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WithumSmith + Brown

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WithumSmith + Brown Reviews

3.8

75% would recommend to a friend

(523 total reviews)

Patrick Walsh

95% approve of CEO

72% positive business outlook

WithumSmith + Brown has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 523 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The WithumSmith + Brown employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Finance industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

523 reviews
1.0
29 Aug 2018

Honest review

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Technology: both software and hardware are top notch... voice-mail gets sent to e-mail, nice laptops and monitors, choice of laptop bag, universal docking stations in all offices, all websites that an employee needs access to are pre-loaded to favorites. Office: The newer offices in East Brunswick and NY are nice. Princeton is really outdated and sterile but does have a shared gym and cafeteria. Marketing: The marketing team is a beast. They want to be in the forefront of everything and do a great job. They can be difficult to work with ironically in their 'support' function, however. Lots of small incentives. Great staff that plan fun activities during busy season. Monthly $50 cell phone stipend. Bagels and fruit delivered weekly. Well-organized busy season catering menu. Annual awards recognize efforts. Choice of tax season sweatshirt gifts.

Cons

Despite lots of positives, there are some very powerful people here that want to keep the power for themselves. They therefore hire and retain only the employees that follow like sheep and are not perceived as a threat. Lots of turnover...Partners fire competent staff as soon as tax season is over so that they don't have to pay them. They then rehire from their massive intern pool for the next busy season. Employees fired without notice for political reasons (someone above them doesn't like them! or because they've pointed out mistakes that partners have made in the past, or because they are viewed as a threat because they are competent!) Hours are the same, if not worse, than Big4. Jobs are not budgeted properly, so workloads are excessive and mistakes are made frequently and not caught until the following year. Partners ignore the mistakes because they don't want to deal with them.

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WithumSmith + Brown Response
7y
Thank you for the review . We value your opinion. In response to your comments, we have one of the lowest involuntary turnover percentage rates in the accounting industry. We pride ourselves in hiring and retaining the best and brightest talent out there but we also take great pride in our culture. Our hours are comparable to the Big4, but with our flexible work policies, all of our team members are afforded the opportunity to succeed in our firm.
1.0
5 June 2018

Should have stayed at Big 4

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Nice people to work with at the staff level

Cons

Hours were similar to Big 4 but I learned less; The firm has very poor mentoring (my peer mentor never spoke to me and my counselor had no idea where my performance stood); management has their favorites and it is extremely cliquey; very unprofessional with things that go on personally between employees in the office

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WithumSmith + Brown Response
8y
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. The firm prides itself in providing everyone with the same tools and opportunities to learn and grow, while treating everyone with the same level of respect and professionalism. With over 40 years of success, we have and continue to build our firm through our learning & development strategies, coaching program and leadership training. Wishing you success in your future endeavors.
1.0
7 Oct 2023

Get everything in writing

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Pay was comparable to big4. Growth is very possible if you are willing to put in insane hours and are lucky to work on a large and consistent client. People are relatively friendly. “Unlimited” PTO can be good if allowed to use it.

Cons

Constant Breakdowns in Communication: Throughout my time at this company, there were persistent issues with communication from start to finish. When I initially joined it was as a remote employee, I later found myself being asked to come into the office every week, which posed difficulties given my family and health concerns that were never considered by management. In addition, it is worth noting that despite being asked to go into the office regularly I did not work on any of the same clients as those in that particular office. Clear communication on remote work expectations is crucial. Unfulfilled Promises: Several promises made during the interview and hiring process were never fulfilled, including the type of work, the availability of necessary resources and bonus eligibility. Ensuring that expectations set during the hiring phase align with the actual job is essential for transparency and employee satisfaction. Unexpected On-Call Expectations: One surprising aspect of the job was the requirement to have email on our phones, effectively creating an always on-call environment. This should have been communicated prior to hiring, and the company should consider covering the costs of upgrading phones to meet their standards to avoid unexpected expenses for employees. They did provide a $25 reimbursement per check which would take 1-2 years to actually get reimbursed. Inconsistent Work Assignments: Management's approach to assigning work was inconsistent. On one day, they would emphasize that they are solely responsible for task allocation, but the next day, they expected employees to actively seek out more work. To add to this if you didn’t hit the arbitrary billable hours, you would be reprimanded even though they were aware of how many hours you were scheduled for several weeks in advance. Clear and consistent guidelines are necessary to avoid confusion and frustration among employees. Lack of Clarity and Training: The company lacked adequate training, leaving employees to navigate processes and tools on their own. When questions were asked I would either be ignored or sent in an endless circle of asking the next person in the chain. It's important to provide comprehensive training to ensure that employees are equipped to perform their tasks effectively. Additionally, there should be clear expectations regarding mentorship and coaching roles. Many responses on here mention peer mentors and carer coaches however, the peer mentor I was assigned had less than 1 year experience and the carer coach was dismissive of all issues brought to him. Communication Methods and Documentation: Communication primarily occurred through a messaging system and calls, rather than emails. Certain managers even refused to respond to staff emails, forcing us to rely on phone calls. This method of communication made it difficult to reference past conversations, leading to misunderstandings and allowing management to create false narratives to the detriment of employees.

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WithumSmith + Brown Response
2y
We appreciate you leaving a comment on Glassdoor. Withum is committed to providing each team member with a first-rate experience, and we appreciate your constructive criticism. To build relationships with team members both personally and professionally, Withum leadership fosters open and honest communication. This enables leaders to help their subordinates grow and to provide an open-door policy that encourages team members to ask questions and voice concerns. Withum is pleased to employ a group of qualified coaches internally that can guide all team members through a methodical process of in-depth questioning, attentive listening, and action planning to help them go from where they are to where they want to be through coaching sessions. Withum encourages its team members to take advantage of the many training programs the firm offers to expand their skill set as professionals. Our Learning & Development team provides a training toolkit which highlights training resources for all Withum teammates and technical training resources for our professional staff to make it easier for our people. All Withum team members are required to have a smart mobile device (i.e. smartphone), of their choosing, or if eligible a Withum issued smartphone if requested. Withum is a nationally recognized accounting firm that is consistently listed in the Top 25 and is experiencing immense success. We are always seeking ways to improve our firm and we welcome you to contact any representative from our Talent management team to learn more about your time at Withum.
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Glassdoor has 593 WithumSmith + Brown reviews submitted anonymously by WithumSmith + Brown employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if WithumSmith + Brown is right for you.