Vault’s Verdict

Schneider Downs is looking for positive, hardworking, driven candidates with a strong academic history, a solid work ethic, the ability to problem solve and communicate well, and the desire to grow and develop in the accounting field. For students, the firm runs a very valuable internship program; interns rave about the ability to connect with fellow interns and the many outings the firm organizes. Meanwhile, full-time staff are treated to a firm that place a strong emphasis on work-life balance, offering generous PTO and a lot of flexibility with when and where you work. Employees note that non-busy season hours typically remain around 40 per week, with busy season rarely exceeding 55 hours. The culture is also said to be family-oriented, which is especially valuable for working parents.

Compensation is generally considered fair to insiders, though some believe that base salaries could be more competitive. Perks and benefits are said to be generous and include CPA incentives, profit-sharing retirement plans, healthcare benefits, free lunches, and mileage reimbursements.

Career development stands out as a major strength at Schneider Downs, which offers structured evaluations, clear promotion paths, extensive technical and soft-skill training, and opportunities to attend external leadership programs and conferences. In addition, advancement can happen quickly.

As for Schneider Downs’ business outlook, the firm is experiencing strong growth and competes effectively with Big 4 firms. While some employees are concerned about the firm’s rapid expansion and its staffing levels, in general the morale is high and employees are optimistic about the firm’s future.

EMPLOYEE REVIEWS

Quality of Life

• “I truly believe that the firm cares about its employees’ lives outside of work. We are provided with 20 days of PTO at the staff level when we first start working, along with two personal days. The firm also hosts various events to promote work-life balance such as a golf outing, happy hours, holiday parties, etc.”
• “Our firm does an excellent job of promoting work-life balance. Rarely do I find myself working over 40 hours during non-busy season, and during busy season, I would say that it is rare to hit 55 hours.”
• “The firm’s overall quality of life is amazing. The best is how family-oriented they are, from the staff all the way up to the shareholder position. Everyone understands that there is life outside of work and is always willing to accommodate.”
• “We not only provide flexibility but we promote it, embrace it, and treat professionals as professionals. However, it’s still really hard to adjust for client delays, which can cause frustration and create a domino effect that isn’t always easy to handle.”

Compensation

• “Although I feel as though the firm’s base salary could be a little higher for my position, the firm offered a very generous sign-on bonus to previous interns and a very generous bonus for passing the CPA exam. The 401(k) plan is a profit-sharing plan that does not have an employer match, but I am satisfied with my ability to utilize a Roth 401(k). The firm also has health insurance, but I am not enrolled because I’m still eligible to remain on my parents’ health insurance. The firm perks are pretty good; we’re able to get lunch for free if onsite with a manager, we get mileage reimbursement, per diem on travel days, etc.”
• “I wish the base salary pay was slightly more competitive with other firms in the area. But health care, 401(k), and savings plans are great.”
• “I think it is a fair salary, but the base should be a little higher based on competitors’ salaries.”
• “The biggest perk for me is flexibility. I have the ability to be where I need to be for my two young kids and work remotely on days or at off hours when I may have someone home sick or have a school event that I need to attend.”

Career Development

• “At Schneider Downs we value career development. There are opportunities for promotions every year. We also have mid-year and end-of-year evaluations so you are able to learn what you are doing a great job on and what you can improve on. I think this is part of the reason you can move up so quickly—you know what to focus on to get the promotion.”
• “Schneider Downs has an extensive ongoing training program. We’ve combined technical acumen with some hands-on firm-specific mock audit sessions to continue to assist our staff and seniors in their development and provide the skillsets needed to progress. We do a combination of in-house and external training as well to provide a variety of perspectives and viewpoints. We also bring the entire department together in person for ongoing technical training and to build connectivity across the firm. Individuals are also able to take virtual courses on soft skill areas as well as specific technical concepts based upon their individual clients and industries. We also send individuals to PrimeGlobal leadership trainings or AICPA conferences to build out their skillsets.”
• “The firm is outstanding with regard to career development and the open-door policies that management holds to staff and senior level professionals.” 
• “Firm allows for quick growth in your career with clearly defined goals and expectations. Our training can be too much at times, doing more harm than good.”

Business Outlook

• “Shneider Downs has been growing exponentially. They are consistently innovating and growing to help accommodate existing clients and acquire new clients to help. SD has made themselves competitive and created a great workplace to ensure productivity and career development.”
• “Although Schneider Downs is not a Big 4 firm, the company definitely competes with the Big 4 firms. The firm is consistently taking on new clients and learning how to leverage important resources like AI and offshoring. I would say that employee morale is pretty high, as a good attitude is standard in the firm. I think a major strength of the firm is that employees have the opportunity to work on various clients from various industries with various engagement teams. With exposure to many different industries and clients, Schneider Downs employees can find what they are passionate about in their work and can request to work on the jobs they are most interested in.”
• “I have concerns with how quickly we are trying to grow while not increasing our staff classes to supplement this growth, resulting in us being severely understaffed at the manager/senior level. I know that we might not need extra people in the staff groups, due to offshoring; however, our best seniors come from within, and if we don’t hire more staff, we won’t have more seniors. “
• “There are a lot of headwinds in the industry, but we are better positioned that most of our competitors.”

Intern Experience

• “My intern experience with Schneider Downs was great. We took part in doing the same work a staff would do, which helped me be a better staff once I joined as a full-time employee. There were many fun outings that Schneider Downs put together, like volunteering, playing golf, or going to sporting events. The intern class was pretty large so at times there was not enough work to go around and so I was left without work to do. This was just for the first two weeks of the internship.”
• “The best part of my internship experience was building connections with everyone, from all levels of the audit department. I was able to get a real feel for the culture. The only negative aspect of my internship is the lack of work we had for a majority of the summer. We spent a lot of time doing trainings and asking people for work.”
• “I found the internship experience to be very beneficial to me. I interned the summer before my senior year of college and was able to get valuable job experience. The internship started off with a good amount of training and classes about auditing and what is expected at Schneider Downs. I was able to work with other students my age to get an understanding of what is expected of us over the three months we were interning. During this time I worked on at least five jobs and was able to meet different people at different levels across the audit department. They helped grow my auditing skills as well as my critical thinking skills. I was able to complete testing in areas like cash, AR, AP, PPE, Inventory, etc., to get a better understanding of what an auditor does. I was trusted with WPS and got to see the FS firsthand.”
• “We were treated like full-time staff. We got real-life experience of what the job would entail. Nothing negative, other than not knowing what to do sometimes. But as an intern, I built great relationships with my teams and they taught me a lot.”

Hiring Process

• “I had two interviews, one with the HR department and one with a shareholder and manager. The HR department looked for students with good GPAs and students looking to hit 150 credits. From there the manager and shareholder looked to find hardworking and driven students who wanted to grow and develop in the accounting field.”
• “We have an exceptional talent acquisition team that has created a strong candidate process and partners with the professionals across the firm at appropriate levels. An ideal candidate shares our core values and believes in teamwork and the value of the collective efforts in serving clients.”
• “The firm starts recruiting intern classes pretty early. I had a phone interview with a woman from HR, and then I had a remote interview with a manager from the firm. The day after my remote interview, I was told that I was getting an internship offer. I believe Schneider Downs is looking for candidates that are willing to learn and put themselves in situations where they will grow. Schneider Downs is looking for candidates that have a strong academic history, solid work ethic, positive attitude, the ability to communicate, and the desire to reach their full professional potential.” 
• “SD is always looking for candidates who are passionate and willing to learn, have great relationships with coworkers, and have the ability to solve problems and communicate.”

Interview Questions

• “How are you involved in your college/university? Do you have any prior experience in the field? What do you think would make you a good fit for the firm? Tell me about a time when you failed. How did you handle it?”
• “What is most important to you and your career? What do you look for in a firm and firm environment? “When was a time you had a problem and needed to solve it?”
• “Depending on level, we ask questions around experiences working in teams, with challenging teammates or clients, ability to work through difficult situations, and what an individual candidate likes about the work.”
• “What is a weakness you have and how do you look to overcome it or deal with it in different situations?”

UPPERS

• “Great culture and amazing people.”
• “Growth opportunities.”
• “The flexibility.”

DOWNERS

• “Busy season is rough.”
• “Hard to meet expectations
• “Occasional frustration with leadership.”