Great step after Big 4 environment but still a Public Accounting firm
Pros
- Compensation and benefits (including 401K matching) are remarkable. This definitely holds true. They pay a premium for good talent to come to Schellman. One of my favorites was the technology allowance. - Schellman is adamant that you cert up and I always appreciated that. They will help pay for your training (materials) for all the relevant exams. - No timesheets! I always enjoyed this little perk. I recall that prices are fixed and usually lower than the Big 4 so the onus is on you to complete the attestation and reports on time to maximize profit. Nifty business model to be honest. - There is definitely room to learn other attestations and that the Big 4 IT Audit shops don't always provide you opportunities with such as ISO 27001 and PCI DSS. For that, I'm grateful that Schellman provided an opportunity to learn something other than SOx work. - You will become very comfortable with SOC reports if your previous experience hasn't taught you already. This skill will help your IT Audit career tremendously but it's not exclusive to Schellman. This can be picked up at any other Public Accounting firm since almost everyone performs these services and can't deviate much from what AICPA guidance has already prescribed. - Travel is also great if you don't have a family especially with all the travel perks you get. - Per Diems are generally less than the Big 4 amounts from my experience but will suffice. - Equipment and office allowance benefits were great for remote working. - Insurance if you're single is free to you. I've heard family insurance got cheaper since I have left which is nice. Was a common complaint for people with partners and kids. - 5 weeks PTO but they force you to take roughly 2 weeks over Christmas/New Year which is just a silly practice if you ask me. They should better advertise this as 3 weeks 'free' PTO with 2 week automatic shutdown over Christmas/New Years. - Annual trip was nice but it's not quite a holiday or relaxation like you might take on your personal time. It's a massive team building event with some flexibility granted at nights. Just don't assume you're heading off to Cabo to chill by the beach the entire time.
Cons
In comparison to a Big 4 or other large public accounting firm since that is who Schellman tends to hire: - Schellman's hiring model is basically to poach Big 4 and other large accounting firm talent. Until recently, Schellman never hired at the 'associate' level. They always grabbed experience talent at a premium. Not a bad business strategy but it results in subpar training to cover any gaps in your knowledge. Instead of on-the-field learning experience or a properly developed coaching/buddy system that the Big 4 is usually known for, you will get penalized in your review and your seniors will be too busy to spend time to develop you. There's not much room for error in Schellman's methodology. You join with the expectation you already know how to perform IT audits. - You will lose access to a global community of talent as Schellman only operates in the United States. There is no opportunity for global mobility if that interests you. - Promotion isn't as streamlined as the Big 4 either. There's a certification barrier for promotion (CISA, CIA/CPA, and CISSP) but on top of that, there's certain individuals that are favored by the senior managers and principals. As flat as this organization likes to pretend, don't be fooled. There's a clear line of hierarchy here and senior managers are not to be fought against. - Some of the senior managers / directors / principals have been extremely rude in their behavior to levels below in the past. Better hope you're paired with one of the more decent managers/senior managers/principals. - Guaranteed that clients will rollover and you will be double or tripled booked. At times, the workload will look very similar to any other public accounting firms. The type of clients you will deal with are very small and unknown compared to the ones I've worked in the Big 4 and you will juggle many small clients. - Regardless of what they promise you down the line, you will mostly be relegated to doing SOC 1 and SOC 2 reports unless you have prior experience in ISO, PCI, HITRUST, or Vuln assessments / Pentesting. If you perform well for a year or two, you may be picked up on ISO or PCI clients but the transition can be just as difficult as moving from IT Audit to something more lucrative in the Big 4. - Some of the travel is great but some of the travel is to rural/suburban places middle of nowhere. It's a mixed bag more than a con. - Lack of office environment means fleeting relationships with another senior associate or manager if you happen to get booked on the same engagement. Often times, you might be delivering the work alone. You will often be doing the work of an onshore associate and senior associate. Get used to solitude. - The work can become really mundane and repetitive. You will need the self-direction and self-motivation to persevere. There is no GDS to help you document evidences. - There's more diversity than when I had joined but there's a sense of tokenism. It feels like Schellman is trying to tick some boxes which is disappointing and disingenuous. Diversity has definitely gotten better at the lower levels but most of the executive leadership team and principals is not what you would consider diverse. You will not get a diverse cast as you would in a Big 4 environment. - Most importantly, Schellman can be a very cut throat and unforgiving workplace. During my tenure, I have seen people fired within the day with no advance warning or chance to rectify their performance or mistakes. PIPs are not a thing here. If you have read previous reviews about this, know that it is true and has happened several times in the past. - There's no doubt that some reviews here are genuine and people thrive but don't be fooled - Schellman used to deploy some shady tactics on encouraging its new hires a good review during orientation after feeding you everything positive about this organization. I found that very misleading and dishonest. One of the older reviews said Schellman is the 'McKinsey of attestation/compliance' or something to that effect. That's just hilarious...