Vault’s Verdict

Calibre CPA Group is looking for well-rounded, intellectually curious team players with integrity, strong communication skills, and a passion for accounting. For students, the firm runs a valuable internship program, offering interns hands-on client-engagement experience. For its full-time staff, Calibre offers numerous development opportunities, including a strong onboarding process and a culture that stresses learning and growth. Some insiders note that formal training could be improved.

A healthy work/life balance can easily be achieved at Calibre. The firm understands that its staff have lives outside of work and is very flexible with schedules, even allowing for fully remote work options. Meanwhile, salaries, benefits, and perks are competitive, and insiders say that the firm rewards hard work and dedication. They also say that the firm offers excellent wellness offerings, including discounted gym memberships, free on-site gym, free counseling, nutrition education, access to various wellness apps, and more.

Calibre has an inclusive culture, and its staff is diverse with respect to race and gender. The firm is also focused on community support and charitable giving. As for the firm’s business outlook, it’s extremely bright. Calibre’s mission, growth strategy, industry reputation, and employee morale are all strong. And insiders say the new leadership team is reenergizing the firm.

EMPLOYEE REVIEWS

Hiring Process

“Phone screening followed by a second round in-office interview with two members of leadership. Calibre is seeking accomplished, intellectually curious individuals with integrity who are passionate about public accounting, the clients we serve, and team-based leadership.”

“Typically, the recruiters have a phone interview with candidate first to see if they truly do meet job qualifications and to get an idea of whether or not they are a good fit for the role. If they pass the phone interview with the recruiter, then their resume and phone interview is passed along to the hiring manager to review and decide if they'd like to proceed with a secondary interview. If this secondary interview goes well, then we typically send an Excel assessment to make a decision as to whether we'd like to proceed with moving forward with the candidate. If we are still unsure at this point whether, then a director may step in to do one final interview to make the final determination as to whether or not we should proceed with the candidate.”

“We are looking for strong communicators, good technicians, and well-rounded people to join the team. We have a few full-time recruiters that assist us, but firm professionals are very involved in the process. I see a significant number of referrals, which is a sign that employees recommend the firm to employees.

“I had a Zoom interview with two managers. It was meant to be 30 minutes but went a full hour because we all had a lot to say and they let me describe a lot of military stories that related to my job experience. It was a pleasant interview and did not feel an hour long. I believe the firm is seeking someone dedicated and can deal with clients—we need someone who will keep firmly but politely pressing clients for an answer/info/document that we need.”

Interview Questions

“What are your interests outside of work? What is an impactful event that happened in college or in your previous work experience that helped shape who you are today? Who do you look up to? Where do you see yourself in three to five years?”

“The interviewer asked me to describe what my college courses looked like. They asked me about some of my work experience prior to interviewing there. Then they mostly focused on getting to know each other and seeing if I was a good fit interpersonally.”

“Be ready to present situations in where your efficiency and problem-solving skills were tested. Discussing how you’ve dealt with stress is also important.”

“Could you please tell me a little about yourself and your values? What is most important to you in a work environment? What are some of your short-term and long-term career goals? What are you hoping to gain by working with our firm? What approaches do you use to build positive relationships with clients? How do you prioritize your workload? What techniques or tools do you use to stay organized? How would you describe your ability to work independently? Could you please tell us about your knowledge with Microsoft Excel? Can you explain the difference between relative and absolute cell references? Can you explain the purpose of a PivotTable?”

Internship Experience

“I got client engagement experience for the majority of my summer internship. I met wonderful people in the firm and at the client. I enjoyed the experience.”

“The best aspects of my internship experience was the client-site experience I gained during my time. There were certain activities such as a scavenger hunt that I didn’t enjoy all that much.”

“My internship gave me a very good basis for my full-time role. When I started full time, I felt like the material came easier to me the second time around and I was able to complete tasks well.”

“When I started full time, I already was familiar with testing and documentation aspects of the audit and was able to go to the same client I worked at during my internship and jump right back in.”

Career Development

“We have a dedicated employee that came out of our audit department from the manager position to head up our T&D space alongside a partner. They report to our Executive Leadership Team. She is a part of the onboarding process for all employees and is a big part of the first week of formal training for our audit department. They spend time on technical skills, computer applications, and power skills (soft skills). We have seen tremendous results from this investment in the quality of the work from our teams. She also spends time one on one coaching as needed/requested. In addition, our managers and partners spend a great deal of time each week working one on one with our staff and seniors relaying their knowledge and helping to serve our clients at a very high level. The firm has shown they are firm believers in acquiring and retaining talent, and if that talent is interested in another line of service we provide, they are definitely offered that opportunity.”

“My firm has given me every opportunity to improve myself and my career. They do not try to limit opportunities to only a select few favorite people—they are open to allowing everyone the opportunity to grow. I've taken every opportunity I can to train new staff, build stronger relationships with our clients and attorneys, and even set procedures for how we conduct audits for our clients. Although I haven't seen many people switch from one area within our organization to a new area, I haven't seen anyone express that they want to switch departments either. I initially wanted to switch when I joined my firm, but once I began working on compliance audits, I really loved what we did and didn't want to switch.”

“Best aspects are Calibre’s top-notch employees and the opportunities to learn and work with a variety of clients to jumpstart your career in public accounting. The firm promotes a culture of empowering employee growth and harnessing your individual career path. There is opportunity for cross functional opportunities between office locations that could help grow the firm without sacrificing client relationships or service quality.”

“Independent work environment and autonomy is very satisfying. Formal training is not a focus and could be improved.”

Quality of Life

“I appreciate the honesty with which the organization communicates the need for above average commitment to work during the peak times in order to complete the year-end requirements relating to audits, 1099s, close out of grants, etc. The CultureWise communications are also encouraging in that they emphasize the importance of cultivating a work environment of respect, integrity, hard work, creativity, and many other positive attributes that make for a very attractive work environment. I do not consider it a bad quality, but it is an extremely fast paced environment, and I appreciate the support of my managers in providing the resources, training, etc. needed to thrive (survive).”

“My firm leaves me to do my tasks and does not micromanage every task/project or demand to know what I’m doing every hour or every day. They trust that I’m completing my work, as long as I’m submitting work and submitting good quality stuff (i.e., no mistakes or fixes needed). I appreciate that I’m trusted to do my job like an adult without someone metaphorically hovering over my shoulder.”

“My firm understands that we have a life outside of work—they’re very flexible with our schedules and I’m even allowed to work fully remote, which has been a blessing for me after having a child and being able to move to be near family. They’re also very flexible, allowing you to make up time so you can go to doctor’s appointments and/or you need to start late/leave early. I really don’t have anything negative I can say about my firm’s quality of life because I’ve had nothing but good experiences with my firm on this aspect.”

“Best culture of any CPA firm I’ve worked at—approachable and involved leadership, diverse talent pool, flexible working arrangements, employee retention available benefits and resources from day one, reasonable hour requirements. As is common within the industry, workload infrequently seems top-heavy among mid and senior level execs.”

Salary and Benefits

“I have always felt that my increases were commensurate with the work I did. I felt like the firm recognized my accomplishments in a fair monetary way and encouraged me to continue to enhance my skills and move to the next level.”

“The firm provides competitive salary and benefits. The firm rewards employees for their hard work and dedication.”

“I am very satisfied with my salary. I have great healthcare, which I am truly thankful for. One thing I do wish we had on-site childcare, but I don't think this is something my firm is considering since I don't see that many others at my firm have children. They are very generous with their profit-sharing 401(k) plan, which excites me to see my 401(k) grow significantly every March (when they submit their profit-sharing contributions). Free meals and more employee discounts would be nice, but I don't often see this at accounting firms so that was never really a deal breaker for me. I do appreciate that they will pay for me to obtain my CPA while I work for the firm—I haven't taken that opportunity just yet, but this has always been available to me since I started here.”

“Health insurance is good. Premiums seem a bit pricey. However, the firm employs several programs to reduce healthcare costs and receive the best care available, which is unique to Calibre. Endless perks across discount programs, exercise programs, counseling programs, complimentary identity monitoring. Base salary at the staff level is on par with industry. Notwithstanding, the whole package in tandem with the firm’s culture and investment in its staff helps mitigate the average base and leaves promising room for growth as one progresses in their career with Calibre.”

Wellness Efforts

“Health Benefits, fitness center, wellness room, 401(k) contribution from day one of employment, assortment of snacks and coffee, excellent office location across from the metro, messages in the office and sent via email encouraging work/life balance, and respect for each other are all facets of a very positive effort toward promoting wellness in the staff.”

“The firm makes every effort to invest in wellness programs to benefit our employees. We have Caravan Wellness, which is an app to remind us to take short breaks and practice short exercises to boost our wellness. We have Garner Health, which is an opportunity to find ‘top doctors’ in our area for which they will cover our copays. And we have FirstStop Health, virtual healthcare that’s incredibly great for auditors who are always travelling. We have a discount program to get cheaper gym memberships, but I wish there were more gyms to select from in my area. They do have a free gym we can use at the office, but because I'm remote I don't have a free gym here to use.”

“Calibre wants the best of their people in and out of work. Discounted gym memberships, free on-site gym, free counseling and nutrition education. Leadership actively promotes taking full advantage of offerings available. Leadership walks the walk at Calibre, and members at every level promulgate wellness through action and encouragement.”

“A super wellness effort we have is allowing us to work remote and hybrid positions. So far, I have had the opportunity to take advantage of Financial Counseling.”

Community Engagement

“Calibre is excellent at creating a diverse and inclusive environment, welcoming people of all genders, races, ethnicities, LGBTQ+ individuals, those with disabilities, and veterans. We have strong philanthropic efforts, including community support and charitable giving, and our green initiatives show a real commitment to sustainability.”

“The firm is very diverse, with all races and genders at all levels of professional development. It appears that as long as you can do the work you will go as far as you want to go. The New York office is a little lacking on philanthropic practices and mostly leaves that up to the main office in Washington D.C.”

“Diversity practices are strong at Calibre. Team is composed of individuals assembling from every walk of life, irrespective of race, sex, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disabilities, vets, and so on. Calibre has different business resources groups to empower and sponsor various groups, including sponsoring events to promote awareness and team building.”

“My coworkers are a variety of races. They also seemed to be about evenly divided among gender too. And of course I see them as accommodating to military people like me. About once a month I have to attend a three-day weekend training at my base, so I need one Friday off per month to attend that. Legally, they must let me off work that Friday, I know, but they also offer me the chance to use a vacation day if I want to ‘double dip’ and get paid twice for those Fridays, from the military and from them.”

Business Outlook

“Company mission is strong. Industry reputation is strong. Employee morale is strong. Team profile is strong. Calibre is uniquely positioned as a top provider of CPA services to labor unions and employee benefit funds, a niche which is a strength, but also presents industry risk.”

“We recently had some changes in leadership, and I have seen tremendous growth in the firm since the changes. Sometimes a fresh take is needed to spark some energy, and there seems to be a lot more energy since the change.”

“Firm seems to encourage inclusion of all staff's involvement. Seems to be thriving financially, and aggressive about embracing those actions that lead to business growth, positive employee morale, and excellent customer service.”

“The company has a promising business outlook, strong competitiveness, high employee morale, and an excellent overall growth trajectory.”