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FAQs
Commonly Asked Questions During the Recruitment Process
1. How many people work at Argy?
Argy, Wiltse & Robinson, P.C. currently has approximately 200 employees.
2. What is the culture like?
The culture at Argy is friendly and fast paced. We encourage an open door policy, so our staff, seniors, managers and partners all work together to complete assignments. In addition, you will see an emphasis on maintaining work life balance from the partner level down to the staff level.
We also have many firm sponsored teams and events during the year such as sports teams, happy hours, holiday parties and charity events.
3. Is AWR a diverse environment?
Argy’s professional and administrative employees include individuals from all different social / economic backgrounds. Women represent approximately 60% of our total employee population and 40% of our partners.
4. What sets Argy apart from other public accounting firms?
There are a number of things that set Argy apart from other public accounting firms. Our emphasis on work life balance certainly stands out in an industry that is known for long hours. In order to help achieve work/life balance our professionals receive generous paid vacation and flexible schedules are created on an individual basis.
We also pride ourselves on our high level of customer service. Meeting with our clients face to face and promptly returning voice mails and emails is very important to us.
5. What is the work-life balance like at Argy? What are the regular and busy season hours?
Better work-life balance is one of the reasons Paul Argy founded Argy, wiltse & robinson. Our clients are better served if we are not burned out and we have time for fulfillment in other areas of life. Yes, there is still a busy season at Argy where employees may work 65 hour weeks; however, outside of busy season employees work more comfortable hours, typically ranging from 40-50 hours per week. In addition, we have flexible scheduling that allows most employees to start their work day at different times to accommodate various commutes and morning errands such as taking children to daycare.
6. How is Argy structured?
Our Audit and Tax departments are split, so our employees can gain solid specialized knowledge in their area of interest ( without dilution which occurs from trying to do both ). Our audit and tax departments offer a wide range of clients in numerous sizes and industries. We don’t encourage industry specialization ( as we feel exposure to everything develops sound professional development ) but do accommodate it if a professional truly has an interest in a particular industry. Within our tax department, there 4 separate groups: Corporate Taxation, Family Wealth Management, Individual Compliance Services and International Assignment Services.
In addition to our audit and tax services, we also provide a number of other business advisory services. Johnson Advisors provides core accounting services, such as accounting support, software implementations and set-up of accounting systems. HiRe Expectations represents our HR consulting practice, which provides staffing and project-based HR solutions to our clients. Business and Technology Systems Integrators provides internal and external network installation and support services.
7. What is the typical career progression?
Entry level hires start out at the staff level and move up to senior, manager, senior manager and then partner. There are three levels within each position before partner. Professionals typically progress up one level following each busy season. However, our top performers can skip levels if we feel they are ready for the added responsibility.
8. When do I need to get my CPA license?
We do not require a CPA license until the manager level. Some individuals prefer to wait to take the exam while others choose to complete it sooner. Whichever option you feel most comfortable with is the route you should choose although we encourage our professionals to take it sooner rather than later. We pay $2,500 to all professionals who pass the CPA exam - which can be taken as a bonus or simply used to pay for associated costs for preparing and/or taking the exam.
9. Do I need 150 credit hours to start?
We do not require 150 credit hours to start employment. We only require that a professional have an undergraduate degree in accounting. If you are interested in going back to school for additional courses or to obtain an advanced degree, our tuition reimbursement program can be utilized to cover such costs.
10. How many partners does Argy have?
Nineteen. That number says a lot about our culture. Argy’s ratio of partners to non-partners is currently about 1 to 8. This demonstrates that we have more of a flat organizational structural than a pyramidal or hierarchical structure. It also shows that we do not limit promotion opportunities when our employees are ready to be promoted to the partner level. In addition, having a large number of partners translates to more time that partners are available to meet with professionals for training, mentoring and professional development as well as continue to work on their own work / life balance .
11. How long will it take to become partner? What is required?
If you were to start your career at Argy as an entry-level staff, with regular progression and excellent performance you could make partner in 10 - 12 years.
The nice thing about our approach to selecting partners which differs from some accounting firms is that we value more than just business development efforts when it comes to selecting partners. At some firms, you may never make partner if business development is not your strong suit. Argy looks at the partnership as a team and we like to play off the strengths of every partner so that the whole is a solid group of professionals which compliment each other well. Generally speaking we are looking for well rounded, forward thinking professionals with sound client service skills along with certain specific skills such as subject matter expertise and / or business development.
12. What training programs do you have?
Argy has a variety of professional development and training opportunities. We have an in-house continuing professional education (CPE) program to support our licensed and non-licensed professionals attaining a minimum of 40 hours of CPE each year. Additionally, professionals are eligible to take courses outside of Argy. A tuition reimbursement program is also in place for professional staff.
In addition to these formal training programs, we also have an active mentor program. Our mentor program is designed to assist employees with their career development and provide an informal communication channel for employees. The mentor-protégé partnership creates a risk-free environment where topics such as general accounting information, software questions, client service protocol and firm and department policies and procedures can be discussed.
13. What client industries do you service?
Our clients fall into the following categories: companies that contract with the Federal Government, Real Estate & Hospitality, Nonprofit Organizations, Health Care Organizations, Professional Services (architecture, engineering, law firms), and Technology (software, high tech manufacturing). We also service high net worth individuals and expatriates.
14. How am I assigned to clients? Does Argy select the industries I focus on or do I get to choose?
Less experienced professionals usually function as generalists working within many industry areas. Over time if they develop an interest in specializing in a particular industry or working with certain types of clients or entities, we will accommodate there wishes by simply shifting the types of clients they are looking for in their direction.
Experienced professionals who have already specialized in an industry are typically hired to work on engagements for that industry. Once a new employee has joined a particular team and worked with a particular client, we try our best to have Argy professionals work with the same clients in successive years. Our professionals and clients alike find long-term relationships more rewarding.
15. What are Argy’s long term goals (growth, expansion into other states)?
Our goal is to double in size every five years—in terms of revenue and staff. This means Argy will need twice as many partners, senior managers, managers and seniors in five years. Thus, the opportunity for advancement is great.
16. Does Argy plan to open additional offices?
Argy currently does not have specific plans to open a third office but, as always, will continue to seek out business opportunities that are in keeping with our plans to double in size every five years. Currently we are focused on expanding both our employee and client bases in the McLean, VA and Deerfield Beach, FL offices.
17. Why have you had so many mergers and acquisitions?
We are always looking for new opportunities to offer the best possible level of service to our clients. Initially Argy acquired a few firms to strengthen it’s client base and depth of experience in the real estate and nonprofit industries. This has proven to be a nice way to diversify. The Florida acquisitions was Argy’s first step outside our headquarter location to branch out to another solid geographical location. Now that Argy is one of the top 100 CPA firms in the Nation ( in terms of size ) and is well diversified, future acquisitions will have to provide expertise or geographical reach which is appealing to Argy. We feel that it’s most likely for future growth to come more from internal growth ( riding the strong momentum which is now in place ) rather than through acquisitions.
18. Do you offer a job rotation to work in other divisions?
We do not offer job rotation as an option. However, we do allow employees to transfer to other divisions if they decide they would prefer a full time career in another division. For example, a recent graduate who starts in an entry-level Audit Staff position would be allowed to transfer to a Tax Staff position, if after a year he or she decided that they prefer a public accounting career specializing in taxation.
19. Do you offer an internship program?
Yes. Argy offers 10-week, paid summer internships within the Tax and Audit divisions. This is a comprehensive internship program. Interns are given the same training as our entry-level Staff employees, assigned a mentor and a peer buddy, and given the opportunity to complete work for clients within their respective teams.