Yeah this basically never happens. I worked at a Big 4 firm almost 10 years ago and I remember the rules being so strict that our firm had to choose if consult

Yeah this basically never happens. I worked at a Big 4 firm almost 10 years ago and I remember the rules being so strict that our firm had to choose if consulting or audit engagements were more valuable to a particular firm because they could only choose one. Also, when you hit Manager level at a firm, you would have to enter all of your public stock holdings into a system so they could make sure you don’t get stuck on a project with a client where you hold your stock. On top of all that there was very extensive annual compliance certification every year that everybody at all levels had to complete. The Big 4 doesn’t joke around with this stuff. If an employee or partner went anywhere near the conflict of interest you suggested, they’d promptly be shown the door and probably face other repercussions.