Vault’s Verdict

Marcum is looking for hardworking, organized, ambitious, tech-savvy, positive, detail-oriented team players who are eager and willing to learn and have strong communication skills. The firm runs a valuable internship program for students, providing interns with a ton of hands-on experience and exposure to various areas of tax and public accounting. Interns are treated like full-time staff and get a clear idea of what full-time roles with the firm look like. Marcum offers many career development opportunities for its full-time professionals, including mentoring, soft skills training, technical training, and fast promotion paths.

Although the busy tax season often means long hours and high stress, Marcum emphasizes work/life balance, encourages staff to use their PTO, and offers a summer flex program. In addition, senior staff and managers are very accommodating to different schedule needs and personal commitments. As for compensation, salaries and bonuses are generous, but benefits such as health insurance and 401(k) offerings could be better. On the other hand, wellness offerings are extensive and include meditation and chair yoga, a wellness newsletter, health alerts, gym membership discounts, and a wellness app.

Marcum also gets good reviews when it comes to DEI. It has an active diversity, equity, and inclusion team, as well as many resource groups that employees can join to network. The firm has ARGs (associate resource groups) for women, emerging professionals, Black professionals, Hispanic professionals, Asian professionals, individuals with disabilities, LGBTQ+ individuals, veterans, and more. However, insiders say the firm could be more diverse at the senior levels. With respect to Marcum’s business outlook, the firm’s leadership team is strong, and the firm is gaining market share and growing quickly. The only downside is some insiders say the firm is growing too quickly and experiencing some challenges that come with growth through acquisitions.

EMPLOYEE REVIEWS

Hiring Process

“In the NYC office, we have implemented a two-round interview process. This allows multiple associates in our group to meet the interviewee. Especially considering the volatility of the accounting profession, it is more important than ever that we find committed individuals who want to and are willing to learn, care about their professional development, and have a desire to be part of a team.”

“Our firm is very involved in recruiting efforts and is quick to do callbacks when there is a candidate of interest. We offer both virtual and in-person interview processes. The ideal candidate is someone with a positive attitude and willingness to learn and is flexible, organized, a team player, a good communicator, and attentive to detail.”

“HR was very responsive and prompt throughout my interview processes. I believe the firm is seeking not only hardworking individuals but also those with a great capacity to learn and grow in their roles with the help of the firm.”

“The interview process is different depending on the level you are interviewing for. The hiring process will begin with a call with HR to identify if you are a good candidate for the position, and then you will be asked to meet with one or two more associates. We are looking for hardworking, organized, communicative, and ambitious employees who want a career in public accounting.”

Interview Questions

“Tell me about a time when you had to put your work aside and help someone else (possibly a classmate, friend, or coworker)—how did it result for your work and the other person? We all have to make decisions to achieve a balance between personal and school/work objectives—when was there a time when you had to adjust one at the expense of the other and what was the situation and what were your actions? Provide me with a situation where you dealt with a problem and were able to be creative or innovative when coming up with the solution.”

“Describe a challenging situation you have encountered at your current job and how you overcame that. What are some challenges you have encountered work and/or supervising in a hybrid/remote work environment? How have you overcome those challenges.”

“Please describe the impact of any competitive endeavors in your life and how you see working in a team environment. Why do you believe you are the best fit for this position? Tell me about an example of a stressful environment and how you navigated your way through it? Why do you want to join our firm? What are your interests and hobbies?”

“My favorite interview conversation to ask is: Why do you like accounting and why do you want to enter this field? The answer is usually that the candidate likes to solve complex problems. So, then my follow-up question is: Can you describe a complex problem that you have solved?”

Internship Experience

“I had the opportunity to work on clients as an intern that then became my clients as a staff. I got to do staff-level work, gain real-life experience, and get a taste of what my day to day would be like. My internship is what made me want to stay at Marcum and pursue a career in public accounting. No bad aspects to my internship experience. I was never bored or not engaged.”

“I received a ton of hands-on experience and gained exposure to many different complex areas of tax and public accounting. Occasionally, there wasn’t a lot of work available, especially early in busy season.”

“I was treated like a staff member and given tasks as if I were one. I was able to be exposed to my field to determine if it was for me or not, and I believe the internship prepared me for the responsibilities of a staff member. At times, though, I did not have enough work to continue to grow and mold me as assurance employee.”

“Good variety of work opportunities and staff/supervisors are willing to train you well. Also, the internship has a buddy system, and I was paired with a senior that was available to help me in my work anytime I had problems or questions. I was well-mentored and learned fast.”

Career Development

“Partners within the firm really drive you to perform your best and help you experience situations that you thought you may never get to experience. But sometimes I feel like there aren’t enough mandatory trainings to help young associates gain knowledge of the accounting world.”

“There are many opportunities presented for career development from mentorships to soft skills trainings to technical trainings. There is a strong interest in making sure all employees are developing their careers within the firm. The opportunity to try new things or attain challenging tasks is always available, as long as you communicate to your workgroup leader what your interest are and what you want to work on.”

“From my experience, Marcum is very quick to promote associates. There’s little stagnation in one's career. As soon as you have mastered your current role, Marcum is quick to recognize that and promote you to the next level. We also have many different opportunities to work in any specialty you’d like. It’s not always simple, as there is some transition time between expressing your wish to focus on one area and when your previous responsibilities are covered, but I am confident that Marcum will do everything it can to put associates on the path they want for themselves.”

“The career development opportunities are entirely in your own hands with the help of your performance manager. You are empowered to advocate for yourself and are given resources to help you reach your goals.”

Quality of Life

“The best aspects of our firm’s overall quality of life are the flex time, remote work, day of service, Marcum Foundation, and many other events made available to you and the family to participate in.”

“Marcum heavily promotes the importance of work/life balance and using your vacation time. I have never been denied a PTO request. When it’s time to take PTO, it may be necessary to spend extra time working beforehand to prepare for the time off.”

“Due to the shrinking entry level accountant pool, there are not enough good accountants to fill all positions. As a result, all levels of our firm have situations where they need to do the work of a lower rank. Partners work more hours than those in the profession years past. Our firm does try to provide an overall quality of life by offering more leave time than just PTO. We have a sabbatical program where our associates can take up to two months each year off.”

“As long as you communicate, there is always opportunity to experience time off to enjoy your personal life. The firm has a summer flex program in place and respects work/life balance and understands everyone has different life schedules. Every month there is a new initiative to promote quality of life such as a hydration challenge, steps challenge, mindfulness in the workplace, chair yoga, and more.”

Salaries and Benefits

“Salaries are good. Benefits have gotten better but still lag a bit. The firm took on more healthcare costs this year, but somehow this year I’m paying more out of pocket for meds.”

“Very Generous compensation. Being able to work remotely when I need to is a huge plus, and the firm is very flexible with working hours. However, the health insurance is not the best, and I wish the 401(k) match were a little better.”

“The salaries and bonuses are generous. Health benefits are good but could be slightly cheaper. 401(k) sharing portion (firm contribution) could be a little better/higher. Regarding perks, they seem good for those in office. They could offer more perks to those working remotely.”

“In the post-pandemic era, schedules are far more flexible than they used to be. Free food is provided during busy season, which can be very helpful because of the high cost of food nowadays. Medical benefits, 401(k) planning, and educational reimbursements could be better.”

Wellness Efforts

“Wellness efforts have increased. We have meditation and chair yoga. We have a newsletter and health alerts. There are discounts offered for gym memberships. We have a wellness app and signs posted with how to get info. I feel like the wellness efforts are very strong.”

“Marcum tries very hard with wellness efforts. They have different webinars every week, whether it’s on chair yoga or learning about nutritional meals (to eat during busy season) or challenges like step challenges where you log your workouts. Marcum also provides discounts to gym memberships along with other perks.”

“The firm offers many wellness programs such as webinars on such topics as Breast Cancer and CPR and wellness challenges such as a ‘Self-Care Challenge’ and ‘Heart in Motion.’ The firm also offers short wellness break session during the day such as chair yoga or chair meditation. Counseling, nutritional education, and exercises programs are also part of the firm’s wellness efforts.”

“Their wellness offerings are actually really awesome. The firm offers several programs, but due to the lack of staff, nobody has time to take advantage of the programs. There was a stress webinar I wanted to attend but felt guilty attending due to the amount of work I had on my plate.”

Diversity, Philanthropic, and Green Initiatives

“Marcum has ARGs (Associate Resource Groups) to represent the different backgrounds of Marcum associates. During Black History Month or during Pride Month, there are different events held to celebrate those in our firm as well as educate others. Marcum holds their day of service the day before Thanksgiving ever year and highly encourages all associates to participate and give back to their communities.”

“The firm respects diversity and was one of the first firms to offer ‘Modern Family Planning’ to clients, headed up by several partners from the LGBTQ+ group. The firm also has many affinity groups (for veterans and other groups).”

“Our firm has a diversity, equity, and inclusion team. There is a wide variety of ARG groups you can join to network (women, emerging professionals, Black, Hispanic, Asian, LGBTQ+, individuals with disabilities, veterans, and more). The firm also promotes charitable giving through the Marcum Foundation initiatives. The firm is very inclusive and wants to promote happy employees and good diversity and opportunities for all.”

“They make it clear that DEI is important to them and that everyone has a voice. But the leadership, at the executive level, lacks sufficient diversity—everyone is white. I do expect this to improve over time. Also, the women’s development group is not up to par for a firm this size. This shows in the number of women partners, especially in our office.”

Business Outlook

“Marcum works hard to hire quality associates, puts a great amount of effort into making our technology and processes stronger, and is always focused on growing.”

“Marcum continues to be a very strong firm that has managed to grow and be profitable, even amid the volatility of the market in the recent past. The only weakness I would say is Marcum growing too quickly, without having had time for the last merger to settle in before new associates join the firm.”

“Leadership is strong and actively looks for opportunities to gain market share and provide great service to clients. We fall short in burdensome processes that don't make it easy to be a client or an employee.”

“The firm has town halls throughout the year to discuss the firm’s outlook. There have been many recent mergers, so growth within the firm has been constant and thriving. We have been increasing our workforce and are allowing for hybrid/remote/in-office options. The firm also has a team that discusses employee engagement and how to improve and offer options that will keep the staff engaged in their work and thriving in their careers. There are new clients coming in every year, so there is growth there as well.”