Want More Money, Better Work-Life Balance, and a Path to Audit Partner? (Armanino, Public Accounting Firm in Silicon Valley, Startup Tech Clients)

 

INSIDE YOU WILL FIND:

• IS YOUR PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM GROWING?
• 6 REASONS EXPERIENCED AUDITORS ARE CHOOSING ARMANINO
• Q&A WITH OUR SILICON VALLEY AUDITORS
• INTERVIEW WITH EX BIG4 AUDITOR WHO IS LOVING IT AT ARMANINO

 

WHY ARMANINO IS LIKE A 60 YEAR OLD STARTUP

Armanino is not your typical CPA firm. Yes, we provide audit, tax, consulting and technology services to a wide range of U.S. and global clients― but we do it differently. We’ve got the dynamic culture of a startup, with the stability and reputation of a 60-year-old company. We’re a bunch of smart, dedicated people who truly believe in having a healthy life-work balance, giving back to our community and having fun.

Consistently named a “Best of the Best” firm by Inside Public Accounting, we’re also ranked #3 Best Places to Work in the Nation by Accounting Today. We have more than 700 employees, with offices in Northern and Southern California, Illinois, and Oregon, and we’re growing fast.

To keep up with our explosive growth in the last decade, we are now interviewing Audit Seniors and Managers for our offices in Silicon Valley & Los Angeles.

 

 

 IS YOUR PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM GROWING?

 

If your public accounting firm grows, then the number of partners that the firm requires will correspond exactly to the growth rate. (Assuming the fee levels and leverage ratio remain the same)

This means the higher the growth rate in a given year at a firm, the more opportunities there will be for promotion to partner.

So, a medium firm that is growing 10% a year will likely have many more opportunities for career growth – than a large firm growing only 5% a year.

 This counter-intuitive idea that GROWTH is more important for career advancement than the SIZE of a firm, is a great cue for picking the BEST place to work.

 
 

 6 REASONS EXPERIENCED AUDITORS ARE CHOOSING ARMANINO AUDIT

 

1. WE ARE GROWING

• Armanino produced 696% revenue growth and 383% employee growth in the past decade.
• We now have California Offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, San Ramon, & Santa Cruz.

 

2. WE OPERATE JUST LIKE A START UP

• We refuse to adopt a culture of unnecessary bureaucracy; innovation and agility remain at our core.
• If you’re a strong performer, you’ll be promoted quickly and rewarded accordingly.
• At Armanino you will be given more responsibility, the ability to go on client sales presentations earlier in your career, and the ability to wear many hats and work in various industries if you desire the experience.

 

3. YOU’LL WORK WITH TECH CLIENTS THAT DEFINE THE INDUSTRY

• We work closely with the Silicon Valley companies that are changing the world, from small startups to large public entities.
• We develop and deliver industry-focused training to our auditors, so you can quickly become an expert in the areas that matter most to technology clients (SaaS & software revenue recognition, equity compensation, convertible debt and preferred stock). Basically we will train you to be a GAAP, SEC, and PCAOB audit guru.

 

4. LESS WORK, MORE TIME WITH FRIENDS & FAMILY

• Our auditors average only 45 hours a week year round, and rarely work on weekends. If our average hours per week starts to creep up above 45, we immediately look to hire more staff to share the load and bring that number down.

 

5. FAST TRACK TO AUDIT PARTNER

• We don’t have preset career paths or timeframes, or bureaucratic barriers to advancement.
• No waiting list based on who has been with the firm longer, instead we are strictly merit based.

 

6. LUCRATIVE QUARTERLY BONUS PROGRAM FOR MANAGERS

• The bonus potential for Managers is virtually uncapped with the yearly bonuses amounts ranging from $10,000 – $30,000+.
• Bonuses are paid based on transparent performance metrics, so to a large extent your performance will determine your bonus amount.

 

Q&A WITH OUR SILICON VALLEY AUDITORS

 

What do you enjoy most about working in Armanino's Technology Practice in Silicon Valley?

 

 

“I love the culture. We’re a very young, energetic, and vibrant firm. The people are fun and out-going along with a depth of knowledge that I’ve been able to learn from. Now that I am a supervising senior, I get to teach all of the new hires, and staff below me, which I’m grateful for. From the Partners down to the staff, we honestly operate like one big family. Our group is open to new ideas and audit approaches all the time. Even with the rapid growth in headcount, we still manage to have daily group lunches and even squeeze in happy-hour events every other week or so.” –Gary Kang, Supervising Senior

 

 “The excitement!  We say our firm feels like a start-up and it’s true; both in how we approach client service and internally within the firm.  We are lucky enough to work in one of the most unique markets in the world and Armanino embodies that spirit.  While we have amazing technology clients with consistently challenging work, our tech practice also approaches audits in a unique way.  We are not bound by audit checklists and national offices.  Each engagement team tailors our audit approach for each engagement; forcing teams to think about the issues and how best to audit them.  Not only do we enjoy this style but our clients love it too!” –Michael Boulton, Senior Manager

 

 

 “I enjoy the flexibility in Armanino's audit approach. We are a risk based audit practice that allows us to determine what audit procedures to perform to address each identified risk.  Gone forever are the days of auditing by checklist. I also believe our partners in Silicon Valley are great leaders and truly have a vested interest in my career development.  They act more like mentors than bosses and are always looking for ways to help me grow and learn.” –Jon Chin, Senior Manager

 

 

 “I honestly enjoy the complexity of the rules that most tech clients have to deal with, as odd as that may sound. It’s purely a personal thing, but I’m the type of person where my mind is constantly firing away so when I’m presented with something that makes me have to stop and think, I love the satisfaction that comes with finding a solution together with the client. Also, from my experience, I’ve had more interaction with males than females so to be one of the few females succeeding in this industry is pretty awesome.” –Daisy Yan, Supervising Senior

 

 

Why do you believe joining Armanino Audit's Technology Practice in Silicon Valley is a great opportunity for an Experienced Auditor?

 

Empowerment and opportunity.  Armanino is a rocket ship for growth.  I joined Armanino when we were less than 200 employees and 3 offices. We are now 700+ employees with 8 offices. Year after year we are growing, evolving, and adding new service lines.  This is exciting and makes me feel like part of something bigger but has also created immense opportunity.  Without a doubt, I honestly feel like I have a direct impact now and a successful role here in the future. I also mentioned empowerment – I constantly feel empowered to make decisions and propose ideas.  The support and freedom the partner group provides to us is outstanding.  The partners empower me to think and act like a partner.  Not only does that give me freedom and tools to make great decisions now but it also gives me fuel to continue growing as a professional.  –Michael Boulton, Senior Manager

 

 

We’re growing strong and there are plenty of opportunities for someone to join our firm and make it to partner.  We don’t have preset career paths or timeframes, or bureaucratic barriers to advancement.  Our track record is proven given that we’ve hired a former Big 4 Sr. Manager that was promoted to partner after 2 years and is now a significant contributor to our audit practice.  Also, our partners are open minded to any ideas for improvement.  You have the opportunity to get involved in various groups (tech committee, workpaper committee, MAB) that help shape the firm and how it operates.  Lastly, our Audit PIC is creative and is always of thinking of ways to incentivize us to succeed (30 day bonus plan). –Jon Chin, Senior Manager

 

 

This answer’s going to sound cliché, but it’s the people. I feel just as comfortable approaching a partner or a manager, or sometimes even someone at my level, when I have an accounting issue I haven’t dealt with before. Our partners came from Big 4 (or Big 8, however it was “back in the day”), and so combining their knowledge with just the firm’s thirst for seeking new ways of doing things gives everyone at all levels, confidence to present a new approach. The support system here is just indescribable. Just from personal experience, there’s been multiple times where I’ve asked or seen someone ask a manager or partner why don’t we do a certain procedure a different way, presented what the process would be, and they said “I like that idea. Go for it.” –Daisy Yan, Supervising Senior

 

 We compensate for hard work and delivery, whether that is training internally, recruiting, and obviously auditing. At the same time, we actually do have a balance between work and life. We work hard, but we play even harder.  –Gary Kang, Supervising Senior

 

 

INTERVIEW WITH AN EX-BIG4 AUDITOR WHO IS LOVING IT AT ARMANINO

  

What do you enjoy most about working in Armanino's Technology Practice in Silicon Valley?

 I’ve been with Armanino for about two and a half years, and during my time here we’ve experienced very little turnover while also witnessing extreme growth in the size of our Audit Practice.

The SV Office is the strongest, most talented, and cohesive team I have ever been a part of. I realize it may sound cliché but for me, it really is the human factor. I really do consider my colleagues my friends.

 

What made you decide to leave your old firm to join Armanino?  

 I worked at a BIG4 Silicon Valley office before joining Armanino. I am very familiar with the long hours that come hand-in-hand with a Big4 position. Personally, I needed a change because the Big4 lifestyle was no longer working for me. While at the same time, I knew how beneficial public accounting was for my career.

 One of the best career decisions I’ve made was leaving BIG4 to join Armanino.

 My work-life balance has improved, I continue to develop both personally and professionally, and I was promoted to manager one year sooner than compared to my Big4’s peers who are stuck on the 5 year promotion track to manager. Most importantly, I was able to find multiple mentors who invested, and continues to invest, their time on my development.

 Armanino has a firm culture that is comparable to that of a start-up. I found that the leadership was open to suggestions from all levels and periodically schedules department-wide or level specific meetings to get feedback. I get a lot more face-time with partners at Armanino. I also never had to worry about hierarchy, or an unspoken rule on what to do/when to do it depending on my senior/manager/partner’s actions.

While at the Big4, I experienced multiple instances where the entire engagement team was working late without knowing (1) if the team would be ordering dinner, (2) when we would be “released”, and (3) oddly feeling as if “this is just how things are”.

Armanino could not be more different.  At department meetings everyone (including partners) wait in line for catered food. The culture here is (1) being comfortable enough to tell your partner to wait his/her turn but (2) never having to because we respect each other (at all levels) as individuals and team members.

Martin Lwee, Audit Manager, Silicon Valley Office

  

 

 

HOW TO APPLY

 

Our interview process normally consists of:

 

• a brief phone call with our Audit Recruiter Mike Smith
• 1 round of in-person interviews (usually 2 hours)
• offers usually go out within 24 hours of your interview

 

 Email your resume to [email protected]