Marcum LLP Reviews

I don't even know where to begin. As I read the reviews currently on this site and having been at Marcum for 5 years, I can tell you that the negative reviews are not exaggerated. They are actually very accurate. I found some of the positive reviews to be very comical, because it is so obvious that they are fake reviews made by HR to try and boost the Firm's ratings on this site. My peers and I were seldom treated with respect. We were just another number to management. The Partners constantly put us in a loose loose situation. They would low-ball bids to bring in new clients, but then expect us to meet those small (very unrealistic) budgets. Yet there was a constant push to work more and more hours no matter how much we worked. If we worked a ton of hours, we get yelled at for blowing the budget, but if we came in under budget or right on budget, then we get yelled at for not working enough billable hours. There are very few good Managers who work there. Most managers will throw you under the bus any chance they can get. The performance review process is also a joke. When I first started working there, the partners would sit in on the performance evaluation meetings. That quickly ended. I found myself being told all during busy season what a great job I was doing and then when the performance evaluation came up, the same managers telling me I was doing great filled out the evaluation to a completely different tune. The partners read the evaluation post the managers comments and pre the evaluation meeting. I took particular issue with this because when I would challenge a false accusation and everything gets straightened out, the partner is not there to hear that. I thought I would fix this by talking directly to my managing partner. When I sat down to have a one on one conversation with her, I couldn't get two sentences out before she cut me off and gave me a speech about how everyone thinks they are better than they actually are. Even if I did think I was better than I was, the fact that she wouldn't even listen to the concerns of one of her employees was unbelievable. A good leader would at least listen. Even if she had already determined that she would take the managers words as Gospel and wouldnt change a thing after hearing my concerns; at least just let your employee feel heard. But no, she couldn't even do that. My Recommendation is to stay far away from this firm. If you already work here, please do yourself a favor and keep a personal daily journal during busy season. Whenever something good or bad happens (if you do a great job or screw up) record what happened and how it happened. Who said what specifically. And date it. Save any relivant emails. I know it's a lot of work on top of the endless busy season work, but when it's time for performance evaluations, you will thank yourself. If you have no written record, then it becomes a "he said, she said" situation in which the manager will always win. Just be careful and watch your back. I would not wish working at Marcum on my worst enemy.

The sad thing is, there are far too many to count. The firm is working so hard to grow through mergers that a universal culture just does not exist. At our national training events there were others genuinely happy with the firm, but those of us in NYC that are disgusted with the firm. The fast inorganic growth is the perfect set up for instability. It is an odd thing that employees can/will be fired after years upon years of loyal service due to a single mistake. It was cited that an individual can have a “bad” busy season, despite putting in 2, 3, 4, and however many good busy seasons. It just seems illogical that annual terminations are made even though turnover annually is very high. There is no patience to allow employees grow into their roles or to allow employees to better themselves. You are either a superstar every year, or you are a potential liability on the chopping block. You would think any employee regardless of position is capable of, or allowed to have, a down year or a year of growing pains. And, the same employee they fired is likely more valuable than the new person they hire because there is still another year to adjust. By the same token, there are some that likely should be let go, but too many are fired annually to place this trust in management that the proper decision is being made. Managers have colluded to manipulate reviews for the sole purpose of firing people. This is a fact, not to be left to interpretation. $15 dinner allowance is laughable in the city of New York, this does not allow for healthier dinner options; and yet the firm likes to push the concept of health and wellness to their employees. People like to throw management under the bus for them yelling at staff, or putting the firm first before anything else, but ultimately fault lies with the partners pushing this type of culture. At the end of the day Sr. Managers, and managers are fighting for their jobs as well and need to do what it takes to survive. The pressure does get to these people. So yes, several behaviors are inexcusable, but when the partners are constantly dealing losing hands to their teams, what option is really left? Everyone is still human. There is extreme favoritism in the firm, where whether you request something first, or last, if you are not a preferred employee, you will not get what you want. Unfair expectations as a result of undercutting engagement fees is a real problem. Desperate for business is an understatement, while pushing a growth narrative. Office is a ghost town and all the jobs are still getting done some how along with new business coming in? Quality is either going down, or you’re people are very unhappy for working big4 hours. Regarding the Real Estate Group in particular, there is a huge problem with lack of trust in the lead partners; compounded by their inability to show any true respect or compassion to their employees. This is also true of the other practice groups, but we have heard horror stories from Real Estate. I can continue, but know this, in reading the other reviews it is clear what is true and what isn’t. There is only one response from an HR person thanking someone for a good review. HR did not fight to combat or argue against the position of these negative reviews. Further there is a partner response that reads as though it was a copy paste response from HR, or that this partner is so out of touch with his teams that he/she really believes it (another alarming prospect).