Vault’s Verdict

NOTE: Dixon Hughes Goodman did not participate in our most recent Accounting Survey; data here is from our 2020 survey.

Elliott Davis is looking for smart, humble, hungry, motivated, honest candidates who are eager to learn and work well in teams. Good communication skills are also ideal. For students, the firm runs a very valuable internship program that offers numerous training opportunities and exposure to the work assignments of first-year staff. Elliott Davis is also committed to the development of its full-time staff, providing them with thorough formal and informal feedback, training, and mentoring. The one negative, according to insiders, is promotion policies could be improved.

While busy season hours are long, a healthy work/life balance can be achieved most of the year. Elliott Davis cares about employees’ well-being, offering flexible schedules, unlimited PTO, a casual dress policy, and telecommuting options. However, compensation could be better, and the bonus policy could be more transparent.

Philanthropy and community outreach are strong suits of the firm, and Elliott Davis does a good job when it comes to female diversity—women hold many of the firm’s leadership positions. But the firm could do better when it comes to LGBTQ+ and racial minority diversity. As for the firm’s business outlook, Elliott Davis is focusing  time and energy on gaining new clients and growth, and embraces a forward-thinking strategy. As a result, employee morale is strong.

Hiring Process

• “We're looking for someone who wants to be part of a team that's striving for success—someone who's self-motivated and honest.”
• “Interview process consists of identifying candidates through referral and on-campus recruiting. Candidates generally come into the office for interviews with various levels and members of audit and tax, and go to a lunch or coffee with additional staff. Callbacks are typically very quick (same day or next day). Ideal candidates are those who display a willingness to learn and work well in teams and display good communication skills. Their goals should align with the mission, vision, and values of the firm.”
• “Ideal candidate is someone who possesses skills that are not currently on staff, someone who can bring a new perspective to the firm. Interview and callback process seem to be fair for experienced hires.”
• “We're looking for well-rounded individuals who approach work with a great attitude, and are receptive to change, smart, humble, and hungry.”

Interview Questions

• “We ask open-ended questions to get candidates to talk about situations they’ve experienced—both positive and negative. We explore personal motivators and goals to determine if the candidate will be happy working within our culture.”
• “We look for hungry, humble, and smart candidates. Interview questions are centered around those three concepts along with technical skills to perform the job.”
• “Why public accounting? Where are you in your path to becoming a CPA or what do you need to get there? How did you handle that embarrassment or failure? Describe your current team. What do you like and dislike? What do you like to do when you’re not working? Have you ever worked with a difficult colleague or boss? How did you handle the situation?”
• “Describe your greatest strength and weakness. Describe your greatest accomplishment. Questions to determine personality/culture fit.”

Internship Experience

• “I've been given amazing learning opportunities on multiple clients in a variety of industries. Nearly every interaction I’ve had at the firm has been a positive one, and everyone has been beyond helpful.”
• “I completed a winter internship. I enjoyed being treated like a staff accountant. I feel like I gained a lot of experience and was able to make an educated choice about whether or not public accounting was right for me.”
• “I interned outside of the normal internship program, but Elliott Davis was very willing to work with my schedule and provide me valuable training and a strong source of income while in graduate school. I felt I was ahead of the game when I started full time.”
• “I completed summer and winter internships. The summer was more focused on relationship building, service, and introduction to firm culture. The winter was more focused on client work. Overall, they were pleasant experiences. Interns receive the work assignments of first-year staff.”

Career Development

• “I believe Elliott Davis is absolutely committed to helping our people succeed and reach their full potential. We have a program for delivering formal and informal feedback and receive training on how to deliver meaningful feedback. It is the most positive and encouraging environment I've ever worked in. We are actively mentored to develop positive work habits, technical expertise and personal interests.”
• “Elliott Davis allows each employee to self-select and drive their career. The firm provides a wide array of resources from coaching and mentoring to temporary placement programs and training to help employees develop.” 
• “There are lots of opportunities to step up and take on more responsibility without putting too much pressure on staff that are still relatively new, and the feedback system works pretty well. Sometimes you get put in situations where you take on more than you were asking for without a choice and there can be little support, but that doesn’t happen too often. 
• “Training opportunities are provided in-house and cover relevant topics. Based on what I've seen, individuals are promoted more based on time with the firm than ability, work ethic, or effectiveness in their position.”

Quality of Life

• “Flexibility to work your own schedule is great. Some of us like to come in early and leave on time to have dinner with our families. Others want to sleep in a bit and stay later. It is flexible enough that you can work when you are at your prime in the day. Then if you need to work from home, that is usually a possibility.”
• “It is wonderful. My firm truly cares about my personal well-being and ensures I get an adequate break and down time. I’m a natural workaholic and feel very dedicated to Elliott Davis so I work much more than I'm ‘expected’ to and don't take vacations regularly. However, the firm ensures I take time off and forces me home to give me a break, which I cannot appreciate more! It is sometimes difficult to take vacation time if you aren't planning four to five months in advance, but when requested, it is always approved.”
• “The unlimited PTO is nice. I enjoy the fact that the firm treats employees like adults and doesn't heavily scrutinize time away if they’re getting their tasks completed timely. Elliott Davis provides nearly unlimited opportunity for quality of life. The trick is managing the workload in order to take advantage of the opportunities.”
• “I could not ask for a better work/life balance in public accounting. I feel that my firm is there for its employees, not only at work but outside of work as well.”

Salary and Benefits

• “Salaries could be higher, but given the flexibility of the job, they make sense. There are no bonuses. Overall benefits are about average.”
• “The lack of any sort of bonus structure is a negative. It causes much consternation among the staff. The best aspect is the flexibility of the work hours. As long as your work is being completed on schedule and you are working enough billable hours, you can come in late or early and leave late or early.”
• “Bonuses are awarded to a select few, and the whole process is not transparent. It seems to vary from year to year, and only those few in the know seem privy to the decisions related to bonuses. Noncash perks of the job are extremely positive, the best of which is the ability to work from home. It's a huge help to those caring for children, parents, or other family members.”
• “The casual dress, telecommuting, and flexible hours make it extremely easy to get work completed. You don't have to worry if a child gets sick, misses an activity, etc. I think the employer match for 401(k) could be higher. The salary amounts seem to be on the low end compared to other local firms.”

Diversity, Philanthropy, and Green Initiatives

• “We are a responsible member of our community. We're encouraged to participate and give back. Our cultural makeup reflects the community we serve. I don't see any bias with regard to race, gender, etc. Women hold many of our firms leadership positions. We’re not as diverse as it relates to LGBTQ+ individuals or racial minorities.”
• “Women are represented well, but the core leadership and decision-makers are a mostly male. Very little diversity with respect to minorities. Philanthropic practices policies are excellent.”
• “I think my firm is open to all aspects of diversity and does not discriminate whatsoever. We are not located in a highly diversified area so we are limited to the pool of people we live near. We care about our community and put a lot of time, energy, and money into being a leading firm in supporting the community.”
• “We have a little bit of diversity within our office and it is getting better. I don't think it is as much about discrimination as it is the candidate pool where we live. But there are plenty of women, and women in managing roles. We have wonderful community outreach and involvement. In fact, we have an entire role dedicated to community impact in our office and one at each office throughout the firm. That person organizes tons of events and makes it easy to give back to the wonderful community we live in!”

Business Outlook

• “Strong outlook for our firm. Management is very focused on being ‘future ready’ and is taking on bold initiatives to challenge things such as billable hours, scheduling, working remotely, investments in technology, and promoting innovation.”
• “The firm has been consistently growing and expanding in its markets, but not to an extent morale is lowered. There is constantly discussion of the best balance between expanding the business and keeping everyone happy.”
• “I think our firm is focusing a tremendous amount of energy on gaining new clients and growth. Although on paper that looks great and will allow the firm to continue to meet growth targets, that is stretching capacity to an almost breaking point, and quality of work cannot keep up with the amount of new clients coming through the door.”
• “The firm openly embraces and consistently acts upon a very forward-thinking strategy. Employee morale is strong, and culture is key to that. I would and often do strongly recommend Elliott Davis to anyone wanting a career in any area we offer, both because of how they will be treated and developed and because of the firm’s strong growth and continued potential for more growth.”