Where do I begin? While integrating firms (Lurie and EA) is never easy, I can’t imagine one being more poorly done than this one was. I could go on for hours about this. Let’s just say it wasn’t done well. And while EA is trying to grow fast through acquisitions, it hurts current employees. The training to get up to date on EA’s software and systems was somewhere between lacking and non-existent. If you’re a senior in college, I’d highly recommend Grant Thornton, RSM, or Clifton Larson Allen over EisnerAmper. While I don’t want to be too harsh, I’ll say there’s a clear skills and talent gap between the staffing at these firms compared with EisnerAmper. And the aforementioned firms have a much better client base to work with as well. While busy season will be painful wherever you go, EA will be far worse due to lack of direction and partners/managers being overwhelmed. Lastly, I’ll say that the DEI here is beyond over the top. While I understand a lot of firms are going heavy in this direction, I found all of the meetings we were supposed to attend to be a waste of time and demeaning. Most people just rolled their eyes at these, as they should. Basically all of the partners had their pronouns in their email signature, which is ridiculous. Other firms may be going in this direction as well, but it was beyond over the top at EisnerAmper. If I were coming out of college today and didn’t want to go to a Big 4 firm (not for everyone, and that’s fine), EisnerAmper would be very low on my list. You’ll get experience with better clients, more competent management, and similar hours (at worst) at just about any mid-tier firm (GT, RSM, CLA, etc). If you get turned down by these firms but still want to get your 3-5 years of experience in public before transitioning to industry, EisnerAmper may be right for you as a last option.
