Pros
Overall, Sikich is a mid-size accounting firm that is rapidly growing - mostly through mergers. Management's goal is to lead Sikich to being a multi-service firm that provides everything from tech services, auditing, taxes, consultation, etc. I have done mostly auditing during my time; so my comments are based on my experience with the CPA practice. Perhaps the best benefit to working at Sikich is that you get exposure to a lot of high-level accounting projects early in your career. With auditing, you get to work on a lot of areas for several types of clients. In my opinion, this is some of the best accounting experience you can get, especially if you're right out of college. I am very satisfied with the leaders of Sikich. They have clear goals over the direction and growth of the firm. Overall, I believe they value their employees and if you work hard, I believe management will work with you to give you the career you want. One of my favorite things about working at Sikich is that you're allowed to work fairly independently. You don't have someone constantly looking over your shoulder. This allows you a certain amount of comfort and independence in trying to figure out new things. The firm will invest in you and help you to grow. They offer a reimbursement program for taking the CPA exam. All new hires are assigned a mentor. If you ask for certain opportunities (such as wanting to work within a certain industry), I believe management will work with you to the best of their ability. Raises are pretty good, especially after you have a couple of years under your belt. The workspaces are very nice in all the offices I have been to. The best benefit is time off. Starting in 2018, every employee gets approx. 4 weeks. There isn't an official limit on vacation days; but 4 weeks is the guideline. Parental leave is also pretty generous. Fathers get 3 weeks of paid paternity leave. Mothers get 12 weeks. Overall, I feel that the worklife balance is pretty good for a public accounting firm. My guess is that most staff work about 50 hours/week during busy season and 40-45 hours/week during the rest of the year. Turnover isn't quite as bad as it is at other CPA firms.
Cons
By far, the biggest disadvantage to Sikich is their healthcare plan. Sikich offers only one plan - the high deductible plan. The premiums are about $100/mo if you're single (which isn't so bad); but those costs jump to $600/mo for family coverage. There are no co-pays, so you pay 100% of costs until the deductibles are met. Individual deductibles are about $3,000; and family are just over $5,000. So it's possible that between the premiums ($600 * 12 = $7,200) and deductibles ($5,000), health insurance can cost you over $12,000 per year if you're on Sikich's family plan. The 401k match is fairly basic at just 2% of your salary. Vesting is 20% each year; fully vesting after 5 years. At times, it can feel that the Naperville office gets too much attention. It's a little frustrating when many of the trainings and meetings are conducted live in Naperville, while the other offices have to watch them on a computer screen. Work gets a little more political once you get into the manager-level positions. Whenever the firm brings in outside talent at that level, it seems to ruffle some feathers with current managers. It can also be disheartening to watch certain opportunities go to the same few guys over and over again. One of my biggest peeves about Sikich is that they put a clause in their engagement letters that if a client hires a Sikich employee, that client has to pay Sikich a fee equal to 30% of that employee's new salary. This can limit an employee's options if they decide to leave Sikich.
