Vault’s Verdict

Baker Tilly is ideally looking for motivated team players with strong problem-solving skills who are eager to learn and can learn from their mistakes. For students, the firm runs a valuable internship program that offers formal training, on-the-job training, and hands-on experience. For its full-time staff, Baker Tilly offers many growth opportunities, including formal and informal mentoring programs, many training offerings, and the ability to take on a lot of responsibility.

The firm places an emphasis on work/life balance, offering open PTO, hybrid and remote work options, and firmwide disconnect days. However, busy season hours can still be long and stressful. As for the firm’s compensation and benefits, salaries are said to be fair, if somewhat below the market average, while benefits generally get good reviews. The maternity and paternity leave, 401(k) plan, free food and snacks, and Summer Fridays are especially appreciated.

The firm also places an emphasis on diversity inclusion and is making a lot of effort in hiring, promoting, and retaining a diverse team. Still, the firm could stand to improve in this area. As for the firm’s business outlook, insiders have mixed reviews on Baker Tilly’s new leadership. While some say that there’s now too much emphasis placed on billable time and budget cuts, others have confidence in new leadership and believe the firm is well positioned to continue to grow.

EMPLOYEE REVIEWS

Hiring Process

“Very straightforward process. My interview process was three phone interviews only. An ideal candidate is one who shows initiative and is good at problem solving.”

“Our recruiting process is very organized and starts with an actual recruiter. Candidates then interview with some of the team members they would be working with. An ideal candidate for Baker Tilly is someone who shows they have an interest in development and working with a team, who presents themself professionally, and shows an interest in the firm culture.”

“Interview process was an introduction phone call, leading to a video call with two team members on different teams, leading to an offer. Overall, I thought the process went well and showed that the ideal candidate Baker Tilly is looking for is someone who is humble, dedicated, and willing to learn. They place a large emphasis on their training and values; it's all about finding the candidate who is willing to accept them and find their spot at the firm.”

“Interview process was smooth and streamlined. Same with callback process. I think the ideal candidate is willing to learn and take control of their future and career development. We want individuals who are self-motivated and hold themselves to the highest of standards. We want candidates who are willing to try and fail and learn from past experiences.”

Interview Questions

“What type of client or industry excites you to learn more about? There are many good firms to choose from, what are your deciding factors and the most important item you consider when choosing which firm will be the best fit for you?”

“Mostly behavioral. We might ask a basic technical question about transfer pricing regulations, but only to make sure we are interviewing someone with at least rudimentary knowledge of transfer pricing.”

“Why did you choose this firm? Why did you choose tax? Tell me about a time that you faced adversity? Tell me about how you solve a problem. Tell me about yourself. Where do you want to be in five years? What do you expect from the firm in terms of training, learning, support, etc.? Strengths/weaknesses, Name something you failed at how you reacted.”

“Tell me about a time when you worked on a group project that went well. What aspects contributed to the success of the project? Tell me about a time you faced an ethical dilemma. What did you do?”

Internship Experience

“The best part was the on-the-job training. I interned with the audit team, and they were great at explaining what needs to be done and helped with any questions I had. One negative was the training when first starting. The first week of training didn’t seem very helpful when it came to actually doing the job.”

“I got a lot of hands-on experience and got to work on the team that I became a full-time member of in the future. There were multiple times that I felt like I was being given things that were above an intern’s level, which was good and bad. I learned a lot but also got frustrated.”

“My internship was a wonderful experience, as it was offered in the spring semester of my last year of undergraduate studies. I worked approximately 65 hours each week beginning in January and ending mid-April. It was exactly what I was prepared for and learned so much about both audit and tax during that time.”

“The best part was getting exposed to the process of public accounting and getting some hands-on experience with prepping returns and attempting workpapers. The worst aspect was the training week(s) of the internship. It was stressful, and there was an overload of information and tasks. It seemed at the time you would start one thing and, before you could finish it, there would be more things on the list to complete.”

Career Development

“Career development opportunities are there if people want them. There are no shortages of resources to learn and develop. And there are no shortages of leadership and development opportunities. However, the partners and managers could be more proactive in pushing associates and seniors to take advantage of these opportunities.”

“You have a coach and a buddy, so you get advice and tips if and when you need them. And everyone here does a great job of informal mentorship. I’ve learned more from my teams and experiences with them than anything else. I think the firm’s formal training could benefit from having more specialized trainings.”

“The firm provides a lot of training opportunities and offers programs for professionals across the board. For example, there are eight-month learning programs for both new seniors to acclimate to the new role as well as experienced seniors. The only area where the firm needs to improve is in its mentorship programs. Only certain people at the firm can have mentors or mentees. There are groups trying to create a larger mentorship program, but to provide help for newer members of the firm, it would help to have a firmwide mentorship program.”

“The best part is you’re given a lot of responsibility, and you see a lot within the industry, allowing you to grow very quickly and become knowledgeable in many different areas within the industry. Worst would be that sometimes you can try and take on too much additional responsibility because there’s so much to learn wit in the tax industry, and it can feel a bit overwhelming at times figuring out what career development opportunities you should pursue.”

Quality of Life

“Best aspects: Work from home, time to study for CPA exam, generous PTO policy, great office, great people. Worst: Busy season, but that’s everywhere in public accounting. Hours still aren’t as long as at Big 4 firms, though—and I know personally because I used to work at one.”

“Open PTO is wonderful and one of the best aspects at Baker Tilly. The worst aspect is the hours expected during busy season and the unrealistic expectations set by upper management when talking about reaching charge goal hours.”

“Baker Tilly provides plenty of opportunity for work/life balance by recognizing national holidays off that most companies do not and with companywide disconnect days to provide additional three-day weekends throughout the year in addition to your earned PTO.”

“Pros: We are provided one extra day off throughout the year as part of Baker Tilly’s Disconnect Days program. Also, all Fridays are considered ‘freestyle’ days where you are not expected to have client meetings or meetings in general. Cons: The open PTO system Baker Tilly uses has flaws, primarily that I would prefer to have a set number of days each year that I have to use—as it is, I typically end up taking way less PTO than I otherwise would.”

Salary and Benefits

“Competitive pay, 5 percent of base compensation is automatically put into your 401(k) (not deducted from your paycheck but in addition to any deductions you may designate). Also: great work flexibility, generous PTO, decent bonuses, half-day summer Fridays. Remote work is nice too.”

“Salary is competitive. Benefits are great, especially 401(k) and health insurance. Perk of working from home full time is the best aspect.”

“The maternity and paternity leave policy is very generous if you choose to take advantage of it. The ability to work remotely most of the time is one of the main reasons why I am currently still employed by Baker Tilly. I wish pay increases matched cost of living increases.”

“I feel very fairly compensated, am able to work from anywhere in the U.S., and am not expected to go into the office. I am very thankful for Baker Tilly's 401(k) plan, as well as many other benefits. During our busy season we are provided lunch and dinner daily, and when it is not as busy, we have our collaboration days that also provide lunch. Hours are flexible, and vacation time is encouraged when there is availability for it.”

Wellness Efforts

“The firm provides access to certain applications that promote mental health stability. Also, there are groups that work together towards fitness goals. We have had trainings on proper nutrition.”

“We have office yoga every Tuesday as well as a wellness stipend that we can use each year. We also are provided with a local gym membership if we wish.”

“The firm does make wellness activities available, especially during busy seasons, but unfortunately these don’t often align with the schedule demands so it’s almost impossible to benefit from those. I would include more beneficial programs like daily gym time or small rest breaks with meaningful activities—not just presentations but actual activities like meditation or some game. It could just be 15 minutes.”

“Baker Tilly is strongly invested in our wellness, with a fitness reimbursement policy and ready access to on-site and off-site gyms. Participation in a regular course of personal fitness could be more strongly encouraged from the lens of healthy minds and bodies, an initiative that was presented when I started with the firm a few years ago.”

Diversity, Philanthropy, and Green Initiatives

“Baker Tilly puts a huge emphasis on the well-being of under-represented communities in our organization.”

“The firm places an emphasis on gender and ethnic diversity and puts forth a strong effort, but the results don’t show the extent of the effort. Part of this is due to the location of many offices and lack of overall ethnic diversity. In terms of gender diversity, firm has programs (GROW and SOAR) to aid with female professional development.”

“Baker Tilly is committed to hiring the best and brightest. I have never seen or heard of a single instance of people of different races, genders, or identities being mistreated or passed up for career advancement opportunities.”

“I think the firm does a great job being receptive and effective in hiring, promoting, and retaining diverse groups of individuals. We have a volunteer week to take time to volunteer and Giving Tuesday allowances to spend on charitable organizations we support and scholarships.”

Business Outlook

“The leadership in the local office is great and very supportive towards development, and everyone feels part of the team. Some of the perks and benefits we used to have a year or two ago seem to be getting phased out by the national leadership team.”

“Since our previous CEO left, I feel there has been a larger importance on billable time, layoffs, and budget cuts. I’m not sure where this leaves our firm in the future, but it does not appear good to most employees.”

“The firm is growing fairly rapidly and has endless opportunities for employees. But I think that employee morale has taken a dip since the prior CEO’s departure. For a long time, the firm promoted a change to busy season and billable hours, but then the firm made an about-face to that goal and went back to old-school public accounting approaches.”

“I think the economy over the next 12 months is still uncertain, which causes uncertainty for the firm's business outlook. However, I have confidence in our current leadership, particularly their diligence in sound financial management of the firm as a whole, so I believe the firm will do well and grow no matter what. The economy might just dictate how much the firm is able to grow in this period.”