Pros
I came to work at this firm because of the opportunities to work with clients where there was no need to focus on obtaining audit work. I also chose this firm because of what I had read about the founder of the firm, Brint Ryan. Since coming to the firm, I have not been disappointed by Brint and the drive that he has. He does run the firm with an iron fist, but he is fair and honest and probably one of the hardest working individuals I have ever met. His drive and work ethic is contagious and makes you want to work harder. His Team Talk initiative where he has an honest discussion about the firm, where it stands and where it is going, and honestly answers questions posed by employees is refreshing. It brings us into the board room so to speak and you get the sense that you may just have some input as to some decisions being made. The compensation structure has its pros and cons. In some ways it makes some people work harder because in order to make money you truly have to work hard so in that sense I like that. You get rewarded for your hard work which is great. My Ryan - one of the greatest and most innovative work benefits ever...and it works. The firm is flexible and accommodating when needed.
Cons
The compensation structure has its pros and cons. While it does make some people work extremely hard sometimes it is a little difficult to get some groups to work together. While this does happen some times it is not the norm and this is found just as much in the Big 4 and other Tax and Accounting firms that don't have this type of comp structure. I will say that the compensation structure does not work with all service lines and in my humble opinion some of the service lines should have a more traditional compensation structure. Some partners are more business development partners rather than partners that develop business within their service line which is great but they should be in a business development role rather than in the service line. It can be difficult sometimes to get work as a manager without selling it yourself because the partners in your group are too busy selling work in other service lines which potentially hurts younger managers as they try to grow professionally in order to make it to the next level.