Tag: Rankings

KPMG Doesn’t Need You, FORTUNE; It Has Plenty of Other Employer Rankings That Say It’s Still a Great Place To Work

Oh Christ, the FORTUNE1 100 Best Companies to Work For came out today, which means marketing and PR teams all across Corporate America are on high alert. Who went up? Who went down? Who’s new on the list? Who’s off the list? Who gives a shit? That’s my take. If you’re not Google, then you suck. I want an employer who has a cafeteria that serves the most obscure cuisine on the planet (e.g. BBQ Tasmanian devil short ribs with poached platypus eggs) and I want it for FREE. If you can’t make that happen, then I might as well be working for the Taliban as the Womens Initiative coordinator.

Let’s Bicker About the U.S. News Accounting Program Rankings

Wow — Texas, Illinois, BYU are the top three? No one saw this coming.

1. Texas – Austin
2. Illinois – Urbana-Champaign
3. BYU


4. Southern Cal
5. Michigan
6. Penn
7. Notre Dame
8. Indiana
9. NYU
10. Ohio St, Washington (tie)

Not exactly sure if Michigan jumped over Notre Dame at the last second in this year’s ranking but I’d like to imagine a flurry of points coming in late to catapult the Wolverines over ND. Sorry, John. Btw, here’s the methodology if you’re into that sort of thing.

Top 100 Accounting Firms List Looks Very Familiar

Mostly because the top twenty-five firms hardly changed.

1. Deloitte
2. PwC
3. E&Y
4. KPMG
5. McGladrey
6. Grant Thornton
7. BDO
8. CBIZ/MHM
9. Crowe Horwath
10. BKD
11. Moss Adams
12. Plante & Moran
13. EisnerAmper
14. Marcum
15. Clifton Gunderson
16. BTVK
17. J.H. Cohn
18. LarsonAllen
19. UHY Advisors
20. Dixon Hughes
21. Reznick Group
22. Rothstein Kass
23. ParenteBeard
24. Eide Bailly
25. WeiserMazars

The top twelve didn’t change at all and there was some shuffling amongst the firms after that, most notably Eisner and Amper whose merger catapulted them from 24 and 26 respectively to 13th on the list. Not much else to report on such a snoozer of a list but it’s worth mentioning that 45% of Deloitte’s revenues are not from assurance or tax services and this is the reason they are numero uno. Check out the entire list here.

Earlier:
Most Top Ten Accounting Firms Saw Lower Revenues, Headcount for 2009

Vault’s Best Accounting Firms To Work For (Continued): Cube Farms, Selectivity, Tolerance for Stupid Questions

This morning we rolled a few more Vault rankings that gave you an idea of why they could be decent place to hold down a job.

Round two involves more categories for the bestest of the best, kicking off with your office digs:

Offices (don’t need a key for the john, “nap” rooms, The Onion and porn aren’t blocked)
1. Marcum
2. Kaufman, Rossin & Co.
3. Elliott Davis
5. Deloitte
7. Rothstein Kass
8. PwC
16. Moss Adams


Satisfaction (with relative lack of sexual harrassment? This seems unfinished.)
1. Armanino McKenna – San Ramon, CA
2. Berdon – NYC
3. CBIZ & Mayer Hoffman McCann – Cleveland, OH
5. Deloitte
13. Moss Adams
15. PwC
17. Rothstein Kass

Selectivity (ratio of hotties?)
1. PwC
2. Dixon Hughes – High Point, NC
3. Marcum
5. Deloitte
13. Rothstein Kass
14. Moss Adams

Formal Training (aka watching PowerPoint presentations to be followed up by heavy drinking)
1. Kaufman, Rossin & Co.
2. Marcum
3. Elliott Davis
10. Rothstein Kass
14. Deloitte
16. PwC
20. Moss Adams

Informal Training (aka your direct superior rolling their eyes at you before answering your question)
1. Marcum
2. PwC
3. Kaufman, Rossin & Co.
5. Deloitte
12. Rothstein Kass
15. Moss Adams

Big 4 Firms Score Perfect on 2011 Corporate Equality Index

Yesterday The Human Rights Campaign Foundation released their Corporate Equality Index for 2011. If you’re not familiar with the survey, it “assesses American workplaces on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality.”

We’re happy to report that the Big 4 are perfectly gay friendly which probably surprises no one (or not?). The firms go to great lengths to be inclusive, especially in public eye and a ranking like the HRC’s is a perfect opportunity to call attention to their efforts.

This is the ninth year for the survey and its largest – with 844 companies being rated. Scores are determined based on the following criteria:

Criterion 1a Prohibits Discrimination Baation (15 points)

Criterion 1b Provides Diversity Training Covering Sexual Orientation (5 points)

Criterion 2a Prohibits Discrimination Based on Gender Identity or Expression (15 points)

Criterion 2b Provides Diversity Training Covering Gender Identity OR Has Supportive Gender Transition Guidelines (5 points)

Criterion 2c Offers Transgender-Inclusive Insurance Coverage for at Least One Type of Benefit (5 points)

Criterion 2c+ Offers Transgender-Inclusive Insurance Coverage, Including Surgical Procedures (4 )

Criterion 3a Offers Partner Health Insurance (15 points)

Criterion 3b Offers Partner Dental, Vision, COBRA and Dependent Coverage Benefits (5 points)

Criterion 3c Offers at Least Three Other “Soft” Benefits for Partners (5 points)

Criterion 4 Has Employer-Supported Employee Resource Group OR Firm-Wide Diversity Council (15 points) Would Support ERG if Employees Express Interest (half credit)

Criterion 5 Positively Engages the External LGBT Community (15 points)

Criterion 6 Responsible Citizenship Employers will have 15 points deducted from their score for a large-scale official or public anti-LGBT blemish on their recent records (-15 points)

Big 4 spin-off Accenture also scored a perfect 100 while Capgemini scored a 60, receiving no points for any of the #2 criteria or criterion 5. We took a quick glance through and didn’t notice any more accounting firms, although McGladrey parent H&R Block is on the list, scoring at 65, missing on criteria 2a, 2c and 5.

This seems like a pretty easy diversity win for most firms. Prohibiting discrimination is a piece of cake (enforcing it is another discussion) while providing training and benefits is simply good business. Likewise, if a company has an “employer-supported resource group” or “diversity council,” engaging the LGBT community should be a natural progression.

Where firms may get tripped up is the “Responsible Citizenship Employers” criterion. “[A] large-scale official or public anti-LGBT blemish” consists of the following:

Scores on this criterion are based on information that has come to HRC’s attention related to topics including but not limited to: undue influence by a significant shareholder calculated to undermine a business’s employment policies or practices related to its LGBT employees; directing corporate charitable contributions to organizations whose primary mission includes advocacy against LGBT equality; opposing shareholder resolutions reasonably aimed at encouraging the adoption of inclusive workplace policies; revoking inclusive LGBT policies or practices; or engaging in proven practices that are contrary to the business’s written LGBT employment policies.

While it isn’t likely that any firm would fall victim to this, law firm Foley & Lardner was dinged for representing clients that opposed gay marriage even though they provided many services to many LGBT causes.

As much as we don’t like it, bigoted, well-funded nonprofits need professional services and they pay accounting firms lots of money to provide them with services. As of now, the HRC doesn’t seem to be holding that against professional services firms but this is a divisive issue, not matter how you slice it. And until total equality is achieved, the HRC will likely keep a close eye on companies that assist groups it opposes.

Workplace Equality Takes Center Stage with Record Number of Companies Rated in HRC’s 2011 Corporate Equality Index [HRC]

Vault Accounting 50: Firms #21-#30 (2011)

Hitting the third group of ten on Vault’s Accounting 50, we see plenty of familiar names that would probably prefer being ranked higher but the people have spoken.

If you’ve got any news, gossip, cost saving ingenuity or anything else worthy of our pages on these firms, get in touch with at tips@goingconcern.com

21. Ernst & Young LLP – New York, NY
22. KPMG LLP – New York, NY
23. Grant Thornton LLP – Chicago, IL
24. BDO Seidman LLP – Chicago, IL
25. McGladrey & Pullen LLP/RSM McGladrey Inc. – Bloomington, MN
26LLC – Southfield, MI
27. J.H. Cohn LLP – Roseland, NJ
28. Eisner LLP – New York, NY
29. Clifton Gunderson LLP – Peoria, IL
30. Crowe Horwath LLP – Oak Brook Terrace, IL


Here’s the scoop from Vault, with the occasional comment from us.

Ernst & Young – “Quality people, quality audits, quality network”; “Grossly overwork their juniors, underpay their seniors”; “Arrogant” [Jim Turely strikes as a humble-ish guy]

KPMG – “Good international firm”; “Frat party all the time”; “Weakest of the Big 4; unwilling to take risks to change its culture” [What kind of frat? Tri-Lambs?]

Grant Thornton – “Youthful and growing”; “More powerful in some regions than others”; “Big Four wannabe; inconsistent” [And a blogging CEO!]

BDO – “Solid, respected”; “Trying too hard to be a Big Four firm”; “Numerous accounting scandals”

McGladrey – “Solid, well known”; “Known to treat individuals with disrespect; questionable management”

Plante & Moran – “Excellent national reputation—they do things right”; “Mixed reviews on training” [Twelve straight years in Fortune bitches!]

J.H. Cohn – “Relaxed,” “open-door team environment”; “Old-line regional firm currently buying clients—the finest reputation advertising dollars can buy”

Eisner – “Solid New York City/Metro New York/New Jersey player”; “More marketing than expertise”

Clifton Gunderson – “Solid regional”; “Small firm, closing offices”; “We still need stronger name recognition”

Crowe Horwath – “More caring than the Big Four”; “From January to April, [you’ll] work every weekend” (Does more caring mean free cookies? More group hugs? We need details!)

And a some recent samples from these pages:

• E&Y’s lead partner on the Emmys doesn’t get any action from groupies and the Shanghai office doesn’t care if you’re afraid of heights.

• The House of Klynveld recently got less-drastic makeover than PwC and Dick Bové thinks the Citigroup team is ‘an acceptable group of auditors.’

• One Grant Thornton office announced its Christmaskuh festivities early and Stephen Chipman encouraged employees to share the firm’s new strategy with loved ones.

• BDO opened a new office down in tobacco land.

• McGladrey rolled plenty of refreshments for their rebranding including punch that was eerily reminiscent of Jonestown and a freakishly large cake that allowed execs to show off their lack of chipping skills.

• Eisner played coy on their merger with Amper Politziner & Mattia at first but then admitted that they were making sweet CPA firm love.

• A Crowe Horwath audit partner pleaded ignorance on tax issues for his banking client because, well, the tax department is on another floor.

Earlier:
Vault Accounting 50 Rankings: Digging Into The Top 10
Vault Accounting 50: Firms #11-#20 (2011)

Vault Accounting 50: Firms #11-#20 (2011)

Jumping back into the Vault Rankings after going over the Top 10 last week, we bring you the firms that are on the cusp of greatness or merely experiencing the best it will ever be.

The most interesting thing about 11-20 is that lack of a “major” firm. If you want to make the argument that CBIZ is a major firm, we suggest you talk them into dropping the “CBIZ” and simply embrace Mayer Hoffman McCann. We shouldn’t have to explain it further than that.

Of course, if you’ve got any news, gossip or anything relatively interesting about any of these firms, email us at tips@goingconcern.com. As for the firms, here theblockquote>11. WithumSmith+Brown, PC – Princeton, NJ
12. Berdon LLP – New York, NY
13. Reznick Group, P.C. – Bethesda, MD
14. Eide Bailly LLP – Fargo, ND
15. Goodman & Company, LLP – Virginia Beach, VA
16. CBIZ & Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C. – Cleveland, OH
17. Armanino McKenna – San Ramon, CA
18. SS&G Financial Services, Inc. – Cleveland, OH
19. ParenteBeard LLC – Philadelphia, PA
20. Schenck Business Solutions – Appleton, WI


And some of the buzz from Vault’s, err, vault:

• WithumSmith+Brown, PC – “The people at WS+B are great to work with”— “familial” “culture that’s second to none”; “Not all partners respect scheduling requirements and quality of life”

• Berdon LLP – “Reputable”; “Older crowd, not very hip”

• Reznick Group, P.C. – “Alot of Big Four alumni”; “Flashy”

• Eide Bailly LLP – “Extremely qualified”; “A widely unrecognized name”

• Goodman & Company, LLP – “Relaxed culture”; “A mess”

• CBIZ & Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C. – “Flexibility and autonomy”; “Change is resisted”

• Armanino McKenna – “Upward mobility without waiting for partners to retire”; “Never heard of this firm”

• SS&G Financial Services, Inc. – “Personable, friendly environment”

• ParenteBeard LLC – “Smart, aggressive”; “Arrogant”

• Schenck Business Solutions – “Solid, have only heard positive things”; “Low-ball service provider”; “Macho”

News at these firms fly beneath our radar for the most part but we did not ParenteBearde’s merger last year and Armanino McKenna’s CFO survey from this summer that showed some signs of life in the job Bay Area job market.

Earlier:
Vault’s New Accounting 50 Ranking Has Plenty of Surprises

The Second Tier of Vault’s Accounting 50 Has More Familiar Names

As promised, we’re presenting the second half of Vault’s Accounting 50, which has a lot of familiar names at the top of the second tier.

26. Plante & Moran, PLLC – Southfield, MI
27. J.H. Cohn LLP – Roseland, NJ
28. Eisner LLP – New York, NY
29. Clifton Gunderson LLP – Peoria, IL
30. Crowe Horwath LLP – Oak Brook Terrace, IL

31. BKD, LLP – Springfield, MO
32. Weiser LLP – New York, NY
33. Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP – Madison, WI
34. Amper Politziner & Mattia, LLP – Edison, NJ
35. LarsonAllen LLP – Minneapolis, MN
36. Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP – New York, NY
37. Novogradac & Company LLP – San Francisco, CA
38. UHY Advisors, Inc. – Chicago, IL
39. Wipfli LLP – Milwaukee, WI
40. Beers + Cutler PLLC – Vienna, VA
41. Marks Paneth & Shron LLP – New York, NY
42. Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP – New York, NY
43. Margolin, Winer & Evens LLP – Garden City, NY
44. Stonefield Josephson, Inc. – Los Angeles, CA
45. Blackman Kallick – Chicago, IL
46. Aronson & Company – Rockville, MD
47. Schneider Downs & Co., Inc. – Pittsburgh, PA
48. Burr Pilger Mayer, Inc. – San Francisco, CA
49. Watkins, Meegan, Drury & Company, L.L.C. – Bethesda, MD
50. Frank Rimerman & Co. LLP – Palo Alto, CA

As we said this morning, we’ll dig into some of the particulars on all these firms in a series of posts and point out any past stories we’ve done in these here pages for additional color. For now, feel free to comment on the second tier.

Earlier:
Vault’s New Accounting 50 Ranking Has Plenty of Surprises