Pros
Great learning opportunities - firm has a relatively diverse set of clients (verity of industries) and during your time articling you will be able to work on a variety of engagements (T1s, bookkeeping, NTRs, Reviews and Audits). You also have the potential to work on ASPE, ASNPO and IFRS clients while preparing the financial statements and tax returns for these engagements.
This exposure will allow you the opportunity to become well rounded if you push yourself.
If you get an offer from BBLLP, consider it but know that you’re time articling
Cons
The biggest issue at BBLLP is the fact that there is an overwhelming cloud of fear for those people who aren’t in the inner circle of those with power in the firm. If you aren’t one of those people who is the apple in the eye of the key decision makers your going to find that basically every day from the end of your first month until you get your letters you are going to be afraid that you will be fired.
If you make it to the CFE you will most likely have seen at least a couple of your closest friends get fired out of the blue as well as 3-4 other people in the office. Even during your CFE leave you probably aren’t going to be sure of your employment status when you come back. In 2012 and 2013 the firm fired someone on their first day back from UFE leave and in 2017 the firm fired multiple people during their CFE leave. The good news is that most of your other co-workers will share the same fear and you’ll be able to bond over that.
The next biggest issue is the fact that managment/partners generally don’t want to take the time to train you and basically leave the majority of training in the hands of the CPA program. Most of the manager’s typically won’t want to spend more then a few minutes to go over technical issues on a file and would rather refer you to the handbook. Senior staff are typically informed if they spend too much time helping junior staff develop. Effectively if you want to become technically strong at BBLLP you will have to be able to teach yourself. This is a reason why the CPA passing rate is lower then other firms is that you really aren’t going to get the firm resources while you are studying except for a couple case reviews prior to the CFE. Other then that your help is going to come from those who are willing to help you completely unpaid as the firm won’t allow staff to spend any time assisting staff with their CPA modules.
Partners and managers will then try to use you as a pawn in an attempt to prioritize their own files. You will have a partner come up to you and ask you to get something ASAP, then in your performance review you will be told that you need to push back against the partners/managers. In the event that you do push back against managers or partners to prioritize other files, you will likely be told that you have attitude issues.
Another major issue is manager inconsistancy. In any given period you will have files for 2-4 different managers and you will grow to learn that each of those managers has specific ways they want a file prepared (occasionally the partners will have similar desires). This means that you’ll have to learn 6-8 different ways to prepare a file and have to keep that in mind while your preparing the file (depending on who is reviewing, one mistake may lead you to be treated as if you are an idiot). The majority of the managers aren’t great leaders and most of them won’t help develop you, most of them are just concerned with making their files come in at/under budget and on time, staff development isn’t on the radar and even if it was, I’m not sure that most of them would know how to help. Once you are away from the firm for a couple years you’ll see the massive inefficiencies and learn how not to be a leader based on the way that some of the managers treat staff. You’ll also feel better about yourself as you begin to realize that the managers who make you feel like an idiot usually have significant technical deficiencies that they aren’t capable of seeing or addressing themselves.
The final issue is that this place run you down and wear you out and then complain if your work slips. When business is good and things are busy the mandatory OT is going to kick in. This is normal for many firms in public practice, the thing is that as you continue working and you get a bit more tired and your productivity slips, you will be chastised for going over budget on files. Unltimately you have to make a decision, report your actual time and fear getting fired for being a poor performer, or start eating time to make your hours look good again and due to the mandatory OT this means that your 10 extra hours a week will become 15 then 20 as you get run into the ground. And then there is a good chance that they will fire someone in April and increase everyone else’s hours in order to compensate. Ultimately before you leave, one way or the other, the firm will draw every ounce of energy they can from you and then ask why you weren’t more efficient.
