Pros
1. Culture – The environment encourages pro-active learning with a lot of guidance provided from the managers and partners to aid you through the steep learning curve. Team work is strongly emphasised in the organisation and for first year audit assistants, they are each assigned a buddy to simulate them into the company and to provide guidance and on the job training (eg. Familiarisation with the RSM audit methodology, standard operating procedures/protocols, admin matters, how to resolve audit issues, etc) 2. Open door policy – Given the family oriented culture in the company, we are always not afraid to walk in our partner’s room for discussion of matters, be it audit related matters or any issues faced during our career in the organisation. Amidst their busy schedule, they are always willing to spare time for you as your well-being and any issues/concerns you have matter to them. 3. Career progression – As the company is a large SME and in line with expansion plans, there is definitely room for progression in this company based on merit. Together with our managers and partners, as long as career goals and expectations of the employee are aligned with those of the company, ways will be worked out with management to enable the employee to further realise his/her potential in the organisation. 4. Empowerment – As the auditors are 90% of the time out at client’s place to conduct the financial audits, trust in the employee forms the foundation in this organisation. Empowerment is given to the employee to manage his/her schedule without compromising the quality of work and timeliness of deliverables if the employee has proven his/her credibility thus far.
Cons
1. Open culture of upward feedback – In the last 4.5 years of my career, appraisal sessions between the employee and management has been a downward feedback model, with the manager/partner providing comments on the performance of the staff and suggestions for room for improvement. It was a one way feedback rather than a two way feedback whereby management too, gets feedback on their performance in terms of eg. management style and room for improvement. However, just recently, the company has implemented a 2 way feedback to obtain feedback from the employees on how management can do things better and to align goals. The company is also encouraging a more open culture on upward feedback and transparency in the organisation. 2. Long working hours – Given the nature of the audit industry and with expansion growth plans of the company (with an exponential increase in new clients on-board), employees may face long working hours and overtime hours depending on the nature of the audit engagement given to them (eg. Listed companies, IPOs have tighter deadlines to be met). Not only the employee, but the manager and partner on the audit engagement work together to meet deliverables set out. This may be a challenge for some, however, on a positive note, these challenges will in turn help the employee growth and develop their potential in their career.