One of your first experiences with us will be new hire orientation. Soon after, you will be matched with a mentor – a more experienced staff person who will serve as a “coach” as you navigate your first years with us. We strive to pair people who will not normally be working together daily. This is an important relationship, and mentors are encouraged to arrange time on a regular basis to meet and chat about any concerns or questions that may arise in your day-to-day experience and interactions, as well as interests, ideas or suggestions that you may wish to share.
For new accounting staff, one of the big goals is to pass the CPA exam, if you haven’t already. We want you to succeed in achieving this milestone, and will support you by 1) paying for time off to take the exam, 2) paying the fees for the initial sitting 3) paying for one CPA exam review course (up to $1,500). When you do pass, we will help you celebrate with a $2,000 bonus and an extra day off to spend it!!!
We pay for your annual AICPA and KyCPA membership dues, and for all ongoing CPE requirements. We provide in-house seminars/CPE, Lunch ‘n Learns, and other educational opportunities which cover “soft skills” development as well as technical knowledge. In addition, we will work with you to select outside CPE courses offered by organizations such as the Kentucky Society of CPAs on relevant topics that will enhance your skill set and value. Not only do we cover the costs of all annual CPE requirements for the CPAs on staff, but we also track it all for you, so that you don’t have to.
We encourage staff to pursue specialized training and/or certification the lines up with firm and niche objectives, and with approval, will cover the related costs. Our membership in the BDO Alliance USA (we’ll be discussing this in a future post) provides numerous and ongoing opportunities for professional growth and development, which we often take advantage of.
Another way we seek to bring out the best in our employees is to invest in leadership training and programs. For example, we typically sponsor one or more employees each year in Leadership Louisville/Leadership Southern Indiana programs where participants learn about various aspects of our community and how to get involved/make a difference, in addition to continuing alumni responsibilities following graduation from the program. DMLO not only covers the tuition fee, but also pays for much of the time employees devote to the program, both while enrolled and as alumni.
We are very intentional about developing our niche groups, and as you gain exposure and experience, encourage you to consider if you might enjoy directing your time and talent to a particular group, where you will be able to focus more intently on developing your status as an “expert” in your field.
We expect and encourage staff at all levels to see the value in learning to promote both the firm and themselves individually through online and in person relationships, event networking, community involvement, knowledge sharing, board service, identifying new business opportunities, etc. You will receive specific communication regarding the expectations at each level, and ongoing coaching as needed.
We want you to get involved, and be where our clients and target clients hang out. We will help you select organizations or events to join or participate in for which you have an interest or passion, and will pay membership dues and event fees for approved organizations.
Our goal is to create an environment and offer resources and opportunities that will allow you to thrive as a professional and as an individual, and to make a real difference for our clients and community.