Vault’s Verdict

Grassi is ideally searching for candidates who take ownership over the work and are eager to learn, and the firm offers numerous career development opportunities for those it does hire. Training is excellent, advancement opportunities are plentiful, and partners maintain an open-door policy and are very willing to mentor junior staff. Although tax season hours can be long, Grassi’s PTO policy is excellent, its culture is supportive, and the firm offers flexible work options—remote work and flexible hours are both possible.

Meanwhile, compensation and benefits are generous. Several insiders rave about the wellness offerings and a recently announced ESOP, while some say that insurance options can be costly. As for DEI, the firm is committed to diversity hiring, and its staff is indeed diverse. With respect to Grassi’s business outlook, the firm’s leadership team is strong, employee morale is high, and the firm is well positioned to continue to succeed for the foreseeable future.

EMPLOYEE REVIEWS

Hiring Process

“During the interview process, they were responsive, and I connected multiple times with the recruiter throughout the process. The actual interview was relatively standard, mainly consisting of a conversation gauging your experience, attitude, and if you would be a good team player.”

“The interview process is handled by a great team of recruiters who will guide every person through the process from start to finish. The decision process is streamlined—we act fast on great talent. Our ideal candidate is someone who wants to take ownership, learn, and strive to produce a great working environment for all.”

“The firm has a robust, active recruiting process and is always looking for best-in-class candidates to fill openings at all levels.”

“Outside of HR, the team I was expected to work with reached out to me on their own to offer their support and help with the process. Several connected with me on LinkedIn and made me feel confident that their intentions were to connect with me and make sure that we were the right fit for each other. I was surprised to see emails from the partner and other members of leadership outside of recruiting genuinely offering me advice on the job search and not self-promoting. It showed me that the team was genuine and collaborative.”

Interview Questions

“Questions regarding what candidates are looking for and the objectives they want to achieve are a major focus.”

“The firm’s approach is to typically get a good feel for the work performed/experience in the past. No technical questions are asked, as the firm would rather get to know the person rather than their technical knowledge, which can always be improved.”

“Why did you choose accounting/tax/audit?”

“Tell me about yourself. What are your short-term and long-term career goals?”

Career Development

“My experience with career growth at Grassi has far exceeded my expectations. I consistently feel that my hard work is recognized, celebrated, and compensated for. There is a great open-door policy with partners, and they are all willing to be formal or informal mentors. Each team member has a peer partner who helps set up growth plans, review performance, etc. Each team member gets two reviews per year, which I find very helpful.”

“The firm is always looking to help you advance in your career as long as you are willing to put in the work.”

“Training is excellent, and opportunities for advancement are prevalent. Too much administrative functions, though.”

“I think the firm does an excellent job with career development opportunities—and are far better at this than the firm I used to work for. They ensure career development at the individual level rather than promoting an entire group at once. And you will be held accountable for your performance (good or bad).”

Quality of Life

“The firm promotes with ease the ability to work remotely or in the office, and as long as you get your work done, you can take time off whenever you like. Grassi is a high energy busy firm, so there isn’t a lot of downtime during working hours.”

“We are encouraged to use our generous PTO. Unless it’s during tax season, you’re pretty much guaranteed to get your PTO approved. We’re allowed to work from home, and we have incredible autonomy over our days. I don’t take any of this for granted, as it was not the same at my previous firm. You’re not micromanaged at Grassi.”

“The PTO policy is excellent, the culture is great, and the flexibility is great. One downside is that depending on your department and level, taking PTO can be challenging, as clients often need assistance and may not always be able to get the answer from other team members if they are reliant on advice from that individual or something that individual works on. This is not necessarily a Grassi-specific issue but rather a public accounting-specific issue.”

“Everyone is treated with respect and always willing to help you learn. PTO is generous and easy to use. Tax season hours can be too long and inhumane.”

Salary and Benefits

“Compensation is good at Grassi, although it often feels like home-grown people’s compensation is often less than people who came from other firms for the same or even less experience or lower skill sets.”

“Best parts: Just announced an ESOP, hybrid work arrangements, summer Fridays. Worst parts: Although I do not use the plan, the PPO health insurance has a very high cost.”

“We recently started an ESOP, although it is in the beginning stages, so I am not too sure of specifics, but I am excited about it. We receive generous PTO in my opinion. We are allowed to WFH as we see fit and have great autonomy. We are allowed to dress casually as long as we do not have client meetings. We recently added a 401(k) match, which I am thrilled about. We do not have on-site childcare, but that would be awesome if we did. I also wish we had gym/lifestyle reimbursements, but we do not. We receive meal allowances for any day you bill more than 10 hours, and five hours on weekends. Our tuition reimbursement program certainly needs work. I would love to see MBAs getting reimbursed.”

“The firm is very generous with remote salaries, benefits, and perks.”

Wellness Efforts

“Wellness programs include meditation, information/programs regarding specific medical conditions, exercise programs, etc.”

“We have informative lunch-and-learn sessions. We promote use of an app as part of our wellness program.”

“HR meets with all employees on a regular basis. They give us access to the Calm app. They hold webinars with a local hospital on various health topics.”

“I love the Calm app and subscribed to it myself before I found out the firm pays for it. Mental health is a priority here, which is shocking to see in this industry. I am very proud of our wellness benefits.”

Diversity, Philanthropy, and Green Initiatives

“DEI programs are very important to the firm. Diversity hiring is a big focus. Grassi’s sustainability programs are best in class.”

“During my interviews with the firm, I specifically asked about diversity and inclusion and was happy with what was told to me. What really impressed me was the truth to the matter: they were 100 percent genuine with their efforts and the results show. I have never seen a firm so true to their values and be so open about speaking to them. I’m very happy about the decision I made to join the firm.”

“I look around and do not see as many women in leadership positions as I would like to. The lion’s share of partners is men. Even senior manager and above are mostly men. As a driven woman, I would like to see more female leadership. I would like to see more diversity at Grassi.”

“Overall, the firm is very accepting of all backgrounds. We celebrate all major holidays and have a wide variety of individuals from all backgrounds working at Grassi.”

Business Outlook

“The firm continues to grow at a good clip. Morale on the team is high.”

“We have positioned ourselves to be very successful going forward with a strong leadership and management team, a new ESOP program, and strong knowledge of our competitors and landscape.”

“Lou Grassi is always open about ways to improve and is actively working on evolving with the growing technologies of today.”

“The partner group is great, ESOP was just adopted, and overall, the business outlook is amazing.”