Put in your two years and get out - Tax Associate BDO Employee Review

2.0
Nov 8, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Its public accounting, so it's not fair to bash things that are part of any public accounting job Good coworkers, fast promotion if you are willing to put in the work

Cons

Lousy meal allowance. Work over 10 hours and get 10 bucks for dinner. In Tysons? Yeah right. McDonalds it is again. I am not looking for a 5 star restaurant but working 10+ hour days for several months and eating fast food gets extremely old. That policy works in Va Beach, not in DC area. BDO buys too many small firms but the acquired firms don't change. The employees of old firm wish that they were working for their old company, which hurts moral for new employees/creates petty resentment of people who are happy to be at BDO. (sounds dumb but I experienced this in several employees of all levels). They don't embrace being a part of the BDO culture or work to promote BDO. A full two years after merging Argy into BDO, Seniors and Managers (millennials) talk about how they miss Argy and still refer to process as "their way" and "our way" (BDO vs Argy practices). Get with the program. By extension, there are sporadic attempts at standardization amongst regions, but the desired one size fits all clients/entities is frustrating. Also an extreme lack of training with technology tools. Too many bosses is way too hard to manage. I reported and was responsible to 5+ bosses at any one time. Some people get away with working less than 30 hours a week while others are book more than 60 due to horrible scheduling -the 30 hour people aren't efficient or superstars, they just don't pull their share and it screws over the rest of the team. I am also not comparing my hours to somebody who is busy at different times of the year.

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5.0
Jun 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

It was a good place to work

Cons

Can be busy at times

3.0
Jul 2, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Consultants were not overworked, and people are generally staying in their own lane. Strong knowlegeable teammates and lots of internal resources to grow. Work life balance was good.

Cons

I left during a time of transition, since the top practice director retired and the EBA leader took over as interim leader. This interim guy seemed to be waiting for something to take any action with current resources, and he was not too interested in rallying or figuring things out as a team. If he had expectations, they were never communicated to me. The lack of clarity was very challenging for me personally, and it came off as a lack of support. I think others in the team probably feel similarly.

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