• “We have busy periods during tax season, but outside of tax season we have enough flexibility to ensure we are making time for other things besides work. Our work nature allows us to be flexible, as we can work almost any hour of the day. If I want to take a few days off or a few hours off, I know I can make up for it and our managers don't bother us about it. As long as we continue to provide quality work in a timely matter and take ownership in our work, we are given the opportunity to have work/life balance.”
• “I do believe that the firm allows for a good work/life balance. There will always be times when things get crazy and additional hours are needed to meet deadlines, but management also allows staff to take a PTO day to make up for the overage.”
• “Sikich treats its employees like they are people and not like tools. The managers and partners want us to do our best for our clients and business, but they remember we have lives outside of work.”
• “I think the firm focuses on quality of life and has been amazing during Covid, with the ability to work from home and have a flexible schedule. The firm also provides mental health, physical health, and other guidance/education to make sure we are taking care of ourselves so we can work well.”

• “Vacation time and flexible hours (defined as working hours that are close to the business hours but still maintained by the individual and not set by another person) are better than at other firms. I appreciate the casual dress policy and the educational reimbursement opportunities. 401(k) matching seems to be consistent with other firms. Sikich really pivoted and adapted during the pandemic to shift toward remote work. I made the transition to being fully remote, and the firm has moved toward allowing more employees to become fully remote.”
• “The firm has a strong benefits package that is very competitive and is consistently reviewed and improved. The firm has a benefit for counseling. The worst is that partners have to pay for their own 401(k) match.”
• “I realize the coronavirus had a heavy impact on raises this past year, but was it fair that employees had to go through what we did, transitioning to a remote environment, while continuing to service our clients and working more hours, and not be compensated for it—especially with the overhead being saved by not being in the office and no travel?”
• “The firm's salaries seem to be a little lower than industry averages, but the firm allows me to work fully remotely (in-office dress policy pre-Covid was also casual, which was nice). I also have the ability to use my vacation time and have a flexible work schedule to work around any personal obligations that may come up.”

• “We have portal called Sikich University. It's a great way to see what's available and what’s required. We have had several people move to other areas and stay with the firm, so it's a win-win when it happens.”
• “Lots of career development opportunities. Our firm has weekly trainings and conferences about interesting topics to help all staff accountants learn about new policies/changes in the tax law.”
• “Plenty of opportunity to advance if you put in the effort. Not much pressure put on new hires to pass the CPA exam, which could limit an individual in the future. There is financial support to take the exam and flexibility in what aspects of the industry you are most interested in.”
• “The informal training that happens with the partners is great in terms of the development that it gives me. Everyone goes out of their way to make sure they are there to help you understand if you're dealing with things for the first time. The flipside of this is that the formal training is not always the best. It is largely concentrated with a few individuals (who are all good) that also have other daily commitments. These trainings, even pre-Covid, were done almost entirely remote, which often means they are not as effective and people are not as engaged as they would be in an in-person setting.”

• “Community involvement is top-notch. The firm has strengthened its diversity and inclusive efforts this past year. The executive board signed a pledge to make diversity and inclusion a priority and has taken actions such as making MLK day a firm holiday. Women Leadership Circle groups have been established across the firm. Teams are being reviewed and assessed for diversity.”
• “Our firm has a team dedicated to fostering diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We have stated policies that support the hiring, retention, training, and promotion of all people, regardless of race, sexual orientation, disabilities, etc.”
• “It appears to me that Sikich is a company who holds diversity as an important cornerstone to the company, and they are always wanting to know from their employees how they can improve and grow in this area. Sikich offers its professionals time off (up to four hours) for charitable work. They also have different charities that we can donate to.”
• “The diversity with respect to women is excellent. While I think the firm tries to support diversity and inclusion, we're in an industry with notoriously few minorities. Our office, recently merged, is extremely conservative and has a fair way to go.”

• “I think the firm is going strong and has a great vision for the future. Due to the current pandemic, our work environment has changed greatly, but the firm has adapted quite well and makes sure that employees are updated on all activities. My concern would be the vision of fully working remote. I like to see my coworkers in person and have a chat.”
• “I see a bright future for Sikich. Due to impacts of the C pandemic, the entire firm was forced to immediately transition to a remote environment—successfully at that. Our ability to adapt to the world around us has been and will consistently be an advantage.”
• “The firm seems to be staying strong even through the pandemic. Employee morale appears to be up for the most part, but departments are understaffed and overworked. The firm’s biggest strengths are breath of services and commitment to technology. Around 50 percent of our revenues are from tech-related services. The firm is constantly looking for more ways to use technology to make our jobs easier and provide better service.”
• “The firm is doing excellent. The pandemic has given upper management the opportunity to make changes that will benefit the firm going forward.”

• “Internship was true to first-year full-time staff experience. The work and expectations were very similar to what new full-time staff also experience. Pay was good, and I was able to obtain college course credit.”
• “I was treated like a full-time staff rather than a seasonal intern. I was able to prepare individual, business, and trust returns during the internship, not just one certain type of return. There was also no restriction on how many hours I could work. If there was work available I could work as much as I wanted.”
• “Sikich has a great culture that felt very welcoming to all of the interns. I made great connections with the other interns and the staff. They made a significant effort to answer any and all questions we had.”
• “I really enjoyed how much responsibility I had during my internship. I was treated as another staff and had high expectations. This caused me to push myself and learn a lot in a short amount of time. I had an overwhelming amount of support for my coworkers whenever I needed help. The most challenging aspect may have been the travel, as I was not expecting to travel that much. But my firm has a really good travel policy.”

Wellness Efforts

• “The firm offers various initiatives to ensure employees’ well-being. The firm offers an app for mental health support, has team activities throughout the year, and offers the Vitality Wellness program."
• “Company fully supports and offers wellness through Vitality and Ginger. Firmwide events focused around wellness are regularly offered and open to all. Even spouses are eligible to get involved.”
• “The firm has amazing wellness efforts, from physical wellness to mental health wellness. They promote these initiatives many times throughout the year and encourage employees to use them.”
• “Our firm offers mental health support and telemedicine options, and has a vitality and wellness program. HR regularly sends out emails to notify staff so they are aware of the options and benefits.”

Response to Anti-Racist Protests and BLM Movement

• “We added MLK day to our annual holidays and created a committee to address and oversee diversity within the firm.”
• “Sikich stressed the importance of diversity and took on a new diversity initiative in response to the BLM movement. Overall, the response was fairly mild, which I think is appropriate.”
• “There has been a response. It was delayed, and I'm not sure if it is sincere. There is a great deal more that can be done to hire, promote, mentor, and retain talented individuals. I was a bit disappointed. There are initiatives in place but there is a lot of work to do.”
• “Our firm has required diversity and inclusion training. We also started an internal focus group regarding diversity and inclusion.”

Response to Covid-19

• “They have been amazing, encouraging and, at time, mandating that everyone work at home. At no time did they make us feel pressured to work in an environment that makes us feel unsafe. They provided tools and help needed to work at home. They provided updates to what they were thinking about work and timing as the pandemic has continued to unfold. I have been very impressed and happy with how they have handled such an unprecedented event.”
• “Our firm moved seamlessly to the remote work environment when the pandemic took hold. Our IT department went above and beyond to ensure that setting up at home was as painless as possible by quickly and efficiently responding to emails and phone calls to walk personnel through proper setup. Additionally, we were encouraged to take our equipment home to make the WFH experience easier—including our docking stations and large dual monitors. In an effort to keep its most valuable resource—its people—safe, the firm has required all personnel to work from home until this crisis is in the past. There have been numerous communications throughout this time to keep people informed of all firm-related issues, Covid and otherwise.
• “We moved to work-from-home immediately. There is no pressure to come back to the office. Remote looks like it is here to stay.”
• “When the pandemic really started to hit hard in Ohio (March 2020), the firm began working remotely and has been doing that since. I live with an elderly person. As such, it's very important to me that I am cautious going out in public. Being able to work from home has alleviated a lot of that concern. Additionally, on the occasions where I do visit clients, it is never required. My superiors always make sure that it's something I am comfortable doing before sending me to a client. I appreciate that.”