Mismanaged, unpleasant company - Experienced Audit Associate MaloneBailey Employee Review

1.0
21 Jun 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

It’s a decent place for your first year to get your foot in the door but not a company suitable for a real career.

Cons

-MB only audits small companies, many of which have no revenue at all. Once you’ve worked here it may be difficult to obtain a position in a fully-functioning auditing firm if you have no revenue experience. -Training is mostly classroom-based and the hands-on experience varies wildly based on the senior you are assigned to. -A significant percentage of the staff speaks Mandarin in and around the office. They are only supposed to speak it for non-work purposes but that’s not the case. You could end up in an office section in which you are the only one not speaking Mandarin. Of course this is an advantage if you do speak it. -The flexible schedule is not a reality. They will often assign one person to do prep for a specific client, so you’ll have to be there regardless of whether MB told you you can leave as early as 330 or get in as late as 930. In addition you will often need to be there at the same time as your supervisors, hence no real flexibility. They could solve this problem with more cross-training to catch up with other firms. -Turnover is abnormally high at this firm, much higher than the industry average. When you are hired with a bunch of other people they will tell you it’s because of how much they’re growing. It’s really because so many people leave throughout the year, even right before busy season. -The alcohol they stock in the kitchen might be considered a pro by some, but mostly it’s because people drink during busy season. -There is chronic infighting among the management team and the office culture allows for outbursts and fights in the hallways, which is embarrassing for everyone involved. -Training time is billed to the relevant client, which gives seniors a disincentive to train (because they are given a set of budgeted hours for each project). -The company has had issues with the quality of their audits (google for more information). -The company stiffed an employee for a referral bonus, telling her that since she emailed her friend’s resume to HR instead of handing in a physical copy, she wasn’t eligible for the referral after they hired her friend. Bad move for a company with low retention rates.

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MaloneBailey Response
6y
We appreciate you taking the time to leave us your feedback, and are disappointed that your time with MaloneBailey was not the best experience. We take feedback seriously, and would like to address a few of your concerns. Public accounting can be a challenging environment with many rewards. We are continuously listening to our employees and working to ensure everyone enjoys where they work, from benefits to work-life balance and everything in between. Feedback and opinions matter with MaloneBailey, and this concept has in part landed us a spot as one of Houston’s Best and Brightest Companies to Work For the past five years in a row. MaloneBailey has an open door policy and we strive to provide our staff with the opportunity to communicate with everyone within the firm. We also have our NextGen Council, which is a great way for all staff to voice their concerns and offer suggestions on how we can make the firm a better place. According to the 20th Annual NYSSCPA – Rosenberg Practice Management Survey, the accounting profession has the highest turnover rate in the country. The study also stated that CPA firm turnover can range from 13% (national firms with revenue greater than $20 million) to 25% (local CPA firms). MaloneBailey has a turnover rate well within the national average range. We specialize in small and medium company audits, but we have larger clients as well. Our partners make every effort to allow everyone to work on a variety of different sized clients and, as a result, many of our staff broaden their accounting and auditing knowledge with each and every busy season. Because of this, we have had many former employees go on to pursue successful careers in larger firms and industry. Given our specialization, we are able to offer flexible schedules and remote audit work. We are a public accounting firm, and therefore still have a busy season where hours can get up to 65 hours per week. However, our busy season hours are not spent traveling to and from client sites, in and out of hotels rooms, etc. They are spent in our Houston office where you get to go home to your family and own bed every night. You also get the opportunity to know your work family and spend time at creative and fun events as well as enjoy the end of busy season with a big celebration. Lastly, we receive a number of referrals from our current employees and when within policy, they enjoy a nice bonus when their friends join the firm. MaloneBailey also pays overtime worked, so anything worked over the usual 40 hours per week is reimbursed back to our staff or as paid time off (PTO). In the non-busy times, our staff enjoy the benefit of flexing their hours. Some of our staff come in earlier in the morning and leave earlier in the day to beat traffic (e.g. arriving at 8am and leaving at 4pm). Others arrive to the office a little later and leave a little later (e.g. arriving at 9:30am and leaving at 5:30pm). The key to this process working effectively is communicating with your teams. With such a variety of clients, not only related to size, but location and industry, we are very open about being a diverse office and think it is one of the great things about our firm! Our employees speak a variety of different languages and most employees take this as an opportunity to learn about a new culture other than their own. Houston is the nation’s most diverse city, and our firm prides ourselves on being just as diverse. Training is a mixture of classroom and hands-on with a personal trainer. Based on feedback from new Associates, we have found that the best way to learn something is by doing, and there is no one better to show our new staff than our current staff. All trainers go through training on what is expected of them and how they should train. Consistency is our focus, but of course there is room for each trainer to modify and personalize their trainings. We do reinforce training through work on actual clients with a mindful approach to time management and the impact on not only cost, but more importantly, audit quality. Quality is at the heart of what our firm does and how we perform our work. We have a dedicated, full-time quality control partner to make sure this is always the case. In addition, our QC partner spent time working at the PCAOB where he inspected accounting firms, therefore his knowledge in this area is extremely valuable. If you would like to share more about your experience, please contact me by emailing rfournier@malonebailey.com so that we can set up a time to talk. Thank you again for the feedback. It helps us make MaloneBailey a better place. Best of luck in your future endeavors. All the best, Raven Fournier Lead Recruiter

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5.0
1 Nov 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Very good working atmosphere, seniors are nice and willing to share their experience

Cons

Nothing too bad,,maybe some working overtime like all other audit firms

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MaloneBailey Response
7mo
Thank you for taking the time to give us your feedback. We are pleased to hear your experience with MaloneBailey was a positive one, and we are happy you have shared it with us.
2.0
20 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Firm events, hands on training

Cons

50+ plus workable hours wanted during busy season

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MaloneBailey Response
1mo
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback on our firm’s culture, including your observations related to hands-on training opportunities and firm-sponsored events. We value input from our team, as it helps us better understand the employee experience and continuously refine how we support professional development and engagement. Hands-on learning and collaborative events are key components of how we aim to foster both technical growth and a strong sense of community. We understand that the public accounting profession can be particularly demanding during peak periods. With that in mind, we are intentional about offering flexibility and support to help manage those demands. Our hybrid work model, along with defined core office hours, is designed to provide a balance between autonomy and collaboration. This structure allows team members to manage their time effectively while still maintaining alignment with their teams. If you have additional concerns, suggestions, or ideas you would like to discuss further, please do not hesitate to reach out to Human Resources. Thank you again for your input.
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