Pros
Pay was decent. This really is the only "pro" I experienced, although the benefits were not all that great.
Cons
Great job by management at interview time painting a picture of the wonderful job, the "team" you'll work with, the quality work, the interesting work with clients, and "work-life balance". Beware! The job was very different than indicated in many respects. The "team" I was to work with? Where? No teamwork, no mentorship, no training...but I was given a budget of about 1700 hours to bill out for the year and a single-digit number of clients generally of the type that pay $4,000 or so a year for a simple return. My first conversation with these clients was met with significant concerns about being "bounced around" to a different CPA each year, and even CPAs from different regional offices. The most promising client left. The rest, I preserved, but this was not the greatest way to initiate great client relationships. Made me start to wonder what this firm is all about. I totally agree with the other comments here by others stating "they set you up to fail" and "are quick to throw you under the bus." That was my experience exactly. From this handful of clients, I was expected to generate about 1600 billable hours for the year. Huh??? Quality work? Generally, my small cadre of clients had returns that were a mess from prior years and required substantial clean-up... and a lot of additional time on my part without the ability to "book" that time in (or be penalized on "realization" later on, because a $4,000 a year client isn't going to pay for the extra work needed, based on what is quoted). Frequently, management quotes low to retain or attract clients...and you're the one putting in the weekends and holidays with all the extra work to make it happen on paper for them. Out of my vacation days, I ended up working all but one of them (Christmas Eve). So much for the "work-life balance" that was touted at interview time. MDs are cliquish and choose who to send work to and socialize with. Not part of the "in group"? You don't get work and you're an island, left to figure out how to accomplish the hourly work objectives given with too little work or clients to ever achieve it. No “good mornings” (they look through you as you pass one another). Pretty stressful. There is no "team" to work with...everyone is a silo with clients, very political and very picky about with whom they share work, clients, and the required billable hours. Very little communication on what is needed and no willingness to really invest in mentoring or training someone new on existing systems or get to know clients. This was the most negative employment situation I have ever had; Plan a career elsewhere that values people, talent, and quality and training, and set you up to fail. Work anywhere else.