Pleasant work environment, not a lucrative career for techies.
Been with KPMG going on 5 years. Opportunities for growth are limited for people with primarily a technical skillset. Tax knowledge is vital to advancement in the Tax Technology practice (which makes sense), unless you are in procurement or some administrative group. You WILL be kept busy, which is good.
KPMG "celebrates diversity", and constantly nags employees to contribute to community. But they do not really give a "we care about you as an individual" vibe (in my experience). Some walk the walk issues here. For example recently management encouraged people to use their Sunday to go to an MLK public gathering... but didn't (and never has) given employees MLK day off. They claim to honor veterans but don't give that day off either. In fact there are only about 6 holidays (8 days) off a year unless Partners are feeling particularly generous, they they give a couple extra at year end. During the summers they give what they call Jumpstart Friday (can leave work at 3PM) but client work still comes first, and Manager and above better not be unreachable nights and weekends or you take flack for it.
KPMG pays no overtime, doesn't compensate for extra time put in either, so there is very little incentive to give them any extra. They have a bonus program where people can nominate co-workers for awards... but cap at $1,000 per recipient per year, silly. High achievers should not be limited, they should be encouraged to do more and more. But they do have good work remote and fl
Points positifsPeople say thank you. Can take time off if you need to.
Points négatifsBonuses are skimpy, advancement opportunities hard to come by
Sometimes stress unnecessarily caused by management
Since I was there for so many years, I was allowed to work outside the box at times when my regular work was done. For, example I lead a swat team of technical experts to solve an 'unsolvable' problem with a firm-wide hoteling system that the firm was beta testing. They just couldn't get it to work properly. I did my research and resolved all the problems in one major meeting. i also saved the provider from going out of business. If KPMG had not accepted his system, they would have been finished.
In another problem, telecom was out in San Juan office during their critical tax season, and our major provider said it would take 90 days to restore. I was asked the 'impossible' to get service from another provider in one week. When I arranged it for a week later, they asked for it in 3 days. I delivered.
The week of the KPMG Albany office relocation, when all was set to go we were advised by AT&T that due to a NY state of emergency they would not be able to deliver the data service we required. I talked to a President I knew at AT&T, from my work at ABC and he obtained the service on-time for the office relocation in-spite of the state of emergency. I was able to advise that the circuits/hardware were immediately available via my research. They simply had to plug in and program.
This was in addition to my regular work in telecommunications billing, and telecommunications voice project management.
I enjoyed being allowed to sometimes step outside the box to do very i
Points positifsGoing far beyond my job description.
Points négatifsSome poor managers had to live with from time-to-time.
5,0
Information Technology Manager | Montvale, NJ | 1 juil. 2016
KPMG EO was an acceptable workplace.
* A typical day at work was primarily design, develop, test and deploy; then move on.
* What I learned was garnered mostly from co-workers. Off and onsite professional development was meager and of poor quality.
* Most managers were technically challenged and suspicious of the people they managed. Their decisions seemed mostly to be driven from up the chain and were arbitrary. They mostly managed projects first and people second. Therefore advancement and compensation raises were slow, with many years of no advancement nor increased compensation. In my 23 years at KPMG, I was fortunate to work under one individual who was an exception. He was highly intelligent, a great listener, relied on my judgement, was forward thinking and proactive in his planning and execution, and cared deeply for his people and their situations. I sincerely miss him.
* My co-workers were competent and hard working. Relationships reached beyond the workplace.
* The hardest part of the job was dealing with the partnership component of the structure. Partners were, in general, self-involved, uninspiring, arbitrary, and unfair. Benefits were expensive, 401K matching was nominal. We rarely saw any Partners. Partners (CPAs) referred to us as "non-professionals".
* The most enjoyable part of my job was being involved with my own projects as well as working in parallel with my peers whose expertise was commonly and easily shared. I benefited greatly from my close-knit peer group.
Points positifsIt was an interesting job with a cohesive team feeling.
Points négatifsIT Department was outsourced. Management evaluations seemed arbitrary.
Their business model is hiring accountants out of college, using them 60 hours/week, and hoping they leave. Their stated motto is "A great place to start a career" because its great to put a big 4 on your resume, but nobody stays very long.
There is no support to complete your CPA while working. You work far too many hours to study for the CPA exam. They won't pay for your CPA exam prep classes.
There is no autonomy in your job. After one year, our manager asked "what do we need to fix here to make next year better?" We had a meeting and made two pages of suggestions.... and then they never talked about it again. They fired us the next year for not improving anything. The replacements made the same suggestions.
They feed you dinner if you stay late; get the filet mignon, its excellent.
If you go on vacation, they approve it, but then harass you the day you get back "why did you go on vacation?"
One 17-year guy had two years of vacation rolling over and HR was forcing him to take days off, in winter, because you can't take days off during summer tax season.
The day after tax deadlines (Oct 15th) the manager will bring you a tiny, home-cooked cupcake with terrible icing. Treat it like its gold. Its some kind of stupid tradition to insult your staff with inedible food after major deadlines and Firm goals are met.
The day after you start, you'll be counting the days you can put on your resume until the day you leave.
They talk about the ea
Excellent place for upwards mobility.However the company is not concerned about contractors in NJ
Contractors in KTECH NJ are not offered the chance to join the firm as associates. For some reason be it incentives or what have you, St. Louis seems to be their priority. While I was with the firm I saw hard working contractors with tons or experience and who could have done wonders for the firm being let go after a very suspicios 2 year limit. This dilutes the knowledge base and they have to constantly train new contractors. This only occurs in NJ. St. Louis seems to have an unlimmited budget alloted as people start there as contractors and suddenly are brought in as FTEs( Full Time Employees ) regardless of seniority, Once you are in the sky is the limit. People get promoted quickly for whatever reason. However again, this only happens in their secondary location in St. Louis. So if you want to move to the MidWest please feel free. If you are in the NY/NJ area strap on for two years of no benefits , PTO , anything. You will NOT get anywhere and you will be given a nice bye bye after you put in your time, sweat and tears, Watch others advance because of where they live.
This is a very very unfair and irrational system.
If you can get in as an actual associate consider yourself extremely lucky.
Points positifsJob security
Points négatifsExtremely hard to get in as an associate, unless you happen to live in a certain area where budget is allocated
The most enjoyable part of the position was learning from very intellegent people, namely those to whom I reported to: PMO, Director of IT and Infrastructure, and the Director of QA.
The hardest aspect of the position was the learning curve of new software used internally by KPMG-US.
My daily tasks and responsibility included, but were not limited to:
-Managing and assisting in various internal work streams relating to QA deliverables, reports, and plans; Process and Requirements documents; working with Orion (KPMG vendor) QA leads and organizing deliverables from various teams into SPS.
-Working in HP ALM software as a QC Administrator to add and maintain list items and users on request; help create new QC Project Databases for new projects; create/maintain public queries and reports in QC for all product defects and requirements.
-Performed the file copy and posting process as needed for GSC Audit country test, production, or limited deployments.
-Project Lead for mapping and assessing the KPMG Infrastructure Portal based on the ITIL (Information Technology Information Library) Framework.
-Assisting in the deployment of GSC Audit product build releases and monitored all business end users to ensure proper functionality of the release.
The best people and culture but flawed in some areas
Overall, I enjoyed my time at KPMG. However, this was mainly because of the greatest coworkers and perks given. It truly felt like family. KPMG had many loyal coworkers who were passionate, optimistic, and inclusive. KPMG allows a great employee experience. Benefits and perks are ideal. The one downside to KPMG was the lack of management. Some PMLs need more mandatory, formal trainings. They are not flexible as far as work life balance, there is evident micro-managing, and many employees will attest that it is challenging to get promoted even when demonstrating results and excellent performance. It's discouraging especially for the younger employees and associates who came in at an already low salary and are eager to learn more and grow. If things don't change, the new or younger employees will not remain loyal. If management and leadership really focus on career development and flexibility, KPMG would be perfect. Hoping to return to KPMG one day with more experience and help make an impact!
Points positifsGenerous benefits and perks like PTO and campus events, friendly culture, positive environment
Points négatifsPoor management, difficult to get promoted
Not great.very stuffy environment and daily desk hoteling is incredibly annoying. Open floor plan is just the cherry on top when you have inconsiderate employees that don’t know how to use their inside voice. Way too much dude sweat and testosterone leads to office tiffs... If you want to feel uncomfortable for 9 hours a day, come work here.. Everyone seems so uptight and it’s almost like everyone is watching each other there. The daily gossip I know is in every office but more than usual here. I think that it would actually be a place I would like to stay long term if they would actually institute a work remote policy for everyone... I think this day in age we should be trusted to complete our daily tasks without the feeling of being watched all day. The stress from that alone is enough for the high turn around rate..
Points positifsNothing..
Points négatifsCan’t work remote, micromanagement, cut throat, two faced team members, uptight and very stuffy, too much busy work which drives me nuts..
At least in the Montvale office, where we are all considered backoffice slugs, the atmosphere is unbelievably negative. You are constantly treated as if you are a horrible disappointment and unworthy of your position - and this applies to everyone below the director level. Altho most of us are at least as well educated as the consultants and accountants - and offer far more educationally qualified - we have no clear career path, no support and face a general attitude of disdain and dismissal. It really is horrendous - and I would strongly advice anyone to find any other position before taking one here. Sadly, the faltering economy has left many of us stranded here. It's akin to a hostage crisis - but without the Stockholm syndrome
Points positifsfairly easy to get to
Points négatifstoo many to list - the place is soul crushing
How well you end up liking the company depends on which department you are in and who you work for. They claim to have flexible work schedules and the ability to work from home, but that is not true throughout the entire organization. Most people tend to work long hours while others in the same department don't. Sometimes a manager's perception is distorted on who is busy or who is the most productive.
KPMG does encourage learning and development.
They also provide a lot of fun events throughout the year.
The best part about working for corporate is that they are located in New Jersey which means you don't have to commute to New York City every day.
Points positifsPTO Policy - most start with 25 days and Offices close the week between Christmas & New Years
Points négatifsLong Hours - Work not distributed evenly
Questions et réponses au sujet de l'entreprise KPMG
Comment avez-vous obtenu votre premier entretien chez KPMG ?
Posée le 20 févr. 2018
Avec la directrice sur rdv
Réponse du 29 sept. 2020
Candidature spontanée
Réponse du 20 oct. 2018
Comment décririez-vous l’ambiance de travail chez KPMG ?
Posée le 16 oct. 2019
Pas conviviable, aucun effort fourni pour intégrer les nouveaux arrivants
Réponse du 17 mai 2021
Tendue, stressante, plusieurs burn-out...
Réponse du 8 mars 2021
Quelles sont les questions posées lors d’un entretien chez KPMG ?
Posée le 18 juil. 2019
Belle question 🥰
Vous voyez le nombre de candidat que j’ai à voir. Pourquoi vous ?
Conseil ne pas décrire votre Cv, il c’est déjà le lire 🤣
Réponse du 11 juil. 2021
On vous pose des questions vos dernières expériences et sur votre motivation. Vous faites des souhaits mais ils n'en tiennent pas compte.
Réponse du 4 févr. 2020
Quels conseils donneriez-vous à une personne ayant un entretien chez KPMG ?
Posée le 24 sept. 2018
Réviser les écritures comptables, savoir se présenter
Réponse du 9 juil. 2021
Etre naturel et se renseigner sur les activités du cabinet. Savoir exprimer ses attentes et ses envies, le cabinet sait en tenir compte.
Réponse du 2 févr. 2020
Quelles sont les perspectives de carrière chez KPMG ?
Posée le 20 déc. 2017
aucune si vous ne léchez pas les bottes du chef
Réponse du 21 mai 2021
Chaque année, le consultant passe au grade suivant avec une augmentation de salaire d'environ 10% (variable selon le niveau de salaire auquel le consultant a démarré)/
