Pros
Staff at Tanner do learn considerably more about tax and the accounting industry as a whole than their big 4 staff counterparts. Tanner has a unique team of specialized groups that make it a more complex and interesting Utah based firm to work for.
Cons
1. Hours expectations were unclear, unfair and unorganized. The firm failed to set realistic expectations each busy season, and then had to take corrective action in the weeks leading up to deadlines. Tone was reprimanding and upset, meanwhile staff were blindsided and confused due to lack of communication on projects and hours at the beginning of the season. Management expects staff to accurately sense and predict the amount of billable time each week during busy seasons, which is unreasonable. Tanner has a very busy, unorganized Spring, followed by the expectation to work 90% billable all throughout summer, and an even busier Fall due to excess workload and limited staff. 2. Hiring practices have severely diluted the firm culture and effectiveness in recent years. Negative Big 4 attitudes are spreading within the firm with the addition of many Big 4 managers and some Big 4 partners. Quick and quantifiable turnover at staff and manager level is causing breakdowns in teaching and understanding of firm processes, procedures, and best practices. Managerial unwillingness to understand, help with, or learn new firm processes or software functions creates a gap in effectiveness between staff and managers on projects. 3. Specific individuals both at Partner level and within the firm management are massively problematic, confrontational, and offensive in their actions and language. This unprofessional misuse of position and power can lead to an unsafe work environment. 4. Feedback systems at Tanner are broken. Data is poorly or incorrectly gathered and analyzed related to performance. Hasty, lazy, and incorrect conclusions are drawn without further study of data and points, or comparison to others in similar positions. Anonymous downward feedback systems serve as an unprofessional venting outlet that’s poorly timed, and prone to dishonesty and retaliation, and can lead to massive unjustified negative impact to an individual’s career. Upward feedback opportunities are limited and dangerous in nature due to a difficulty to remain anonymous in a position below those who have direct control over your position. Managers and partners are often unwilling to accept and respond to non-anonymous constructive criticism in productive, mature, and effective manner. 5. The compensation is below industry standard by a significant amount after initial salary offers. Intern and new staff offers are competitive, but Tanner is not competitive in year to year increases and promotional raises. Salary as an experienced staff was extremely similar to salary offers made to new staff starting in the current year. 6. Firm promotes prioritization of CPA certifications in word while recruiting, but the opposite in deed. It’s quite difficult to find time to study for and pass exams when working at Tanner. Long hours start early February, and end April 15th, but a 90% utilization (36 billable hours a week) firm goal during summer months, which often leads to more than 40 hours in office during non busy seasons, followed by a quick ramp up in hours again starting mid August until mid October make free time for study rare, and often at the sacrifice of sleep and other healthy habits. Firm meetings after Fall busy seasons even include language advising staff put CPA study in last place on their list after finding any and all other avenues for their time, clearly indicating the expectation that all studying is done outside of normal hours. While not studying at work may be normal, the expectation set by the recruiting team and firm going into Tanner as an employee was that summers would be slow, and off or non-productive hours would be best used studying, and there would be plenty of time to pass CPA without too much stress. 7. The system for coaching and mentoring at Tanner is nonexistent. The firm requires that staff schedule and build the itinerary themselves for coaching and mentoring meetings, which often leads to a lack of coaching and mentoring meetings altogether. If the staff does not take sole and primary responsibility for coaching and mentoring meetings, they will not happen, and there will be no support. The meetings are often aimless as well, as the coach/manager/partner mentors involved come without preparation and have no goals or plans for staff when entering the meeting, and no desire to help with the goals staff set themselves.