Singapore - Accounting graduates in Singapore set their sights on the Big Four accounting firms, a study of the profession said on Friday.

Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers have considerably less trouble attracting new hires than the medium-size or smaller counterparts.

Each year about 1,000 new accounting professionals graduate from universities in the city-state. Sixty-one per said they wanted to work for or join one of the Big Four, according to the findings of the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA).

The medium-sized and smaller outfits have been relegated to look elsewhere or hire those with alternative forms of qualifications.

About 70 per cent of the accounting graduates are women, but only 35 per cent go on to obtain the necessary work experience and post-graduate qualifications to become public accountants, the study said.

This seems to indicate a "retention challenge" at the Big Four firms, said ACRA. It urged the giants to do more to adjust their work practices to keep female accountants within the profession. (dpa)