From OCD to ADHD: Yes, Mental Health Is an Issue in Public Accounting
Being a CPA can turn you psycho. Health.com lists accounting as one of 10 careers with high rates of depression. I can vouch for the mental health risks of our profession. I went crazy during my first busy season; doctor said I had anxiety. I'd never been diagnosed with anxiety before, so that totally stressed me […]
Promotion Watch ’12: Moss Adams Is the Least Bad at Admitting Women as Partners
After naming a new Boss of Moss one week ago today, we just learned that thirteen new mini-Mosses will be admitted to the partnership effective October 1. I'll dispense with the platitude quotes and get right to the names: Tracy Paglia, Stockton, CA Jessica Cluzeau, Los Angeles, CA Francis Tam, Los Angeles, CAMark Woodward, Los […]
Promotion Watch ’12: Deloitte Partners and Principals
Yes, 162 lucky boys and girls have earned their partner badges, according to an email that a tipster sent us. It's a crowning achievement after many long nights, arguments with spouse, and New Year's resolutions to shed the weight gained last busy season. Memo to ambitious youngsters: this is what it takes. Here are some […]
Promotion Watch ’12: Crowe Horwath
Nine new partners and seven new directors have seats at the adult able, according to a firm press release. Here's your new partner class: Stephen Bedell, Tax (Columbus, Ohio) Rebecca Hurt, Tax (Knoxville, Tenn.) John Kelleher, Tax (Oak Brook, Ill.) Bart Kimmel, Risk Consulting (Los Angeles, Calif.) Troy La Huis, Risk Consulting (Grand Rapids, Mich.) […]
What’s the Key to Making Partner at a Public Accounting Firm?
For some capital market servants the number one goal in their careers, the crown jewel, the ultimate feather in the cap, the most memorable notch on the bedpost, is being admitted to the partnership of his/her public accounting firm. It's an accomplishment that takes commitment, perseverance, hard work, dumb luck, brown nosing, corporate politicking, very […]
Compensation Watch ’12: McGladrey
As we continue to trudge on through the heat of compensation season, we finally heard from one of Mickey G's sherpas: Promotions are being [communicated] from 7/6-7/20 and then raises and bonuses are being announced 7/20-7/27. Soooo blue and green archers, discuss and kvetch as you see fit but we'll just remind anyone who thinks they'll […]
Promotion Watch ’12: Grant Thornton Admits 27 New Partners
The word from the Purple Rose of Chicago was just handed down this morning from Stephen Chipman, at least that's what we hear. Oh wait, no, we know for sure, here's the email: Dear colleagues, One of my greatest pleasures as CEO of Grant Thornton is the opportunity I have every year to […]
Promotion Watch ’12: BDO Admits 15 New Partners
Now that everyone's time has been entered and accounted for, the TPTB at BDO figured it was appropriate to recognize the men (13) and women (2) who make up the final new partner class under Jack Weisbaum: “I am very proud to welcome each of these very deserving individuals to our partnership,” said Jack Weisbaum, CEO […]
(UPDATE) Promotion Watch ’12: We Learn a Few – NAY – All the Names of the New PwC Partners
Just a quick update for you on the promotions we reported on Monday – the Atlanta and Nashville offices have issued press releases, announcing two partners each. Only 161 more to go! We'll keep a running tab of the newbies over at the original post, so if you see a press release or come across an […]
(UPDATE 2) Promotion Watch ’12: PwC Admitting 165 New Partners
After getting a tip, we've confirmed with a source inside the firm that PwC made 165 employees' day on Friday. This year's class has 29 more than 2011, and is nearly double of 2010's class. Right now, we don't have a breakdown between men and women or by practice, but rumor has it that there's […]
Promotion and Bonus Watch ’12: Here’s a Confidential Guide for PwC’s Performance Review Process
Early last week we kicked off the compensation season 2012 discussion, thanks to the anxiety that is circling among the rank and file of accounting firms. Along with concerns over cold hard cash, some of you are probably curious about promotions. Luckily, someone was kind enough to leak us PwC's "FY12 ARC [Annual Review Committee] […]
(UPDATE) McGladrey Ditching Partial CPA Requirement for Promotion to Senior Associate
Similar to the Purple Rose of Chicago, our tipster informs us that Mickey G's needs seniors/supervisors badly: CPA policy In 2010 a change was made to the CPA policy requiring the completion of two parts of the CPA exam before an associate could be promoted to senior associate. Going forward, we have decided to eliminate […]
Unfounded Rumor of the Afternoon: Grant Thornton Scrapping CPA Requirement for Promotion to Senior
This just in: Rumor has it, GT is getting rid of the CPA exam requirement to be promoted to senior… GT is one of two firms (that we explicitly know of) that currently requires audit professionals to pass the CPA exam in order to be promoted. If this particular tidbit is true, then it would be […]
Goldman Sachs Makes PwC’s Former CEO New Lead Director
What does the world's most hated investment bank do when it wants to appear as though it is best serving the interests of both shareholders and clients? It grabs a PwC alum, that's what. James J Schiro got his start with PwC way back in 1967 (back when it was just plain ole Pw), clawing […]
Reminder: You Could Win a Kindle Fire If You Follow Going Concern on Twitter
There are precisely two weeks left to enter Going Concern's Twitter promotion. Up to this point, you may have thought that entering the online cluckhouse known as Twitter was an awful idea because "I don't get it," or "Isn't it really just for celebrities?" Well, it's true that you probably don't get it right now, […]
Follow Going Concern on Twitter and You Might – MIGHT! – Win a Kindle Fire
As promised, we're launching a new campaign to get you through the final weeks of busy season and this time we're incorporating everyone's favorite virtual gabfest, Twitter. After experimenting with the Daily Grind eNewsletter for some time, we've decided to focus more on something that won't involve clogging your inbox. Following our Twitter feed is […]
The Busy Season 2012 iPad Giveaway: Week 5
Good Thursday afternoon, capital market servants. We have a little update to share with you regarding the giveaway. But first a little about this week's winner. Week 5 iPad lucky duck is Yolanda H. who is a integrated MPA student in Texas. She likes to peruse GC to get through some of her lectures. She […]
The Busy Season 2012 iPad Giveaway: Week 4
It's week four of the iPad lotto sweepstakes on Going Concern so for any of you that are now just being made aware of this little bit of excitement, we'll go over this again. If you’re not currently signed up for the eNewsletter, go to the homepage and sign up at the top of the […]
The Busy Season 2012 iPad Giveaway: Week 3
TPTB, in their neverending quest for world domination, have asked me to remind you that we have now entered Week 3 of the Busy Season 2012 iPad Giveaway. Since many of you probably ignored last week's promo post, this is how you enter: If you’re not currently signed up for the eNewsletter, go […]
The Busy Season 2012 iPad Giveaway: Week 2
Has your Monday been ruined due to some football-related news? Cheer up! The 2012 Busy Season iPad Giveaway has entered week 2 and if you didn't get an email this morning telling you that you won last week that just means your luck could still turn around. In case you forgot how this works, entering […]
Presenting the Busy Season 2012 iPad Giveaway
It’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day or as it is more commonly known in public accounting, “the third Monday in January.” It is intended to be a day of service to our communities but most of you are simply doing the ushe – serving your clients. Not being able to observe federal holidays (President’s Day […]
Promotion Watch ’11: KPMG Admits 166 New Partners in the Americas
That’s right boys and girls, 166 new lucky Klynveldians will be taking a seat at the big kids table, only to be poached by PwC in the next 2-3 years. Despite the risk that many of these new partners will trade blue squares for autumnal Atari, John Veihmeyer and Henry Keizer were excited to welcome the newest members of the club:
“These new partners are role models for high performance – with a passion for quality, an unyielding commitment to integrity and outstanding service, and a dedication to helping clients cut through the complexity in this dynamic environment,” said John B. Veihmeyer, Chairman of KPMG’s Americas region and Chairman and CEO of KPMG LLP (U.S.).
“We are very proud of each of these new partners, and we look forward to their continued leadership. We’re especially grateful to the spouses, family, friends, coworkers, and mentors who have played a key role in their development and their career success,” Veihmeyer said.
Henry R. Keizer, Deputy Chairman of the Americas region and Deputy Chairman and COO, KPMG LLP (U.S.) said, “With their steadfast focus on technical excellence, professionalism, teaming and relationship building, these new partners have helped us make great strides in achieving our strategic priorities.
“Their ability to engage and motivate our people has also been critical to our efforts in fostering a high-performance culture – thereby driving the firm and our people to the next level,” Keizer said.
The KPMG press release doesn’t have a breakdown of the numbers but luckily we got our virtual hands on an email that has the breakdown. We won’t name names but it’s probably moot since someone at PwC Experienced Hire recruiting probably has them all on a hit list already. ANYWAY, here’s the breakdown by service line for the U.S. (74 new partners):
Advisory – 26
Audit – 27
Tax – 21
And by line of business:
Information, Communications and Entertainment – 12
Financial Services – 17
Healthcare and Pharm – 5
Industrial Markets – 19
Private Equity – 4
Mid Market – 3
Government/Public Sector – 1
Consumer Markets – 9
Other – 4
Congrats to all the new partners!
[via KPMG]
Confirmed: New PwC Senior Associates Can Look Forward to Fireside Chats with Partners and a Pacific Ocean Backdrop
Last month we reported some details about the Milestone Award for PwC’s new class of Senior Associates. At the time we weren’t able to definitively confirm the details but we’re happy to report now that yes, your four day adventure will be happening at Terranea Resort and YES, there will be fireside chats and other social activities to keep you occupied.
“Fitness activities” may not appeal to everyone but with any luck the “signature adventure” won’t involve any physical exertion. ANYWAY, enjoy your getaway, new PwC SAs! Be sure to take lots of pictures and share them with us.
Let’s Congratulate the New Deloitte Partners and Directors
Perhaps it’s no accident that Joe Echevarria’s Q&A dropped in the Journal today because we also had the good fortune to have the list of new partners and directors forwarded to us earlier today. We still waiting for confirmation of the details from various Deloitte PR folks so we won’t give you names but we’re sharing a number of cities and practices after the jump.
Altogether there are 144 new partners and 190 new directors for fiscal year 2012. These numbers vary a little bit with our first report of the new partner numbers from a few weeks back. In that post, our tipster informed us that had there were 146 partners and 180 directors. These differences, for our purposes, are deemed immaterial, although we’re sure anyone directly affected would disagree.
Partners
AERS: 55 Total. Cities with the largest numbers of promotees: New York – 12; Chicago – 4; Wilton, CT – 4; Los Angeles – 3; Dallas – 3; San Francisco – 2; Orange County -2.
Consulting: 48 Total. Big winners: Atlanta – 5; Chicago 5; San Francisco – 5; Los Angeles – 4; New York – 3; Orange County – 3; Kansas City – 3; Boston – 3; Arlington – 3.
FAS: Six total: New York – 3; Dallas – 2; Los Angeles – 1.
Tax: 32 Total: New York – 6; Chicago – 5; Houston – 3; Washington – 3; Atlanta – 2.
USA: Three total: Atlanta, Washington and New York each had one.
Directors
AERS: 56 total. Show-off cities: New York – 14; San Francisco – 3; Cleveland – 3; Salt Lake City – 2; Princeton – 2; Philadelphia – 2; Parsippany – 2; McLean – 2; Chicago – 2.
Clients & Industries: Six total: New York – 3; Philadelphia, Charlotte and San Francisco all had one.
Consulting: 53 total. Notables: San Francisco – 6; Chicago – 6; New York – 5; Atlanta – 3; Boston – 3; Minneapolis – 3; McLean – 3; Washington – 3.
FAS: Four total – Washington 2; New York and Chicago – 1.
Field Operations: Two – Atlanta and Hyderbad
Finance: A pair in Hermitage, TN.
Markets & Offerings: Two in Chicago and nine cities with one each.
Other Shared Services: One lonely soul in Wilton, CT.
PR/Communications: One in New York and one in Wilton.
Research/Innovation: Hermitage and Wilton with one each.
Strategy, Brand and Innovation: One happy camper in Los Angeles.
Talent: One each for Chicago, Parsippany, Boston and Indianapolis.
Tax: 38 total: Chicago – 7; New York – 5; San Francisco – 4; Atlanta – 2; Boston – 2; Los Angeles – 2; Philadelphia – 2.
Tech: One each for New York, Camp Hill, PA and Hyderbad
USA: One soul in Stamford, Rosslyn, Arlington, Richmond and Wilton.
So congratulations to all the new partners and directors. Leave them some well wishes in the comments. The only question now is, which one of these rainmakers is buying Joe’s house?
Deloitte Goes Partner Crazy
Fresh from the mailbag… well, not fresh, actually, it’s kind of been sitting in there gathering dust all weekend so it’s kind of the moldy gym sock of mail. But I digress.
Prior year they [Deloitte] promoted 101 partners and 136 directors; for this year (actual firm year starts June 1, but partners get promoted in September) there will be 146 partners and 180 directors.
This is for the United States only…
Great news for the new partners and directors, not so great for those of you who are still staring at the Green Dot’s multiplier slides wondering when that 8x bump is going to kick in.
Feel free to commence to discussing how big your yacht will be when you make partner in the comments.
Promotion Watch ’11: Ernst & Young Admits 548 New Partners Worldwide
Still a little perplexed that I have to find this out via press release but I understand that at least some of you are beating off clients…
with a stick.
Jim Turley, Chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young says, “Building the next generation of partners to lead our business is vital to our future. This year’s marked increase in numbers reflects our ongoing commitment to excellence and our confidence in the future.”
John Ferraro, Chief Operating Officer of Ernst & Young says, “These admissions are the result of a rigorous selection process and recognizes the significant contribution of each individual to our success. This is a strong vote of confidence in the leadership potential of these outstanding individuals.”
Congrats to the all the new partners at E&Y!
Promotion Watch ’11: Grant Thornton Admits 26 New Partners and Principals
Apparently everyone’s email at the Purple Rose of Chicago is broken because I had to learn about this from a press release.
Grant Thornton LLP, the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, one of the six global audit, tax and advisory organizations, admitted 26 new partners and principals to the firm, effective August 1. These partners and principals are based throughout the firm’s offices across the country.
Partners and principals admitted to the firm are thought leaders upon whom the firm relies to provide personalized attention in serving clients. These professionals have demonstrated consistently their extraordinary ability to understand and meet the needs of client companies and industries. They have also demonstrated long-term leadership in the accounting profession and the community.
“These professionals have demonstrated extraordinary client service, driving value for the dynamic firms we serve,” said Stephen Chipman, Grant Thornton’s CEO. “These leaders exemplify Grant Thornton’s mission of making a difference – to our colleagues, our clients, our profession and our communities.”
It’s also strange that no one from GT has dropped any news regarding compensation discussions as this is about the time we should start hearing it or sayeth comments from the last post on the subject. Anyway, give the new partners a slap on the back or at least a nice note.
Promotion Watch ’11: BDO Admits 13 New Partners
Jack Weisbaum is letting a baker’s dozen join the club, although with the new national heads recently announced, there’s an new extra layer between the newbies and the most interesting accounting CEO in the world.
Here are the lucky 13:
John Barkmeyer (Orange County – Assurance), Doug Bekker (Grand Rapids – Tax), Elliott Binder (San Jose – Tax), Sofia Blair (New York – – Assurance) and Mike Campbell (San Francisco – Tax), Demetrio Frangiskatos (New York – Assurance), Nania Gopal (Orange County – National Assurance Office), Mike Hottel (Washington, DC – Assurance), Joel Mitchell (Chicago – Tax), Stathis Poulos (Raleigh – Assurance), Jennifer Quaglino (Woodbridge – Tax), Chris Tylka (Chicago – Assurance) and Andy Zaleski (Detroit – Tax).
Congratulations and stay thirsty, new partners.
[via BDO]
Promotion Bonus Watch ’11: Grant Thornton
The latest from the moneymailbag:
Hi Caleb,
Can we get a thread opened about Grant Thornton raises and promotions. We started finding out promotions yesterday and the raise info came along with it. Thanks,
Not much news out of Grant Thornton lately so thanks for reaching out. The last we heard from Purple Rose of Chicago was that auditors were wanting their raises and bonuses to rival the Big 4 after a hellish busy season. I’d still be willing to be that Michelle Bachmann has a better chance of becoming President than GT’s raises keeping pace with the Big 4 but I do like a good longshot.
So if you’re in the House of Chipman and got news about a promotion, let us know and share the details of your newfound riches.
Promotion Bonus Watch ’11: KPMG
In case you weren’t satisfied with all the talk of comp from this week. The latest from the mailbag:
Hey, I am an experienced senior in a small market, yearly performance evaluationss are coming up (July 11-20 or something), but promotes are learning their bonuses, Which are in theory a function of salary adjustments between now and October, just wondering how those are looking?
Btw, Ernst & Young peeps, you better not be holding out on us. I find it hard to believe with the fiscal year ending next week that a grip of you haven’t heard any rumors about comp. Get in touch.
Promotion Watch ’11: PwC Admits 136 New Partners
Last year, we learned about new partner promotions at the House of Moritz the first week of June. This year, we had to wait for a press release from the Denver office to get issued before we heard anything about it. Now, I’m not mad (although Adrienne probably is) just disappointed. If you forgot how to get in touch with us, it’s a simple as clicking email us or on our names in the margin. Regardless, we got on the horn and managed to get the whole scoop.
136 new partners admitted firm-wide, representing all PwC service lines.
–53 new partners in Assurance,
–50 in Tax,
–32 in Advisory and
–one in Internal Firm Services.
The new class of 136 is 53 more than last year, so that clears a few extra spots out of the parking lot at senior manager. The promotions bring the total count of partners in the States to over 2,300.
So a hearty congratulations to all the new PwC partners. No doubt you’ve worked and worked and worked for it. We just hope emotions were kept in check at any celebrations.
Aspiring KPMG Manager Needs Help Defecting to Another Big 4 Firm
Welcome to another round of Accounting Career Emergencies (aka: “Decide My Life For Me: GC Edition”). Today we have a KPMG Senior Associate who badly wants to make manager except for the small matter of not being able to stand her client, manager, partner and basically everything else. Jumping over to another Big 4 firm is an option but how does one convince them that you’re worthy of the new stomping grounds.
Looking for an extra edge? Concerned that your performance isn’t up to snuff and need a contingency plan? Working in an environment that makes you uncomfortable? Email us at [email protected] and we’ll try to explain how poles and porn fit into “team building.”
Back to our Benedict Arnold du jour:
Hello dear friends at GC,
I am beginning my fourth year with audit at KPMG and would like to make it to Manager, if for no other reason than the title’s weight on the résumé. If I were to stay with KPMG and made manager in the average time frame, I would be here for another two years. To be frank, I can’t stand my client, manager, or partner and want nothing more than to quit tomorrow; I’ve already spoken to my PML (direct supervisor, basically), but there really isn’t an option for me to get out of working on this client and or this team any time soon.
My job is ok when I’m working on other clients, but this engagement is so terrible that I’m not sure I’m willing to stick it out long enough to get to my other clients. Like so many others, my primary goal is to make it to Manager at a Big 4 (have no idea if I will stay after I do, but that’s the goal at this point). There are needs for audit seniors at the other Big 4 firms in the city, and I’m thinking about jumping ship to another one. If I do this, I figure I’ll at least get a fresh start and shake things up a bit, while still working towards my Big 4 Manager goal.
So here’s the question: how do I convince another Big 4 firm to hire me? Also, if I were to get hired by the like of DT, E&Y, or PWC, could I feasibly expect to make Manager within two years? I have my CPA out of the way, so that shouldn’t be a big factor…
Help me, Going Concern. You’re my only hope.
-Big4FlipFlops
Dear Big 4 Flip Flops,
Your problem is easy, ring up PwC. They picking off KPMG people like a WWII sniper. But seriously, I’m a little perplexed by your question. When you go into an interview with any potential employer, how do you convince them to hire you? You research the company. You smile big and are ready to talk about things other than work. You discuss your accomplishments at KPMG, you play up your strengths, admit that you’re working on your weaknesses but ultimately, that you’re bringing A-1 talent to this organization and they’d DAMN FOOLS to pass up the opportunity to hire you. There will probably be a curveball question or two in the interview and those may help/hurt your chances but it’ll be a pretty standard interview.
As for your promotion timeline, I think you can safely ask your potential new firm about that without fearing any repercussions. If you adjust to the new firm quickly (e.g. new methodologies, navigating political waters) and are a performer there’s no reason you shouldn’t be considered for a promotion in another two years. Good luck and may the Force be with you.
(UPDATE) Promotion Watch ’11: KPMG Managers-in-waiting
From the mailbag:
The last few years KPMG announced manager promotions by this time, but I haven’t heard a peep from anyone so far. Have they changed the timing?
Digging through the archives, it’s true that around this time last year, chatter around the announcements of promotions at KPMG had begun but as our tipster said, so far it’s been strict Radio Station silence. Last year, details were rolling out through early June, so it could be that they’re dragging it out for effect.
Anyway, one rumor that we just heard is that in some KPMG offices, SAs up for manager are being asked to interview for their promotions. Personally, I’ve never heard of this but considering the need at SA, it would be a strategic way to hold some people back, chalking it up to “he/she didn’t interview well” versus the cryptic “he/she isn’t ready.”
If you’ve recently gotten word on promotions in your office, heard anything about these interviews or are simply in the know, email us the details and discuss below.
UPDATE:This just in:
PA leadership told us manager promotions would be approved on 5/20/11, with announcements in the following weeks after the approvals. haven’t heard anything about the ‘interviewing’ but i’m not up for Manager promotion so i guess i wouldn’t know.
Nice. Just in time for the end of the world.
UPDATE, May 26th, circa 12:35 pm:
According to a Klynveldian close to the situation in New York, “they seem to be making calls to those up for manager.”
Do I Stay in Public Accounting Until Manager? Part XXXIII
Welcome to but-what-does-Emilio-think? edition of Accounting Career Emergencies. In today’s edition we revisit the age-old debate of a senior associate wondering if they should stick with their firm until they get the bump to manager. It’s been awhile since I’ve addressed this, so it’s about time we went for another go-round.
Getting bad career advice? Trying to patch things up with the boss? Trying to land some goddesses at your firm? Email us at