Crowe Horwath Reviews

Pros

Cubicles were pretty spacious with multiple drawers to store files.
Paperless filing systems.

Cons

Not a good learning environment, especially for a first year.
Certain partners and management need to learn to treat employees with respect.
Work needed to be distributed more evenly among employees.
Partners and management need to be more willing to answer questions.
Hostile environment at times.

Advice to Senior Management

I would have to say partners and management need to help first years when they are having difficulty with something. They need to be more approachable and willing to answer questions. Also, employees need more feedback from management.

Pros

Supported continuous development and learning
Good quality people with high expectations
Decent benefits and PTO

Cons

Low pay and bonus compared to other consulting companies and billable rate x annual hours
One path for advancement, not many variations or roles in the company
Role/project expectations are not clear or consistent
High performers are not rewarded

Advice to Senior Management

Listen to your employees, they have really good ideas to help retention and increase job satisfaction.
Reward and recognize those that do high quality work, keep clients satisfied and put in a lot of billable hours, you may see your retention % increase.
Too many high quality individuals leaving and the issues are not impossible to address.

Pros

Training, firm fraud leadership, global reach

Cons

A lack of due diligence in firm expansion

Advice to Senior Management

Be open, honest, and direct - always

Pros

Overall, Crowe treats their people well. We have good training programs (that are still improving), decent benefits, good people to work with.

Cons

The "up or out" practice

Advice to Senior Management

Spend more time with your people

Pros

Crowe offers a large variety of valuable training opportunities and a number of resources that are always available as needed.

Cons

Little recognition for a job well done, and low pay.

Advice to Senior Management

Recognize a job well done when it is deserved and reach out to the lower staff-levels more, even if it is a simple hello every once in a while.

Pros

COO is a great communicator.

Cons

Promotions for women stop at senior manager.

Advice to Senior Management

More defined leadership in current partners.

Pros

Crowe audit division have great partners in charge. Very easy to work for and will listen to you if you have something of concern.

Cons

Due to the recent economy, it seems that the company is taking advantage by not having pay increases and less promotions, even though we are having significant growth as a firm.

Advice to Senior Management

Be fair to employees about salaries and wages since other employers have been stepping up in this area in order to get good people.

Pros

There are many opporunities to be Partner
Overall there is a fair amount of access to the top level leaders

Cons

There is a lack of diversity throughout the firm
Lack of supporting different viewpoints
The firm is very risk averse

Advice to Senior Management

Overall I would encourage the firm to become more progressive in its approach to diversity and adjusting to the changing business environment.

Pros

Crowe is really the antidote to ambitious professionals who do not want the big brother and impersonal approach to the Big 4. Exposure to partner and senior managers is very good for staff and partners are accessible. Crowe is a demanding place but acted much more humanistically than the Big 4 did during the 2009 -2009 downturn since they do not overhire and look at staff over the long term vs short term profits. The firm held steady during the downturn and is growing again

Cons

There are not many downsides- training hours and technical resources are not as good as the Big 4 but the on job training is much better and more personal

Advice to Senior Management

Dont try to become the Big 4 and keep the personal touch in dealing with client and staff. Get reports out faster and spend more time acclimating experience hires since Crowe culture can be insular at first. Crowe is really special among national firms and needs to stay that way

Pros

Benefits (Specifically Health Benefits)
Training Programs

Cons

Expectation of greater than 40 hrs/week.
Expectation of not using PTO.
Senior Management - Some Good, Some Really Bad
Too Many Senior Level Individuals

Advice to Senior Management

Someone else said it best - be wary of executives and directors and their behavior.