Poor management and communication - Anonymous employee BDO Employee Review

1.0
10 Jun 2024
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I was well paid. The junior level staff is largely excellent. A week off between Christmas and New Years.

Cons

TLDR: Bad communication, bad management, no feedback, frequent layoffs. 1) Despite specifically asking about my on-boarding plan during the interview process and being assured there was one, there was not. My on-boarding plan was to read a 70 page legal document. I was never trained in a single task. 2) There is a culture of having lots of meetings, but decisions or action items are rarely determined in these meetings. I believe they are just to increase billing. I was told by junior staff they liked working with me because when I scheduled a meeting with them, they actually understood what the action items were, which was unique among people of my level or above. 3) I was lied to about receiving a bonus my first year. I was told to be eligible for a bonus in my first year, I had to join by a certain date in November. I set my start date specifically to meet this deadline, but I did not receive a bonus my first year. Had I known I would not have received a bonus, I would have taken more time off between jobs. When I raised this with my career advisor, he said he would try to resolve it, but he never followed up. 4) My career advisor was completely absent, often canceling check-ins at the last minute. 5) The circumstances of my departure were rude, cruel, and shady. My performance reviews had all been Successful, including my most recent mid-year review. Since that time, I had taken on numerous new responsibilities and a new project. I had developed what I thought to be was a good rapport with my project manager, and she was actively continuing to assign me new tasks and responsibilities. Then I was called out of the blue to inform me that I was being let go for performance reasons. I had never once received any negative feedback from my career advisor, and my project manager had indicated that I was largely succeeding in my role. I do not claim to be perfect, but I performed my work on time and accurately. I have no idea where this came from, and attempts to reach out to my project advisor to ask for clarification were ignored. I have since received out reach from many colleagues offering support, to indicate they believed I was treated unfairly, and that they would happily vouch for the quality of my work. 6) They had three layoffs in the 18 months I worked there. Not stabile.

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5.0
16 Apr 2026
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Pros

Learn good accounting concepts and people are nice.

Cons

Boring work unfortunately but it’s a job

3.0
3 Jun 2026
Recommend
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Pros

Not everyone will be your person, but the ones who are, you'll keep them for life. The intensity of the work forges real bonds. When you go through the grind together, those friendships/mentorship stick long after you've moved on. Same goes for upper management.

Cons

During busy season (approx Jan to April), 40 hours is a floor, not a ceiling, and that's pretty standard for firms of this type. On the consulting side, you're constantly juggling multiple clients with overlapping deadlines, so if time management isn't your strong suit, you'll feel it fast. Compensation is solidly middle-of-the-road; don't expect it to wow you.

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