Vault’s Verdict

Cherry Bekaert is ideally looking for positive, adaptable, collaborative, teachable team players who are eager to learn. For students, the firm offers valuable internships during which interns get real-world hands-on client experience while working alongside senior staff. For its full-time staff, the firm offers many career development opportunities. Notably, the firm pairs associates with career advisors who help guide professional growth and connect staff with opportunities aligned with their interests. 

Work-life balance is another strong suit. Insiders say the firm offers a flexible and supportive work environment, allowing employees to work remotely and maintain tailored work arrangements when needed. Generous PTO policies and an office closure around the week of July 4th further help work-life balance. However, the busy season remains intense at times, and some employees feel pressure to meet demanding charge-hour goals while coping with staffing shortages and growing administrative responsibilities.

Meanwhile, compensation is generally viewed as competitive but not industry-leading, and employees appreciate benefits such as health, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) plan, and support for CPA exam preparation. While salaries are described as middle-of-the-pack, staff note that the firm typically provides consistent annual raises and fair recognition for strong performance.

From a business outlook perspective, insiders say the firm is well positioned in the industry and is continuing to grow through acquisitions. Leadership is often praised, though some staff express concerns about heavy workloads, retention, and cultural shifts related to the firm’s private equity investment. Overall, the firm is seen as stable and expanding but facing growing pains.

EMPLOYEE REVIEWS

Quality of Life

• “Our firm provides flexibility in working from home, the office, as well as onsite at clients. We have a generous PTO policy in which we can take time off for vacations, family emergencies, etc. The office is closed the week of July 4th, which provides an opportunity for employees to spend time with their families and take a week vacation somewhere if they so desire.”
• “At my level, I feel I have flexibility to address personal matters during the workday if needed. It’s not a punch-the-clock atmosphere. Though, there is significant pressure to hit hours, handle growing administrative tasks, and bring in more work, all while we’ve continued to lose skilled and experienced personnel that have not been replaced. The firm goals on charge hours and contribution hours make it very difficult to be viewed as above average when it comes to year-end reviews, which is discouraging when I know I dedicate significant time to the firm.”
• “Our firm is very flexible regarding work-life balance. The only real stipulation is that you get your work done. If appointments or family matters need time or attention, then there are no big issues to allocate time accordingly. Total hours are not too high.”
• “They allow you to work from home two to three days per week. They also allow for tailored work arrangements (i.e., part-time or remote-work arrangements). On the other hand, busy season is too condensed. And sometimes we don’t have the right resources to support our teams and clients.”

Compensation

• “I believe the firm offers a competitive salary with various benefits, including health insurance, dental insurance, and vision insurance. We also have a 401(k) plan in which employees can build savings for retirement.”
• “The best parts are the sign-on bonus and credit towards CPA exam study material. The benefits are also great and we can choose how we would like to balance them out. I do wish the salary and sign-on bonus coming out of college were more comparable to other firms. I’ve heard from friends with similar experiences to me getting higher salaries and sign-on bonuses at other firms. However, I am still very appreciative of what I was offered.”
• “Accountants are overall underpaid for the amount of work they complete, but Cherry Bekaert does a good job ensuring there are increases year over year and people are compensated fairly.”
• “Salary and benefits are adequate but do seem to be middle-of-the-pack compared to the industry. Certain benefits such as PTO are generous.”

Career Development

• “The firm gives you what you put into your position. If you work hard and deserve recognition, bonuses, and other sort of accolades, the firm will recognize you for that and ensure that you’re given as many development opportunities as possible to keep you going.”
• “My firm has an abundant amount of opportunities and service lines. My peers and I have flexibility to dictate what niche we would like to work in, and we are able to change service lines to align with our career goals. The leadership of the firm is very supportive of career development and emphasize creating opportunities.”
• “It’s a very effective system, with regular meetings with your career advisor (generally an audit manager). Communication is clear, and it is evident from others where you’re excelling and where you still need to grow.”
• “There are ample opportunities for career development and growth. The firm pairs associates with career guides so that you always have a specific point-of-contact for growth and development questions, and we meet regularly to check in on progress and discuss any questions or concerns that arise. The career advisors also work with their advisees to help pair them with work in areas of interest or with opportunities to learn new skills or specialties. It’s a great program and has been really helpful, as I’m still early in my career. I think the only downside is that outside of your career advisor, the management structure is a bit difficult to get a grasp on. It can be a bit confusing at first on who to report to for various things.”

Business Outlook

• “Our leadership is amazing. They steer the ship and we have total confidence in their ability. We’ve also had tremendous growth. We are super successful as a firm and becoming more so each and every day.”
• “The firm has a strong market position, steady client demand, and continues to compete well by offering high-quality technical services. Employee morale can be challenged by heavy workloads, staffing constraints, and uncertainty around advancement, which may impact long-term retention if not addressed.”
• “We’re a PE-backed firm so I know the goal is to sell us for the highest profit ASAP. I’ve gone through one acquisition process already and that was rough, so I have concerns about how the next transition will impact non-ownership personnel.”
• “Waiting for the other shoe to drop with the private equity investment. This year alone Cherry Bekaert has acquired a lot of other firms and will spend money to do that but not invest in their own employees. A lot of good people are starting to leave because the culture pre-private equity is not the same as it is post.”

Intern Experience

• “Best part was to see real work and real tax returns. Training is great—you get to know different software. Also great is meeting people that have been in the industry for years; hearing about their experiences is valuable. The hard part was the time expectation for completing tasks. Being busy season, work was expected to be completed quickly, but that helped me to sense if I was able to handle that type of job.”
• “My best aspects of my time as an intern was being able to learn real-world applications and seeing live tax returns. I was not only able to understand and get insight from other seniors, managers, etc., but also was also able to take the concepts that I had learned in school and put them to use during my time as an intern. The real-world application is definitely different than the classroom, so having a taste of that was very exciting as well. I don’t really have any worst aspects of my internship experience, other that I wish it was longer!”
• “The best aspect was being able to complete actual client work. I was on an audit team and completed 401(k) audit testing, and that taught me a lot. The worst aspect was that I had to complete a rotation in tax during my internship, when I had already decided audit would be the path for me.”
• “I got exposed to lots of different clients, which was good, and I enjoyed working on a team. The only downside was just not having the knowledge to do some things, but I was able to ask my colleagues for help!”

Hiring Process

• “The interview was a simple process. Like any other job, you apply online and get a call back or email back to schedule for an interview. They responded back to me pretty quickly, and once the interview was scheduled, it was very professional and natural. I didn’t feel pressured or nervous on the call because they made me feel like I was an equal to them and someone who can bring value to the team. I believe our firm is looking for people who are well put together, well spoken, and someone who values growth and opportunities.”
• “Structured but friendly, focusing on getting to know candidates through conversations with professionals across the firm. Focusing on curious, team-oriented, strong communicators who are genuinely interested in public accounting. The ideal candidate is someone who is eager to learn, presents themselves professionally, and can adapt well in a collaborative environment.”
• “I really enjoyed my firm’s interview process. The callback process was quick and decisive. I thought the interviewers and questions were fantastic. I think the ideal candidate is someone who is willing to put in the work and someone who has a great attitude each day towards the work they’re doing—and, more importantly, towards the people they work with: coworkers and clients.
• “Cherry Bekaert is very diligent in their hiring process. When I went through the internship interview process, I had two interviews which were both very well done. I got to talk with a senior manager and a partner, and both of them did a great job of asking me hard questions while also building a friendship. During my internship, I got excellent feedback and it was not a surprise who got full-time offers and who didn’t. Ideal candidate: Someone who has a great attitude, is teachable, and wants to be a good team player.”

Interview Questions

• “Typical questions included a mix of behavioral questions, basic technical tax questions, and simple scenario-based prompts. Interviewers often ask candidates to describe experiences managing deadlines, working in teams, or solving problems to understand how they operate in real situations. Candidates may also be asked to walk through how they would research a tax issue or explain a complex tax topic in a clear, client-friendly way.”
• “Where do you see yourself in five years? Your biggest strengths and weaknesses. If you are hired, how can the firm help you reach your career goals?”
• “Tell me about yourself? Tell me about a time when you encountered a complex problem. What was it? What did you do to solve it? Why did you choose to major in accounting?”
• “Please provide a time when you had to solve a problem. Were you successful or not? If not, please explain. Please provide a time you when had to work with a team to complete a project. Were you successful? Why or why not? Please provide a time you had a conflict within a team. Was it resolved? If so, how?”

UPPERS

• “Great colleagues and strong culture—people-first mentality.”
• “Flexibility to work remotely.”
• “Interesting client work/good clients.”

DOWNERS

• “Busy season hours and hourly goals.”
• “Communication from firm leadership could be improved.”
• “Compensation.”