Good place to learn and leave - Senior Associate Miller Kaplan Employee Review

1.0
12 Mar 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Seattle only. They will hire right out of college, and you'll learn a lot quickly. Lots of diversity in this office. This office only audits pension and healthcare plans, employee benefit plans only. The partner is really nice and tries to be helpful, you will likely work with her directly at times. The seniors seem to be very knowledgeable and helpful. Apply to payroll auditing only, Remote/Hybrid schedules. Stay away from the audit department in Seattle because of one supervisor.

Cons

Seattle - Audit only I'm going right for the worst part. Turner over and burnout. Because of one specific Supervisor. Oh, you'll know when you meet him. I know of minimum of 6 people who left because of his tactics of creating a hostile work environment, and if you try to stick it out, you'll end up on a PIP, which you know makes it so you're micromanaged and unattainable goals. Especially since you are working so much you can't work on the goals set. (The other supervisors are nice and explain things.) There is no manager in Seattle, must have your CPA for that position. HR and the Partner protect this toxic guy, he's some executives favorite so he isn't going anywhere. This is like an EEOC nightmare waiting to happen. Apparently, he is worth the legal hoops to protect him. He has been talked to multiply times and still no changes, at this point he knows exactly what to do to make the job hostile and you will get your mental health destroyed. I had to apologize to various associates over and over again for his horrible behavior and encourage with pep talks constantly, Myself as well. Everything is negative feedback from him, and it beats you down so much mentally. Notes left are ambiguous and make no sense, you'll have to hound him for clarification constantly, once he thinks you're unworthy of him he won't help you and will be constantly busy. Unless you play golf and are a dude, you'll not move up. This type of auditing is very hard to learn, It's still standard procedures but because these are pensions and health plans its more complex than even a normal 401k. Which only a few people get to work on the 401Ks which are easier to do. Mostly because they will force you to stay with the toxic supervisor. He has been doing theses audits with these same companies for many years. Yes, he is good at his job but mostly because he has worked on these audits for so freaking long. I've worked with such horrible bosses before so mentally I was able to stick through it for longer than most. Oddly, you will also be preparing tax returns 5500, and 990s which is like a brain switch from audit, and you'll probably do it incorrectly. These are filed with plans but it's just odd not to have tax associates doing it. There are no down times it is busy season all year long because the plans can have end dates any time during the year and they're understaffed. I do think everyone has to deal with a bad supervisor at least once in their life, here is your chance. Most of the associates are scared of him, and he has made every single one of them cry more than once. If you can stick it out, you'll be promoted but it takes at least 3 years and they have to like you, Standard favoritism. Raises were miniscule. Still have that good old boy tone on top. Tasks aren't assigned well, due dates and deadlines were not given, I don't know if that's better now. HR is a joke, don't even bother contacting them for help they are not there for you.

Explore other reviews about Miller Kaplan

5.0
12 Mar 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Experience depends on your team and manager. As a whole the company is enjoyable and it really is collaborative. Have made great long last relationships. Managing partner is an active member in the office and is always encouraging growth and development.

Cons

The department teams don’t have an equitable standard of expectation for people working in the same team. Someone who isn’t competent enough to know how to reconcile on Quickbooks Online (main software used) and makes frequent mistakes is never made accountable for the extra work they push on to more competent members.

3.0
16 June 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- First days: Everyone is patient with newbies. Partners, managers and supervisors all come up to chat and welcome if they see a new face - Audit: Great environment for Audit Interns and Audit Associates from my perspective. There is a ton of training on the job from very knowledgeable speakers - Office Location & Parking: Beautiful Burbank office with tons of snacks, easy parking. It's also in a highly walkable area that has good cafes and lunch options

Cons

- PAY & BENEFITS: The salary offerings and benefits are laughable for a firm this nice - Lack of Top-Down Motivation: If you want employees to participate in your initiatives, don't just talk the talk, walk the walk - Lack of flexibility: This heavily depended on the team you were assigned to, but generally people were expected to be in the office most of the time, for no reason other than just because leadership wanted it that way. Hybrid is an option, but it's not the most flexible and does not apply to everyone. This just felt odd to me in 2025. - Rigid criteria from management: Management is not entirely receptive to hearing out other departments. I was faced with plain stubbornness when working on collaborative projects with leadership - Lack of direct communication from leadership: I have had situations where I had to find out from third parties when leadership had feedback on a joint project, which created a very odd situation. Upon bringing this up, I was left on "read"

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