MACPA member firm Santos, Postal & Co., of Rockville, topped the list of the Best Firms to Work For (Small Company Category) in the 2015 list issued by Accounting Today.
Six other MACPA member firms were named to the Top 52 in the Small Company Category (15-49 employees), including Berlin, Ramos & Co. (Rockville); Bormel, Grice & Huyett (Laurel); E. Cohen & Co. (Rockville); HeimLantz (Annapolis); Lanigan, Ryan, Malcolm & Doyle (Gaithersburg); and DeLeon & Stang (Gaithersburg). The AT Top 100 firms list was published (unranked) earlier this year, and the annual ranking was published recently by Accounting Today.
SC&H Group (Sparks) and Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman (Bethesda) were among the Top 45 firms in the Midsize Company (50-249 employee) category.
The performance of Maryland firms in the small firm list is evidence of those firms’ commitment to excellence, and to the MACPA’s commitment to providing not only technical training to its members on the latest FASB, IRS, DOL rulings, and standards and rules of the AICPA, NASBA, and the Maryland State Board of Public Accountancy, but also the association’s forward-thinking training on soft skills, including leadership development, communications, and strategy. See the MACPA’s events calendar for upcoming CPE and networking programs (both live events and webcasts) and the wide array of programs (in-person and virtual, with customized training available for accounting firms as well as business and industry) offered by the Business Learning Institute.
Santos, Postal & Co. earned its No. 1 position in large part for its culture, including such work-life balance initiatives as offering every other Friday off during busy season (while retaining coverage), bringing in complimentary lunch for its 40-member staff on rainy days, and having the guts to conduct a third-party anonymous survey to check how employees feel about working for the firm.
“What comes up time and time again is that we care about our employees,” said Jennifer Hough, the firm’s human relations manager. “We care about work-life balance, the flexibility.”
Managing Partner Charles Postal talked about another important element of firm satisfaction and success: succession planning. “(Our) 25- to 35-year-olds who show they’re leaders (are) getting involved in the process. We give them a seat at the table and say to them, explicitly: ‘You are our future.’ We’re telling this generation we can’t do it without them.”
He shared with Accounting Today part of the secret to his firm’s success, including its involvement with the MACPA.
“We’re very dedicated to remaining independently owned and operated,” said Postal. Strategic moves include baby boomers transitioning their client base and expertise to the next generation; internal and external training programs; and working with top-notch consulting firms and the Maryland Association of CPAs to teach essential next-generation leadership skills.
DeLeon and Stang was also recently profiled for being at the forefront of training its staff in learning how to be more proactive and anticipatory, as featured in “Anticipation in action: Here’s what it looks like.”
Download the full list of the 2015 Best Firms to Work For, published by Accounting Today. Read more about how to have your firm considered in 2016, eligibility requirements, and the employee feedback and benchmarking services offered as part of this program, at BestAccountingFirmsToWorkFor.com.
The MACPA and the BLI salute all those recognized in the 2015 Best Firms to Work For, especially our MACPA member firms!