustainable.

Jean-Paul describes JetBrains as an atypical organization: “You won’t apply consulting frameworks in exactly the same way. You adapt, learn new skills, and sometimes build your own structures. For those who enjoy influence and collaboration, that’s part of the appeal.”

Why former consultants choose JetBrains

For former Big 4 professionals, JetBrains offers a balance that can be hard to find – complexity without constant burnout.

There’s international scope and enough scale to keep things interesting. There’s autonomy and trust. There’s room to take initiative and improve how things work. At the same time, the environment isn’t built on perpetual urgency.

Nadija points to the strong expertise within the company and management’s openness to improvement ideas. Mariia highlights the dynamic environment and the opportunity to grow without being pushed automatically into a managerial track.

Jean-Paul appreciates that nothing was oversold during the hiring process. What he saw in interviews matched the reality after joining.

Advice for finance professionals considering the move

If you’re thinking about making a similar move, the advice from all three is straightforward.

Don’t be afraid of the change, but don’t underestimate it either. Expect a learning curve, ambiguity, and moments where you feel less certain than you did in consulting. 

Moving in-house usually means less structure and less instant expert backup, so you have to get comfortable making decisions with imperfect information. But you gain a lot in return: real ownership, more context, and the chance to see the actual impact of your work. You don’t lose complexity or interesting challenges, but you gain a more sustainable pace, visible results, and the opportunity to shape how things work long term.

Jean-Paul adds one more practical point: “If you want to see the impact of your expertise every day, and make that impact as big as possible, in-house is the right move. It does require a mindset shift, though. In consulting, you can specialize deeply and lean on a huge expert network. In-house, you often have to deal with whatever comes up and build your support structure over time.”

Explore finance roles at JetBrains

If you built your foundation in the Big 4 and are starting to crave deeper ownership, clearer impact, and work that rewards quality as much as speed, moving in-house could be the next logical step.

JetBrains hires finance professionals across multiple international locations, including the Czech Republic, Cyprus, and the Netherlands. If you’re looking to move from consulting into an in-house finance role with global scope, explore JetBrains’ open finance roles and see where you could make your mark.