Considering that I was the project manager and was assigning tasks to my colleague, I thought that I should have led the overall development of the framework. Based on the discussion my colleague, my team member suggested that he has developed several frameworks in his past career life and that he wants to take a lead with developing the outline for this engagement. Ideally this was the responsibility of the project manager and I should have taken this responsibility. However, on second thought, I agreed that my team member had better experience developing best practices audit framework for large companies. I decided that I would let him take the lead on the engagement and that I would assist him as and where I can. He asked me to do a thorough research on various industry best practices frameworks. I readily agreed and started researching on audit frameworks. I researched on COBIT and COSO frameworks and developed gap assessment with these standards for the client. I brainstormed ideas with my colleague and while discussing my ideas he drafted an outline which used a combination of COSO and COBIT framework. This was an interesting experience for me since it could not envision that the problem at hand could have been best solved by combining two industry best practices instead of using one of them. Even though this could have solved the engagement at hand, it would still not be the best solution for this client. I had a deep discussion with my colleague and it seemed that uti
I have learned a ton about Microsoft Excel and a lot of basics revolving around internal controls, various financial statement areas and related testing, and the auditing process in general.
For the most part, my co-workers and management were great, but like any place there are a few bad apples.
If you do what you're supposed to do, there is plenty of room to advance. Compensation once you begin advancing seems to be more about who you know and who likes/dislikes you than the amount/quality of the work you put in, but it could be like that everywhere.
The hardest part of the job is managing the long busy season hours. If you have kids at home, this is much more difficult to juggle.
The most enjoyable part of the job is the co-workers. Most jobs come down to the people you work with, and like I said, for the most part, I work with some excellent people.
ProsLot of learning opportunities, ability to experience multiple industries, good overall office culture, very nice people, plenty of opportunities to get CPE while on the clock
ConsBusy season hours, scorecard system constantly in flux, compensation below average, expanding faster than they can hire staff, audit workspace often is slow/time consuming to use and you must use it
BDO was my first public accounting firm and I enjoyed my time there. Work was good and I learned alot. However, management is extremely poor. Training for associates is pathetic because it consists of bunch of videos which does not help with your work. Management is very focused on interns and in my opinion they don't pay too much attention to newly hire associates. Instead, they have high expectations from associates that have some experience and they set associates up for failure unless the individual learns on its own.
You would rarely get positive feedback and negative feedback would first be communicated to partners/directors group and then it will be communicated to you. Obviously, your performance will be judged based on those negative feedback without taking everything into consideration. Overall, you must be extremely proactive when working at BDO and over communicate with senior and managers in order to secure your place in the firm. Otherwise, you will be used in the busy season and then let go without any concrete reason.
ProsFree lunches, Flexibility
ConsPoor management, High expectations, pathetic training
self discipline and self motivation, willing to take up challenge and learn new things
Basically my work include the following:
1. in charge for several reporting engagements, as group auditor and component auditor respectively;
2. Prepare consolidation worksheet and draft the Group Financial Statement;
3.involved in integrated audit for SOX and financial statement audit;
4. involved in listed company audit, the Company is listed in main board of SGX;
5. in charge for small medium multinational companies.
6. Understand the business operations of different industry
7. Provide on-the-job training to the juniors
8. Draft system notes for companies' operations
In order to understand the business operations and get the useful information, I need to communicate and discuss with clients. As a result, my interpersonal skills will be improved.
As working in BDO LLP, I am not only gained experiences in auditing but also gained understanding in business operations by drafting the system notes of companies in different industry and communicate with the people involved in operation departments.
ProsFlexible working style and cooperative culture
Some perks are nice in some positions, but management is a mess
There are some great perks, such as remote flexibility and work/life balance for certain positions. That said, I don't think it makes up for the poor management within the firm. They pride themselves on their "entrepreneurial" mentality, but from what I learned, that's code for not knowing how to properly manage their business and staff. Additionally, most of the NYC office works in-office, whereas other offices are hoteling, so there is a more tight-knit culture in NYC. In turn, there is also a lot of drama within the office. They're in the process of making some tough decisions, particularly on the Consulting/Advisory side of the business and it is mainly due to poor leadership for the last decade or so. Hardworking employees are paying the consequences for management's bad decisions.
ProsWork/life balance for certain positions, no real issues with taking time off, remote flexibility, decent compensation
ConsManagement is all over the map, they pride themselves on their "entrepreneurial mindset", which is code for them not knowing how to properly manage
BDO Woodbridge commercial audit falls into the 2 stars category. This is a very bottom line driven group. The budgets and staffing are set at about half of what is normal in other public accounting firm based on my past experience at other firms. This is probably intentional to extract the maximum value from each job for the partners. Great for the partners, not great for the staff.
Regardless of your level, you will be constantly" earning your keep", the busier you are, the happier your boss is. I felt like I was chained to my computer for months, weekend work and busy season hours are mandatory for 4 months of the year, 1 month longer than at other firms or even a different office of the same firm.
The office functions like a small firm under the BDO name. There isn't any career development and management doesn't care about your wishes and wants, it's all about getting the job done the way they want it done and in the time they want it done while offering little in the way of guidance. You are a tool to them and nothing more.
ProsIt's a paycheck but you need to be a slave. They put on a good facade.
5.0
Receptionist/Assistant | Anchorage, AK | Sep 4, 2015
fun, supportive envirnonment
the motto at BDO was work hard play hard. they had a wonderful way of making everyone feel valued and appreciated. During Tax season the hours were long and they made sure their were opportunities to take a break. they hired a masseuse, they also provided lunch or dinner every night during Tax season. The partners never made you feel they were superior, they were very approachable and could talk to them about anything. They always had opportunity for job advancement as well as support any personal growth you were working on.
the hardest part was being part of a large national firm was Alaska is unique and we didn't always fit the everyday mold of the rest of the company. We had to make changes so that we could comply with the firms policies and procedures.
the most enjoyable part of my job was the people I worked with, I loved being part of the BDO family and loved making their job enjoyable as well
Prosalways appreciated, week off at Christmas to new years
Conshealth benefits Cigna was not the best for Alaska
Training" was terrible and then they expect you to perform from shoddy and very minimal time with a "trainer" with 0 errors.
If you ask questions, they repeat over and over how you should already know the answer and/or are very condescending in their reply.
Supervisor refused to answer questions about why errors were counted when there was no apparent reason for them to be errors.
Management is awful. Couldn't care less about you as a person. You are set up for failure, not success. Billable hours are not enough to achieve the goals.
Nobody wants to know anything about anyone. I barely saw any human like quality from anyone.
If work isn't perfect they will put you on an "improvement plan" that is only for show. You will not actually have any way of being successful after this point.
The only reason I even gave this place one star is because it was required.
As another reviewer said, STAY. AWAY.
I guess some people like it there, may depend on the group you work for. Support teams seem to have it a lot easier. Regardless, the people that work there are not smart, the wrong people get promoted and are in senior roles - they get a lot of people that get laid off from the big 4. Compensation is so bad it was hard to even live off the paycheck. Bonus is a joke. Extremely bad benefits - very high healthcare plan, no discounts whatsoever. PTO turned for the worst after last year when they changed the PTO bank policy that you basically can't keep more than 12 days before you stop accruing. They did this because this place is a revolving door and they didn't want to pay out employees.
Save your time and go to another firm, if you must be in a tax/accounting. Even smaller firms, who BDO refuses to admit are their competition, pay more than BDO does.
The seventh largest accounting firm with offices in major cities around the country. A typical day involves meeting with my supervisor to review that day's problems, and helping the accountants on operating their computers. Later on, the company up graded their company hardware and software.
Management had an open door policy some that we were able to quickly resolved any problems.
This position had the largest pool of employees (over 100) so it was a challenge to remember everyone's name.
The most enjoyable part of the job was when a senior accountant took a personal interest in my career and advised me on what I needed to succeed.
ProsPart time position that allowed me to finished my education.
"Honest feedback: No regrets (by means of both good and bad) who joins from AA"
You know all the pros and cons by heart and not much of difference, hence just go straight to suggestion for mngmt:
-Honest communication : Heard a lot of complaints and gossip among peers, but nobody even dare to speak the truth because they're afraid of offending the superiors. Employee always sweet-talk / give feedback to superior with what superior would like to hear, which is totally not the facts. A lot of issues are swept under the carpet, everybody is avoiding honest communication just to survive their job and most of them think is useless as the mngmt will not care. How will the management strive to improve when there is no safe platform for employees to voice out their concern? Management always seem to care, but no proper action taken to adhere this main problem, deal with this first to retain more staff?
- Suggest upward appraisal for mngmt to understand soul-less employee better, not just rely on the unfair "self appraisal" when everyone's expectation to others is very different and bias at time.
- Communication style: Remember the Telephone game? Please update the whole group rather than just the in-charge to prevent miscommunication, even intern shall be included. Don't expect wonders from those assisting roles when always only in-charge was being updated by superior. Don't always play the blaming game (so sick of this..), but find a solution to work towards the common goal. A lot of time wasted just to be angry towards each other but not coming toge
Very long time employee, left because of pay and opportunity. No support from management.
I was a very long time employee of BDO Canada. Over 10 years. Every year and every review, I was told that I was one of the hardest working, one of the most experienced, one of the most knowledgeable, most reliable and accommodating team member. I did everything including working off-hours (sometimes for free), travel as far away as 300 km (one-way) to other offices and bring in my own personally purchased equipment to give to people in the office so they can function.
For years, I was passed on training opportunities and job advancement. I watched them hire talent from outside to be supervisors and managers. I watched for years as they played favorites giving opportunity to those who, frankly, were not as experienced or knowledgeable.
All of my concerns were pushed to the side and none were addressed ever. I don't even believe my concerns were ever put on record. I reported to management that someone made a sexually inappropriate comment to me and nothing was done. I reported to management that some partners in the firm were using abusive and foul language towards me and nothing was done.
There is no work-life balance working in the department I worked in. I was expected to work off-hours and was never approved for overtime pay. Management is selfish only concerning themselves with how they appear to the director and not how the team, as a whole, is doing. Anything you want to be proactive about, your concerns will be pushed to the side as low priority and escalating the
ProsEmployees are generally very good and friendly, Lots of freedom to come and go as long as you are on top of your work.
ConsVery low pay, Work independently following only written documentation, Very little to no guidance, Daily quota on tickets resolved, Major entitlement issues from senior level staff
Не рекомендую БДО Центерс на Контрактовій Площі.
Пояснюю чому :
Даній фірмі до BDO Germany дуже далеко.Компагія німецька а стандарти українські.Багато непорядку на всіх рівнях.
Hr Катерина Крівозуб взагалі WARNING!, бо розказує казки на співбесідах,щоб заманити людей , маніпулює багато.
Приклади :
1.Розказувала,що за 3 місяці можливе підвищення зп ( виявилось неправдою).
2.Казали,що треба тільки відкрити ФОП, а решта :податки і різні нюанси - фінансовий відділ займається.В результаті на практиці ти сам вишукуєш інформацію про ФОП,платиш все і тд . Фінансовий відділ помагає тільки якщо дууже попросиш.
3.Затаїли інформацію,що в фірмі треба ходити тільки в офіціцному стилі кожен день.Це я вже взнала по факту,на місці.
4.Затаїли інформацію,що прийдеться відвідувати інтенсивні курси з німецької мови мінімум 3р на тиждень по 2,5год в обов'язковому порядку в позаробочий час.Казали,що оплачують курси .А коли я звільнялася,то хотіли здерти з мене повну вартість за ті курси🤣,але їм не вийшло тому що я знаю свої права.
5.Коли я звільнялась, вони влаштували нервотрьоп і розказували мені яка я погана ,замість того, щоб розпрощатися мирно. І я перший раз взагалі за 3 місяця роботи дізналася,які в мене показники, і що для них виявляється важливо кількість тікетів(кейсів),які ти зробив.Якби мені про ціль сказали на почалку,або хоча б в процесі ,то я б цю ціль і реалізовувала,а так то ніякої конкретики не було ,і мені давали завдання поза тікетами теж,а вкінці претензії ще 🤣🤣🤣.Короче ба
I invested a couple years of my life into the Burlington Office. This is a very disorganized, unencouraging, depressing office with no staff morale. They promote based on amount of time worked there, not quality of workmanship. So while someone is overqualified for a management position, a lesser individual will get it if they were hired before you. If you aren't involved in the Audit side of the Firm, forget about the Partners caring about you. The Small Business Group, Tax and Administrative Departments are run by monkeys. The Managers/Supervisors of the above are a joke whom are unhelpful, and have very little knowledge of what their staff do. The Firm caters to Partners, Audit Managers and Audit staff. Job security is virtually non-existant in this office. I saw countless hard-working staff in every department lose their jobs because the Partners could not hold clients. There is unrest in the Administrative department due to people who have worked their too long and won't change their ways. If you're a young professional in this office - forget about voicing your opinions, ideas for the firm. Under the age of 35 and they don't care about you. Compensation is significantly lower than that of other firms and they justify this on the economy. Having an issue with work/personal/coworker? Need to talk to HR? Forget about it. The two HR people at the Burlington and Mississauga office (they work between both offices) do not assist in any way at all. They will give attitude to an
Fosters growth both in the professional and personal aspect
I started with the firm fresh from the board examinations, and I believe that I could not have chosen a better field of practice. Being an external audit associate allowed me to grasp not only the standards and practices related to financial reporting, but the businesses and its processes and the external and internal factors affecting them. Having been assigned to diverse industries such as rural banks, financing companies, cooperatives, schools, hospitals, manpower services and even non-government organizations, I was able to gain a general understanding of the business processes, products, services, financial reportorial requirements, and the laws and regulations unique to each industry. Moreover, since our audit engagements are conducted with reference to the internal control procedures in place, we were also able to obtain a general understanding of the internal control concepts.
Moreover, our job entailed traveling and meeting various individuals and different levels of management thereby allowing us to strengthen our interpersonal skills. We were also trained to use our professional judgment, be detail-oriented and deadline-oriented, bring initiative at work, value integrity, and be committed with the responsibilities at hand. However, even if we had to work with an audit team or independently, we became each others consultants in the completion of our individual assignments. Indeed, it was a challenging job in that we needed to deliver even under pressure. But at t
BDO is a firm at which you can grow a career and express your abilities comfortably.
Work begins at 8.00 am. Everyone wears a bright smile as you enter the office. We get to work immediately and take a short break at 10:30 am, we continue with our work which is highly intereactive as we work in teams. At 12:30 pm we go out for lunch and return at 2:00 pm. Usually we go out with colleagues. We continue our work until 17:30 pm unless if there are key assignments that require overtime for completion.We work at clients' premises as well as our premises which gives a good switch in environment.
I have learnt to interact with people from various cultural backgroungs and different languages as we use English and Portuguese officially and we have workmates from all aver the world.
Management is very welcoming. We have an open door policy and a good platform to comunicate effectively. Management paarticipate in the work giving a good impression of teamwork.
Co-workers are generally friendly, they are keen to learn about new stuff and they help a new person settle in smoothly. In simpler words, they make one feel at home.
The hardest part of the job is when the clients are not prepared for the audit and information is everchanging during the audit as they try to update their financial statements. That may imply that as auditors we have to redo some tests, change our extent of testing and be very vigilant to avoid errors.
The most enjoyable part of the job is we travel a lot, we get to interact with many different people and we are exposed to various ind
ProsFree breakfast, Free lunch (when at clients), Free medical care, Communication Incentve
I started with BDO with little administrative experience but was able to show them what I am capable of doing via a temp position I had.
As each year progressed, more responsibilities were given to me as they saw that I am a self-starter, able to complete projects with minimum or obscure directions and multi-task.
Like any professional services company, BDO is not an organization that will hold hands. They will patiently work with you as you navigate through your responsibilities. However, you have to take personal ownership for your job.
Despite being an admin, I've been able to talk to partners and managers about career concerns. Cannot promise that this is the norm but a lot of people in the company are approachable. Not everyone, so you have to be wise in who and how you manage professional relationships in the company.
Also, the company offers work life balance to their support staff as well. Although a lot of people frown on it, as long as you can show that you can perform you work load without putting undue strain on the company, they are open to some flex arrangements.
For me, the downside was that a lot of admins perform some tasks that seem to be more along housekeeping than in just maintaining the look of the office. Then there are some people who see the administrative staff as second-class but that is on an individual basis rather than the whole office or company.
ProsAllows you to grow, a good number of people in management are approachable, benefits, work/life balance
ConsSome of the client facing professionals treat the administrative staff as second class citizens
During these three years, I started to work in an assistant position and after two years I became Senior in that company and I learnt this skills:
I have learnt a lot about teamwork, leadership, responsibilities and meeting set deadlines. I am self-motivated and analytical and I have excellent communication skills and capacity to work with multidisciplinary teams. I am able to assume multiple tasks and to take responsibility of the issues with a minimum of supervision. I show ability to work in a target driven environment, under tight deadlines and on my own initiative. I have developed leadership and coaching skills and a strong capacity of effort and overcoming. I demonstrate commitment and professional behaviour.
As of today, I have acquired a general overview of the day-to-day operations of companies of different industries (Services, production and tertiary sector) as I have been in charge of developing the audit strategy for all of them.
Cash and short term deposits; Fixed assets and Intangible assets; Investments; Prepayments and deferred charges; Inventories; Trade receivables; Trade payables; Debts due within one year or within more than one year; Equity; Taxes; Provisions; Income (interest and dividend income) and Expenses (interest expense, Dividend expense on securities sold, Management fees, Administration fees, Audit fees, Professional fees, Performance fees and Directors’ fees).
When you start you're promised the world - training, room to grow, opportunity for education. What I got was not entry level, but a full-on corporate account with no training on the software nor explanation on what information is needed. There is no manual, no formal training, just dive right in and fend for yourself. The first person helping me was patient and could explain well, but he quit because the company screwed him after writing his UFE, and didn't offer the raise nor promotion he was promised. The next manager who was hired from the outside couldn't train nor had any patience.
The software was not always smooth and needed tweaking, or remapping, but the manager would do it quickly in front of you "you won't need to know this" - but eventually you do or else you're always asking for help. Time is money, so you can't ask questions as you go, because you're taking time away from someone else who is charging time on a client.
The partner that came in a couple times a week does not chat, nor even say hello as he walked by.
There are peaks and valleys - the hours you work overtime at tax time can be taken during the summer as flex time which is terrific, but when there is no work there is nothing to do but file, read. There was no work for weeks and they wouldn't train me on anything new. I got laid off for lack of progress. But there were no files to do. I hope all their business leaves for bad service.
ProsExcellent benefits, RRSP matching after a year; Flexible hours
ConsNo training, no communication
Questions And Answers about BDO
How are the working hours at BDO?
Asked Aug 3, 2016
8:30am-5:30pm with 1 hour for lunch. During busy seasons you are require to work a minimum of 55 hours per week including at least 6 hours every Saturday.
Answered Aug 2, 2017
70-75 during busy season at times but usually closer to 60
Answered Apr 23, 2017
What is the most stressful part about working at BDO?
Asked Feb 8, 2017
Busy season demands.
Answered Aug 15, 2017
Multiple clients.
Answered May 7, 2017
What tips or advice would you give to someone interviewing at BDO?
Asked Aug 7, 2016
Be very prepared
Answered Nov 18, 2019
Be professional.
Answered Nov 28, 2016
After the final interview, how long does it take to know if you passed or not?
Asked Sep 21, 2017
Less than a month
Answered Aug 26, 2019
I knew instantly.
Answered Mar 21, 2019
What questions did they ask during your interview at BDO?
