Crowe Horwath Reviews

Pros

Work/life balance.
People
Efforts in trying to create standard procedures
Try to hire best person for the position.
Efforts toward diversity are positive.

Cons

Structure changing.
Lack of infrastructure to support growth.
Leadership does not display leadership qualities.
Too much work for one person to handle.

Advice to Senior Management

Appreciate your people. Keep your word. Don't create a hostile environment where people are scared they'll do something wrong. Step down from your position if you don't want to lead but rather intimidate people.

Pros

Not Big 4, but plenty of potential to grow. Plus the encourage you to continuously redefine yourself!

Cons

Still new and relatively unknown in some markets or industries

Pros

Each week I'm presented with new challenges where I can grow in my career. I'm offered a variety of learning opportunities, both internal and external. The PTO program is excellent and provided to employees on their first day with the firm. It's nice that I never worry about taking a sick day or two or planning a family vacation. The firm is very good about working with personnel on flexible work arrangements, when needed.

Cons

There isn't a clear-cut path to move up in the firm. If you are looking for advancement opportunities, you need to be very proactive and create the opportunities yourself. It's difficult to get promoted. Managers/Sr. Managers can be so focused with client work that they forget to say a simple thank you or show appreciation for well-done work.

Advice to Senior Management

Put more time on your calendar to talk with staff/sr. staff about career goals or project challenges.

Pros

-great exposure to different industries - great for someone to start
- active involvement in projects

Cons

-extensive travel
-poor training
- poor leadership

Advice to Senior Management

Pay your employees well, provide better benefits, promote based on merit rather than "years completed" requirement

Pros

Good client relationships and generally good co-workers. Challenging work.

Cons

Long hours for some while others simply make theit own schedule and are accountable to no one. Hard work is not rewarded. Crowe has a lot of non-chargeable dead wood that are protected by disconected Partners. If you need public experience get it and get out and find a better opportunity. They lay people off by eliminating postions.

Advice to Senior Management

Bottom line.......TREAT PEOPLE with respect.......and get some of the old Crowe Chizek values back into the firm.

Pros

Lots of opportunity to contribute and provide value to clients. Getting into the field to work directly with clients and being coached by people with more experience.

Cons

Not a place to work if you expect to be coddled. Structure and training programs lag behind some of the larger firms.

Advice to Senior Management

Provide additional feedback and rewards to the top performers; innovate to provide differentiation against competitors. Continue to expand and provide opportunities to become partner.

Pros

if you need a job...it is a job

Cons

work life balance only exists if you are in a management position.
hours are never enough MORE HOURS!!

Advice to Senior Management

identify staff with potential and give them the tools and support to succeed.

Pros

-Great benefits
-Growing reputation working at a successful accounting and advising firm
-Salary was pretty good compared to other placed I received offers from
-Nice people that know what they are doing

Cons

-Workplace isn't exactly fun (its an accounting firm what do you figure)
-I will have to come back and see how and what the promotion scheme will be for me
-Not social enough

Advice to Senior Management

Plan more social events to get to know each other in the workspace, provide some parking and better mobile phone benefits, free gym memberships, connect with all the employees more often.

Pros

Strong firm values, collaborative environment, diverse cultural workplace, good people, strong and reasonably open communications to the firm, benefit package is balanced and reasonably priced.

Cons

Goals for charge hours, portfolio growth and sales are not realistic for Senior Managers if a reasonable work-life balance is to be maintained. People should not have to work 20-25% overtime to keep pace. The bonus structure is weak when compared to other firms and industry.

Advice to Senior Management

You need to decide if the firm is really going to be a diverse workplace and offer paths for both partner and non-partner goal oriented professionals. There is a perception in at least one service line that the only path is to be a partner and that it's 'up or out'.

Listen to experienced hires - they bring a lot of good ideas and perspectives from other firms.

If work-life balance is truly a priority at the firm, then charge hour goals for managers and senior managers need to be re-evaluated. Setting 17xx charge hours as a goal for a manager plus goals for sales plus portfolio growth doesn't make sense when compared to the 1800 goal for staff and seniors. A similar comment goes for senior managers. If the goal isn't realistic or attainable on all fronts, it just sets people up to fail. The sanity check is pretty simple: How many of the current partners at Crowe ever had a 17xx charge hour goal as a manager? Answer = probably none.

Pros

The work can be flexible when you are not in the field.

Cons

The job is very time consuming and sometimes there is no work life balance.

Advice to Senior Management

I think managers have to help out the incharges more and take more initiation than bossing the employees around.