Vault’s Verdict

Schellman is looking for candidates who are eager and able to learn quickly. Passion for independent assessment work and the ability to fit in with the firm’s culture are also important. Schellman has numerous training opportunities available to its staff, and in recent years, there’s been a renewed focus on career development and training, as the firm began to hire college graduates.

Schellman offers excellent work/life balance to its staff. It offers remote-work options as well as flexible work schedules. Meanwhile, compensation is very competitive, and benefits are best-in-class. The firm offers a 10-percent 401(k) match, paid medical insurance, and several other benefits, including special benefits like Invisalign and Lasik surgery when you’ve been working at the firm for a certain number of years.

Diversity, inclusion, and philanthropy are also strong suits. Schellman’s culture is very welcoming all individuals, and the firm gets rave reviews when it comes to championing women and LGBTQ+ individuals. Insiders also appreciate the firmwide volunteer day and dedicated volunteer time off for individual philanthropic contributions. As for Schellman’s business outlook, the firm is well positioned and growing rapidly and has an excellent leadership team in place.

EMPLOYEE REVIEWS

Hiring Process

“Ideally, Schellman is looking for someone who is not only qualified but also fits the culture. There is typically a phone screening and one or two interviews per candidate.”

“I found the interview process to be very accommodating. Most of our hires are referrals, which minimizes competition at initial levels of recruitment.”

“Throughout the hiring process, we are very responsive to the candidate. The best quality in a candidate is the willingness, desire, and ability to learn new things.”

“The ideal candidate is someone who is capable of learning quickly and is passionate about independent assessment work.”

Interview Questions

“We do not have a predefined or approved set of interview questions. Instead, leaders and managers prepare thoughtful questions relevant to their areas of focus, designed to assess the candidate’s qualifications, experience, and knowledge. Additionally, we include questions aimed at evaluating cultural fit, such as how the candidate approaches prioritization, handles unknown challenges, and collaborates with team members.”

“Most questions tend to be behavioral rather than technical; most of the knowledge required by the firm can be taught once an individual has started, but cultural fit is very important.”

“Interview questions tend to be service line specific. Since the service line I’m a part of requires more experience, the questions I’ve used in the past when participating in an interview are specific to the service line, including questions about overall knowledge of the standard and how the candidate handled very specific types of situations that can arise while performing an assessment.”

“How would you handle an interaction with a difficult client? How do you go about finding a solution to a problem if a manager or peer is not readily available?”

Career Development

“The firm has a dedicated team focused on developing and delivering trainings both internally and externally. With the start of the associate program in 2021 when we began hiring college graduates, there has been a renewed focus on career development and training. Additionally, the firm has rolled out a year-long leadership training for managers and up.”

“There are many training resources available to employees. Additionally, management provides you with the opportunity to take charge of your career and professional development while providing resources and mentorship needed to succeed.”

“The firm always has numerous training opportunities available such as opportunities to cross-train with other practices, as well as general CPE opportunities. While promotion opportunities are available, the overall process has changed a lot since the earlier days of the firm, which is not unexpected with the amount of growth that has occurred over time. That said, it feels like the goal posts are constantly changing as far as requirements and expectations for a given position. Being told ‘you need to do A, B, and C’ for a desired promotion, doing those things, and then being told ‘well, now you also have to do D, E, and F,’ is frustrating.”

“Cross-training for staff and seniors is excellent and allows them to experience multiple service lines before getting deeper subject matter expertise.”

Quality of Life

“Schellman boasts excellent work/life balance. While we do have a busy season, it is concentrated to the end of Q3 and through Q4. As a reward, we get two full weeks off around Christmas, the full week of Fourth of July, and an additional four weeks of standard PTO to use. Between all the holidays, PTO, and firm shutdowns, I take off about eight weeks a year. This makes the more challenging time of year manageable, as you are able to recharge during other times.”

“The best aspect is the remote work culture. I have the flexibility to work when I need to (accounting for client needs) as long as the work gets done. The worst aspect is client demands, but that will be at any public accounting firm.”

“Being able to adjust your schedule on the fly for non-work-related events (e.g., doctor appts, events at kids’ school, kids home sick) is very convenient. Ample PTO is provided, even for newer employees, and it is pretty rare that a PTO request gets rejected. This is likely a person-to-person type of thing, but when it comes to using my own PTO, the toughest aspect is anticipating the amount of work that will likely build up while taking PTO.”

“The firm has a great quality of life. Management is transparent with what they expect and will work with you throughout the year when you take vacation or have too much or too little work. They respond well to feedback.”

Salary and Benefits

“I have not seen health insurance better than at any other organization (except the military). I also like having a defined number of PTO days, otherwise I would have difficulty taking PTO. Not really a downside, but our competitors have seemed to close the gap on pay in recent years—our pay is still competitive, though.”

“The salary is competitive, and the benefits are very competitive. Maternity and paternity leave is a lot better than at any other place I’ve worked. Management listens to what employees want when making changes to the benefits plan.”

“Our firm goes above and beyond in terms of benefits. They provide tangible monetary bonuses and merit increases every year. In addition, the firm allows for 10-year-based benefits, such as Invisalign, Lasik surgery, and even milestone year gifts like watches.”

“Our benefits truly are world class. With a 10 percent 401(k) match, paid medical insurance for the employee, as well as several other benefits, our benefits are unmatched by any other firm.”

Wellness Efforts

“There are a lot of resources and company initiatives that encourage and foster employee wellness.”

“The firm encourages wellness in many ways, including offering third party wellness programs for mental wellness and betterment. We also have weekly wellness tips from our CEO and COO.”

“Overall, it is evidence that overall wellness of employees is important to the firm. There have been some very informal initiatives (e.g., employees developing these on their own rather than being developed at a higher level), but this is probably an area that could see some improvement.”

“There are wellness resources available in the benefits package, and the firm recently contracted with a gym membership partner.”

Community Engagement

“Schellman has high diversity, green, and philanthropic practices. We treat each other equally and have several awareness groups and campaigns. We acquired a sustainability practice. Schellman has a B Corp certification. We have always hired the best person for the position without regard of status. We have always treated each other respectfully, way before the rest of the United States put a spotlight on it.”

“Schellman embraces everyone from different backgrounds, and everyone is seen and heard. Diversity, inclusion, philanthropy, and green practices are what powers Schellman's workplace culture. Management sets the tone at the top and works with employees to create an environment that allows employees to grow and become well-rounded.”

“There’s a firmwide volunteer day and dedicated volunteer time off for individual philanthropic contributions. For ESG, Schellman has sought assessments of our carbon footprint. Schellman is big on diversity. Always focused on championing diversity within and outside of the firm. Lots of promotions to include LGBTQ+ and women employees.”

“One of the best places to work for LGBTQ+ individuals. Professional respect for all regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, LGBTQ+, etc.”

Business Outlook

“I think we’re in a great position as a firm and our executive leadership team works very hard to set us up for success in the future. This does result in a lot of changes happening at the same time, but leadership listens to feedback and works hard to ensure the impact is minimal on an individual’s day-to-day.”

“Our revenue growth rate is always amazing, though we are pushed strongly to achieve aggressive goals. There is a strong culture for responsible spending.”

“Leadership is always looking forward, constantly looking for ways to not only increase our footprint but also adjust to changing market conditions fairly quickly.”

“We have arguably the best CEO and executive leadership team in the business. I couldn’t be happier and more excited about the business outlook.”