BDO USA Reviews

Pros

The company truly puts "People First" - both internally and for the clients they serve.

Cons

The company match for core employees could be better.

Pros

Its a place of employment Limited travel opportunities Office network

Cons

Terribly run company that relies on overworking employees throughout the year. In my opinion, bdo operates like it's stuck in the past. The company uses outdated software and processes for work that is already being automated by companies both in and outside of public accounting. For them to claim that one of their core values is "embrace change" is laughable. The company operates on a churn and burn model for its hiring- overworking new hires in the first couple busy seasons to extract the most billable hours, only for those employees to burn out and leave. It wouldn't surprise me to find out if they have the highest attrition rate in the business. There is no real direction from the top on where the firm is headed or how they differentiate themselves. This shows in the ambiguous "culture" the company claims to have. Those in leadership can't clearly articulate what this "culture" actually is beyond the usual buzzwords. During busy season, certain offices hoard work leading to extreme and unnecessary burnout for employees. To make things worse, the admin task of having to constantly confirm and coordinate what clients you're working on (even if there are no changes) creates an unnecessary burden for client-facing professionals. I get that it's public accounting and it comes with the territory to expect long hours, but the inefficiencies and the lack of forward-thinking leadership at bdo make for a terrible working environment.

Pros

Great audit experience without the supposed craziness of the big 4

Cons

Work/life balance and staffing issues seemingly inherent to public accounting. Management could be more proactive with solving this and/or compensating staff to avoid snowball effect of staffing issues

Pros

There are a lot of really good people who work here

Cons

Management and above is very disorganized and it leeks down to the rest of the staff causing frustration and burnout.

Pros

Remote work available Some senior leadership are helpful

Cons

Poor communication, training and high expectations of employees with very poorly provided training. You'll learn more through firm resources than you will with any direct training. You will not be assigned work to do and then you'll be told that you aren't productive when it's completely up to the team's admin staff if you are utilized or not. I would say to avoid it completely if it wasn't for the couple of individuals in non management roles that make working there bearable.

Pros

The company, as intended, is great. The DEI training is thorough, the company encourages utilizing your PTO, the company encourages internal growth. There are fun events and opportunities to be more or less involved.

Cons

The culture office-to-office is a toss up. Management techniques depends entirely on who is in charge of you. Administrative staff is treated like an afterthought. There is no opportunity for growth in administration. The OA in the Orlando & Tampa offices is toxic and is a lawsuit waiting to happen. The training is incredibly minimal and confusing.

Pros

Getting highly competitive with Big Four. Moving up market Steady growth Diverse opportunities

Cons

Growth often not matching internal infrastructure but catching up

Pros

The company culture was great when I started and throughout my time with BDO the flexibility of work hours was so nice to have.

Cons

The company culture at the Philly location changed and within a few months many of my peers started to switch jobs. The company is having tons of changes internally as well resulting in sudden layoffs and structural changes. If you started prior to 2021 you'd notice the change but if you're starting now you'll be fine.

Pros

Most of the people where were genuine and nice to be around

Cons

The amount of work you are expected to push through during busy season is overwhelming

Pros

For most of the time I worked at BDO, I was in a small unit with excellent management. The head of the unit treated people well, and the unit was quite profitable.

Cons

Towards the end of my employment, there was a reorganization, and some of the best managers were let go.