Baker Tilly Canada Deludes Itself Into Thinking Fresh Office Space Will Be a Big Recruiting Advantage
*not the actual office. Apologies if this photo is triggering to anyone. Let’s throw a theoretical out here. Imagine you are a highly qualified Canadian CPA with exemplary communication and data analytics skills and you have received two identical offers from leading firms. Would a clean, streamlined aesthetic and open plan sightlines, accentuated by generous […]
Layoff Watch ’23: Baker Tilly Gets Rid of 180 People, Cites a ‘Resource Mismatch’
Special thanks to our tipster who sent us a screenshot of this email from Baker Tilly CEO Jeff Ferro to everyone. A Fishbowl thread from seven days ago says that layoffs began before a formal announcement was made. “Everyone is just finding out as people on their teams disappear. Pretty disappointing showing from leadership,” it […]
Promotion Watch ’23: The Baker Tilly Partner Bench Is Now 44 People Deeper
Tomorrow, 44 people will ascend to partner status at Baker Tilly, a slight decrease from last year’s record partner class of 46. There is, naturally, a press release and a quote from Jeff Ferro who stepped into the chairman shoes in March when Alan Whitman abruptly left his post. “Our incoming partners inspire our team […]
Baker Tilly Will Be Making Moves
A couple months ago I guessed that Baker Tilly was working on a big merger — to which a merger expert I pester from time to time asked incredulously “with who?” (paraphrased) — and then suddenly CEO Alan Whitman up and left making me think maybe I was wrong. Whitman’s sudden departure was a little […]
Alan Whitman Is Suddenly No Longer Baker Tilly CEO As of Today
Mere hours ago, Baker Tilly announced via news release that Alan Whitman has resigned from his role as CEO and chairman of the board effective immediately. This is a surprise to say the least, Baker Tilly has been making a lot of big moves in the past year or so, honestly we expected an explosive […]
Baker Tilly Banks on Celebrity Endorsements to Bring in Young Talent
In case you didn’t notice because who cares, Baker Tilly has engaged the help of filmmaker and adventurer Jimmy Chin and teenage tennis star Coco Gauff to brighten up the Baker Tilly name and recruit the youfs to this exciting accounting firm. Said Coco Gauff at gunpoint in a press release about the partnership: “I […]
Promotion Watch ’22: Baker Tilly Churned Out a Record 46 New Partners
The new partner class of 2022 is one for the record books at Baker Tilly, as 46 BTers got their club memberships recently from CEO Alan Whitman. Baker Tilly says in a press release that it’s the largest new partner class at the firm to date, which we have every reason to believe given that […]
The City of Palo Alto Is on the Hunt for a New Auditor
Ed. note: The headline of this story was changed on 6/19/23. The original headline may have been misconstrued as placing blame on the outgoing auditor. This was not our intention. Here’s one for you. The city of Palo Alto, CA is looking for a new city auditor after its last one, Kyle O’Rourke, resigned from […]
Promotion Watch ’21: Baker Tilly Admits 24 New Partners
The Chicago-based public accounting firm with a guitar pick for a logo handed out 24 new memberships to the partner club on June 1, one more than last year. The 15 men and nine women in the Baker Tilly new partner class of 2021 are: Paul Bishop, CPA, Tax – Manufacturing and Distribution, Madison, WI […]
Promotion Watch ’20: Baker Tilly Admits 23 New Partners
Baker Tilly CEO Alan Whitman let 19 men and four women join the club on June 1: Mark Boettcher, Consulting, Milwaukee Jeff Dorner, Assurance, Chicago Matt Eckerle, Consulting, Indianapolis Daniel Ehr, Tax, Appleton, WI Shane Elrod, Tax, Plano, TX Russell Fleming, Assurance, Minneapolis Wesley Fraser, Tax, Wilmington, DE Matt Gilbert, Consulting, Washington, DC Nicholas Hinz, […]
Layoff Watch ’20: How Bad Were the Job Cuts at Crowe and Baker Tilly?
[Updated with additional information.] In the past 48 hours, we’ve learned that hundreds of people were laid off at Crowe this week and many others were let go at Baker Tilly. Here’s what we’ve been able to piece together about the layoffs at both firms based on tips that have come in to GC: Crowe […]
Promotion Watch ’19: Baker Tilly Admits 20 New Partners, 11 of Whom Are Women
The smell of fresh partners has been permeating through the air this week. First, PwC unleashed its 2019 class of 249 new partners and principals on the 50 states and Mexico on May 31. Then earlier today, I saw this: Baker Tilly admits 20 new partners specializing in a variety of industries and services across […]
What Do Y’All Think of Baker Tilly’s New Logo and Tagline?
The Baker Tilly bird is gone: CHICAGO (Dec. 3, 2018) – Leading advisory, tax and assurance firm Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP (Baker Tilly) today announced a refreshed brand identity with fellow Baker Tilly International network firms to demonstrate the network’s global strength and capability. Baker Tilly’s brand positioning, Now, for tomorrow captures the firm’s commitment to great […]
Baker Tilly Makes Everyday Denim Dreams Come True
If there's one thing all accountants can get excited about, it's being granted the privilege of donning denim at the office. Time was, no accountant in their right mind would show up to the office in jeans for risk of public shaming. These days, things are less strict although there was a near mutiny in […]
Here’s Your Open Thread for Baker Tilly Compensation Discussions (2015)
We were gently reminded that Baker Tilly compensation discussions happened around this time last year, so it behooves all of us to start the 2015 version today. It should be mentioned that in last year's thread the first comment warned against participating in the merrymaking: We were specifically warned by management not to share results […]
RIP ParenteBeard, We Hardly Knew Ye
Well, it's official, ParenteBeard is no more. The merger was effective October 1, and Baker Tilly has wasted no time slapping their logo all over Internet real estate that once belonged to ParenteBeard. We haven't heard any further grumblings of layoffs or general discontent, but if you know something we don't, you know what to […]
Here’s Your Open Thread for Baker Tilly Compensation Discussions (2014)
Yes, Baker Tilly. We believe in equal opportunity kvetching when it comes to public accounting employees and their pay. We received this tip in the tip box late yesterday: Ratings and promotions have been announced for Baker Tilly, at least in the Greater Wisconsin region. Compensation talks shouldn't be far behind. Now, because ParenteBeard is […]
ParenteBeard Confesses It Is in Merger Talks With Baker Tilly
We were tipped to this about two weeks ago but unfortunately our tipster failed to include an email address or any details that we could confirm (THANKS A LOT, GUY). Now, we could have just run it but that would go against our journalistic sensibilities, so we sat on it until we could get to […]
Baker Tilly Manages to Get Half of Audits Right, Per UK Regulator
From Accountancy Age: Top Ten accountancy firm Baker Tilly has been told to review its audit methodology in light of continuing deficiencies in the quality of its audit work discovered as part of an inspection by the profession's watchdog. Baker Tilly was also criticised by the FRC for its reluctance to accept recommendations made by […]
Baker Tilly CEO Admits He Wasn’t “Civically Involved” Enough for Chicago
Man, and I thought Washington was a tough town to break into: Tim Christen, chairman and CEO of accounting firm Baker Tilly Virchow Krause LLP, moved the company's U.S. headquarters to Chicago from Madison, Wis., five years ago, but when he set out to join one of the city's elite civic clubs, he was rejected. […]
Baker Tilly Bags One New York Accounting Firm; Looking for the Next One
Today in obscure firm merger news, Baker Tilly and New York-based Holtz Rubenstein Reminick have professed their love for each other and are entering into a holy union on June 1st. "We've been looking for the right merger partner in New York and we found that partner in Holtz Rubenstein Reminick. They have a […]
Baker Tilly Found Liable in Aqua Finance Lawsuit; Ordered to Pay $50 Million
This slipped by us last week, but after noting last Thursday morning that a lawsuit against Baker Tilly for $327 million was nearing its end, we found this story from late on Thursday reporting that BT had lost the suit to Aqua Finance. Aqua Finance accused its former accounting and advising firm of negligence and breach […]
(UPDATE) What Kind of ‘Deal’ Is This Baker Tilly Partner Alluding To?
Maybe my imagination is running wild and this has nothing to do with another accounting firm, but a comment in a recent Minneapolis Star Tribune article by Jeffrey DeYoung got my attention: "You want to be at the center of influence, and in Minnesota that's downtown Minneapolis," said Jeffrey DeYoung, office managing partner of Baker Tilly Virchow […]
Going Concern March Madness 2012 Enters Round 2: No More Big 4
Today marks the day that you're pulling out brackets again that just serves as a reminder of how horrible you are at picking winners. Accordingly, we'll dive right into round two of Going Concern March Madness 2012: The Coolest Accounting Firm. Again this year we saw a bunch of upsets in round one with all […]
Why Would Fourteen Baker Tilly Partners Give Up Equity for Salary?
This one’s a stumper.
Accountancy Age reports that 14 Baker Tilly partners are giving up their equity stakes to go on salary including “international CEO Geoffrey Barnes, head of IT advisory Richard Spooner, and six partners from the London office.” A spokeswoman told AA that this is simply a change in “remuneration” and the fourteen individuals would remain partners and there “would be no change to client services.”
Riddle me this partners out there: why would a person with an equity stake go back to being a senior manager (i.e. in terms of the compensation structure)? Something doesn’t compute there. Since we’re dealing with the international CEO and head IT advisory, maybe there’s some kind of political or solidarity motive here but the Accountancy Age report is skimpy and its editor Gavin Hinks admits that there isn’t much to go on and gets to speculating:
The big question people are asking is what does it mean? Or does it mean anything at all? There are a number of reasons a partner’s status might change. They may simply no longer want the risk of being partner. The firm may believe profits are too diluted and want fewer partners.
I personally don’t buy the first motive. If they were sick of the risk, why not just leave the firm? There are plenty of jobs out there with better compensation packages. Diluted profits is a little more plausible but the international CEO and head of IT advisory? Why would they opt out? Since the partners in question made this decision themselves, it’s unlikely that this was a punitive measure but perhaps BT had a little bit of an internal email scandal, they were given a multiple choice form of punishment and this was the least severe option? I’ve really got nothing better at this point. People with theories that are slightly above the crackpot level are invited to share.