Pros
- Remote Work: It's promoted, it's not frowned upon, and management will work with you to find a schedule to fit you and your needs - Culture: Depending on the department you are in (Tax, Audit, Outsourcing) they try to live and embrace the CLA promise. It's truly unique and if you're lucky enough to be in the right group you really can go far. - Interdepartmental transfers: You can move from Outsourcing to Audit to Tax in order to find your niche. You can try these departments out for a spell using "rotations" or you can move permanently
Cons
- MANAGEMENT: Is an utter disaster. They are either oblivious or clueless, maybe even both. They are more concerned with outward appearances than actually fixing company problems and employee morale. They don't listen to employees, don't manage their clients, the workload, or employees effectively. They are useless. - BILLING: It's all about being billable, and making your annual budget. Nothing else matters but if you're billable and if you're meeting your quota. Which is fine if you're in Outsourcing or in certain areas of Audit - you're so swamped with work that you will always meet your budget. Tax - HA!, good luck. When it's not busy season work dries up like the Sahara desert - there is nothing to do and you have to beg other departments for work because the manager's hog all the billable work leaving you to fend for yourself. - BUDGETS: You've heard the phrase "Cash is King", well at CLA "Budget is King". They set arbitrary budgets based on prior year's actuals, add on more work, then reduce the hours and get mad if you go over them. Or they do some hokey calculation based off of the engagement fee and back into the hours you're supposed to bill and then grill you if you go over the fake magic number. - CHEAP: They think they pay well because they are based in Minnesota where the cost of living is dirt cheap, but they need to venture outside of the rust belt - the rent is too high on the coasts - benefits are expensive, parking is expensive, per diems are laughable because they are WAY lower than other CPA firms, and they've been tightening the reins (fresh off tons of M&A that hasn't improved business) and refusing to reimburse for expenses now, so yeah - thanks CLA! - RAISES/PROMOTION: You can progress to Senior without a CPA like most CPA firms, but that's not CLA has been doing. If you don't have your CPA, are near completion, then they overlook you for promotion. Some groups, it's not worth being promoted because you have a title but don't do the work of a Senior. Raises are a joke - 3 -4% annually. You're not even on par with the newbies coming through the door. The new hires make more than you do after you've been there for 2 years. When I started there were Seniors making slightly more than me ($1K - $2K more - pathetic). - TURNOVER: The turnover is very, very high. I've watched people come in and leave within two months of starting. Very few stay more than a year, less stay more than two, and it's a miracle if anyone is there more than three.