Opportunities to learn a lot but slow career and salary progression - Anonymous employee BDO Employee Review

2.0
24 June 2021
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- I've been working with good people in my team so far; teammates are willing to offer help when I ask for it. - Steep learning curve, at least for the first 1.5 years or so.

Cons

- Workload has increased significantly since the end of last year due to BDO winning new clients, but size of staff has remained relatively stagnant. Therefore, current staff had to work much longer hours to complete deliverables. - Despite the increased revenue from new clients, salaries of most employees (especially the junior staff) have not increased much. This appears to be one of the main causes of the staff retention problem the firm has. - Career progression pathway for audit trainees is too rigid, mainly only focusing on the ACA. Progression is quite unclear if one has decided to take a different work-related technical qualification outside of accountancy qualifications. - Performance review process is too rigid and convoluted, meaning that individual employees are not accurately evaluated and rewarded based on the actual hard work they've done.

Explore other reviews about BDO

5.0
30 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I like my team a lot

Cons

No cons really sometimes long work

3.0
3 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Not everyone will be your person, but the ones who are, you'll keep them for life. The intensity of the work forges real bonds. When you go through the grind together, those friendships/mentorship stick long after you've moved on. Same goes for upper management.

Cons

During busy season (approx Jan to April), 40 hours is a floor, not a ceiling, and that's pretty standard for firms of this type. On the consulting side, you're constantly juggling multiple clients with overlapping deadlines, so if time management isn't your strong suit, you'll feel it fast. Compensation is solidly middle-of-the-road; don't expect it to wow you.

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