When I started my career in public accounting, I started writing down a list of things I enjoyed about my work as well as the things I didn't enjoy about my work.
I always liked math. I enjoyed the satisfaction of having everything balance out at the end of an assignment. I liked the wide variety of assignments and the ability to help people with difficult financial issues that were causing a lot of stress. But I didn't like all the pressure to bill hours and having lunch in the office on Saturday afternoon when I'd rather be home with my family. My list also included bigger existential questions such as why am I an accountant and am I cut out to work for other people?
So, when my partner Andy Lane and I started Tri-Merit 16 years ago, we had two goals in mind:
1. To be a place where people enjoyed working. It would be a place where people got satisfaction with what they were doing and enjoyed coming to work and didn't feel anxiety all the time.
2. To support an industry that we loved with integrity and opportunity. We had this mindset that we wanted to create a better accounting profession. We were committed to helping CPA firms and tax preparers learn the truth about specialized tax credit opportunities for their clients and why they should trust us even though we were not doing things the same way as everyone else.
For some reason, people really want to be part of the culture at our firm. We've only lost about a half dozen employees in 16 years, and team members keep recruiting friends and family to work here. We give our people the flexibility to work when they want to work. Everybody knows what they need to get done and they get it done. They're free to be themselves and we strongly encourage everyone to let their colleagues know what their "And" is — i.e., their passions outside of work. For instance, I'm a CPA and a passionate home brewer. Or I'm a tax specialist, and I enjoy gardening, doing improv or competing in triathlons. Whether working with people side by side or on Zoom calls every day, it's so important to know who they are outside of the workplace.
Although our firm is virtual, we get everyone together twice a year in a nice location. It costs us over six figures each time to get all 60 people together for several days in one place. But it's worth every penny. It keeps us close. We'll talk about business matters, but the focus is on hanging out together, building friendships and having a good time and sharing our respective "And's."
At our last gathering in San Diego, the outside photographer said something that really stuck with me: "People seem to be having a great time and I honestly can't tell who the partners are. Everyone seems to be equal and open."
That's a huge endorsement if you ask me.
GRF has also implemented "stay interviews" developed by the firm's DEI officer. While many firms hold exit interviews for departing employees, GRF wants to know why employees like working there, what the firm can do better and what they can do to make the employee's experience more rewarding. "Stay interviews are so much more proactive than exit interviews," asserted Cardello, "because by the time you get to exit interviews, it's way too late."
Transparency
Back at Tri-Merit, transparency is another core value of our firm. When we have our semi-annual gatherings, everyone listens to a "State of the Firm" address. We're very open about what our revenues and profits are and any big investments or changes we're planning to make. But transparency is not just about the numbers; it's about vulnerability. The firm's leaders are not afraid to admit that they don't know all the answers and they can show empathy for others.
GRF is passionate about identifying partner-level talent from all walks of life early in one's career. Anyone who's interested can obtain a copy of the firm's partner track plan to see what it takes and what criteria the firm is looking for. As part of the firm's diversity, equity and inclusion mission, Cardello said it's very important for team members from all backgrounds to know they can reach the top if they work hard and that's a goal for them.
"If you don't see people that look like you at the top, then you don't think it's attainable," said Cardello. Even though there are more women than men in public accounting when Cardello came up the ranks, she said very few were making it to the partner table, much less to the CEO or managing partner level. "A lot of that has to do with mentoring. You need really strong mentors. Our goal is to get the message out, not just within our firm, but within the profession at large, that you can have a successful career no matter what background you come from."
What makes a great hire?
It's not just finding someone with the right technical skills. Strong interpersonal skills are just as important. And sometimes you must look outside the accounting world and accounting schools to find them. Two of our firm leaders — Nick Pantaleo and Danny Anderson — were working as personal trainers at my gym when I first met them. What struck me about both men was how great their communication skills were and how adept they were at promoting the gym's products and services. Neither had accounting backgrounds in college, by the way. Nick was a business and health sciences major in college and also a college football player. He was good enough to earn a spot at an NFL combine. Pretty impressive coming out of a small Division III school. He also had a perfect score in the math section of the ACT test and was always interested in accounting. Nick is now our CFO and was recently named partner.
Danny never finished college, but he was always academically talented and has an incredible ability to store facts. Danny's nickname is "Cliff" after Cliff Klevan, the know-it-all postal carrier in the sitcom "Cheers." Based on that background and his impressive handling of himself at the gym, we gave Danny a shot in sales. He hit $1 million in sales in his first six months on the job and hasn't looked back since. Danny now heads up our inside sales team.
Like Tri-Merit, GRF starts talking to kids in college and high school about accounting careers and attending job fairs. Doing more outreach into the community about accounting as a profession. The challenge, said Cardello, is that there's not always a diverse talent pool going into college to study accounting, much less a diverse candidate pool coming out of college to recruit from.
In the war for talent, Cardello said firms are just "throwing money" at young candidates so now salaries, along with technology, are GRF's two highest expenses. "It's never been tougher to keep up with the market to attract and keep people. That's where culture comes in.
GRF specializes in serving nonprofit organizations, and that in itself is a draw for many new hires. "Our three founding partners believed very strongly in giving back to the community," said Cardello. The firm now serves nonprofits from all over the world. "We have clients with funds from USAID and various country funds, so there's a need for us to go to field offices and see what's going on and audit," explained Cardello. "Our firm is unique in that our clients have field offices all over the world and that's attractive to young people who want to travel and see the world."
In addition to identifying early partner talent, GRF is aggressive about creating a path for talented people who don't want to follow the partner track. Whether you're on the partner track or not, don't ever let anyone tell you that you can't.
