My senior year of college I was fortunate to go on a mission trip to Skopia, Macedonia for 12 days. We worked with elementary school students by hosting asports camp and caring for the local community. We found ourselves serving with a local church in the largest gypsy camp in the world--which had dirt roads, trash, tents and very few amenities.  However, the ringing noise of children’s laughter is what I remember most. We danced, sang, and played with the cute little preschool students on site at the camp.  As I did this important work, I could feel my heart begin to grow.  I saw how just our short visit made a difference in these little children’s lives. However, I knew the 12 days I used during my college summer vacation would be temporary and I had to remind myself repeatedly, once I was in the full-time workforce, things would change.  I knew that when I graduated and began my career, I wouldn’t have the luxury of taking two weeks to go overseas and serve. My heart was in two places, the need and desire to begin my career and the yearning for helping through international missions.

As I have transitioned from college into my career, I realize that picking and choosing when you want to use your paid time off (PTO) can be stressful. Whether it’s using that time for a medical appointment or taking a much-needed vacation, PTO is an asset to all employees. Scheduling PTO means staffers must carefully plan for an entire year of personal demands. 

My own perspective on wanting to serve and feeling unable because of time demands, as well as similar feelings by my co-workers, has led to a creative response on the part of my employer, The BaCo Group.   The BaCo Group is an organization that never follows the norms, our owners and employees are always thinking outside the box and the response to my needs and those of my peers has been no exception. 

During the Spring of 2018, our owners announced a plan to ‘match’ the PTO time taken by employees for service projects.   For those employees meeting the requirements of the plan after their first year’s anniversary, The BaCo group will match up to 50% days per year of PTO for service projects – meaning that if an employee is willing to invest a week in a service project, half of the time will come from their own PTO allotment and BaCo will grant an additional 2.5 days of PTO for that employee in support of the employee’s philanthropic desires. 

Service projects that fall during filing deadlines or near holidays where numerous employees are out on leave will not be approved.  For summer service projects, employees must be cognizant of their summer Friday schedule and work on their own to switch assigned days if service projects lead to them being out of the office on a scheduled workday.

I have seen this response as a great benefit of working for The BaCo Group, as it is very uncommon for employers to support their employee’s desires in this manner.  With this matching program, BaCo is incentivizing its employees to serve and is also making an investment in the effort.   Service is vital to our community, but in the end, it also leads to immense benefits to the individual serving – through the satisfaction that comes from helping others, through the effort to stop focusing on one’s self which leads to increased compassion, empathy and thankfulness.  These qualities all positively impact individuals and lead to greater joyfulness.   Within the firm, growing these qualities improves office morale and makes BaCo an even better place to work.

Since the announcement of this new policy, I’ve had the desire to get a mission trip planned and scheduled.  I have found myself daydreaming about going on another service trip somewhere across the world, just like the one I was involved in during college, and now I feel free to do so without PTO stress. This matching program opens doors to opportunities for me to serve in so many ways – and the plan to support my efforts is very unique to BaCo.  This is just another example of how the BaCo group is constantly evolving in every way, to better serve its employees, the community and its clients through innovations and outside the box thinking.

It is widely known that accountants face crazy demands… especially during tax season. With more time spent working, healthy habits are often pushed aside. The BaCo Group and Today I Can’s founder and CEO, Ford Baker has committed to help break the cycle of “the typical workaholic accountant.” What began as a personal endeavor has grown into a ministry of love, support and encouragement – to help others battle the destructive cycle of the sedentary lifestyle.

Ford’s personal journey began by adding small amounts of exercise and changes to his diet.  This ultimately led him to bike riding, for which he quickly developed a passion.  Ford now even uses a bicycle for his commute to work.  Small changes initially grew into large changes, and Ford was able to eliminate numerous daily medications, and was able to take enormous strides toward improving his physical and mental health.  Through these ‘one step at a time’ lifestyle changes, and incorporation of exercise into every day, Ford has lost over 130 pounds, and gained so much more.  The improvements in his quality of life have led to Ford’s desire to pay it forward, and he does that largely through the efforts of Today I Can. 

In 2017 and again this year, Today I Can has sponsored a bike giveaway tailored for accountants.  The promotion runs during the typical tax filing season, and encourages accountants to sign up for a drawing, and to encourage their friends to sign up.   Through this creative campaign, the important health message of getting out of the chair and away from the desk – is being spread and we can see first-hand the positive impact of healthy lifestyle changes.

This year, the winner the Today I Can  SECOND ANNUAL BIKE GIVEAWAY is Matt Schonefeld!

We are so excited for him! Matt’s dad, Rodney, referred him to the giveaway, which means he also received a brand new bike! We are so pleased to support Matt and Rodney and encourage them in their fitness goals.

Rodney is not only a BaCo client and friend, he has been busy working as the CFO at a local construction company. Recently, Ford invited Rodney to participate in the MS150, a fundraising effort seeking the cure for Multiple Sclerosis.  At the time of that event, Rodney did not have a bike and therefore borrowed one.   We are excited to support our friends Rodney and Matt and are excited to ride along-side them in their fitness and bicycle journeys.   It is the goal of Today I Can to support and encourage everyone in meeting their fitness goals, so watch the website for programs and promotions in the future.

Landing that new job and the excitement that ensues often fades when reality sets in - and you find yourself in a sea of cubicles, working long hours, drinking cold coffee made from an overworked Keurig.  This has been the reality of the office job for years.  However, some accounting firms and corporations are changing that approach and drastically rethinking their workspace.  They are embracing the new concept of hoteling - and it is all the rage.  Hoteling is a concept whereby an office is converted to a series of workspaces that no individual person occupies on an ongoing basis.  Instead, employees reserve desks or tables to use for work on an as-needed basis.  Public accounting firms have jumped on this hoteling concept because of the number of employees they have that work remotely.  A simple Google search of ‘office hoteling’ will bring up a host of brightly colored contemporary office spaces, airy and open - very pleasing at first glance.  But what is the practicality of this approach, what are the positives and negatives – and how do employees really feel about this shift?

A recent Wall Street Journal article (“Don’t Get Used to Your Own Desk”) recently touted this practice as a huge cost savings endeavor, leading to a reduction in average space per employee of a whopping 20-40%.  There is no doubt that cutting out wasted space saves money.  It makes sense to assume that someone who works 80-90% of their annual schedule away from the office does not need a dedicated space - and for these employees, hoteling can make sense.  But what is the impact on the employee that works in the same office every single day?  How does the average tax accountant, for example, feel about arriving at the office and trying to schedule a place to sit?  Stressed, detached, lost, devalued - these are all words that have been spoken around our office as we have hired and integrated two new employees previously employed by a large international public accounting firm where hoteling has been embraced.  Kaila Maxey shared, “It is very difficult to work as teams - difficult to find where your collegues are sitting, difficult to work together, and even difficult to find a personal item that you might leave on yesterday’s desk that is now occupied by a stranger.” 

Other research has shown additional negative aspects of hoteling – much of which has been highlighted in another recent Wall Street Journal Article “Why You Can’t Concentrate at Work.”  Some of the most visually favorable aspects of the design of open and shared office spaces are creating distractions for employees.  The bright colors, flood of natural light and lack of division between other co-workers actually create constant visual disruption for employees – much more than are experienced in a traditionally lighted, neutral toned office.  Every movement can result in employees stopping work to process what is going on around them, and this can really hamper production.  In addition, when employees see their peers in conversations, they are immediately curious as to the nature of the conversation and are often drawn to get involved.  Many companies have also experienced a phenomenon whereby employees feel the need to ‘look busy’ based on a perceived expectation that they have of what their supervisors want to see – instead of working in ways that actually yield more productivity.  In other words, working for the appearance of busy actually results in less production and hampers creativity – and studies have shown that employees working in a more private space are free to develop more efficient habits that better suit the demands of their job.

At The BaCo Group, we have really taken a hard look at hoteling – we have part time and flex time employees, we have out of office client demands – and we would definitely save money by reducing office space and moving toward shared workspaces.  However, we have counted the cost to our valued human resources - and we have determined that creating workspaces for our team that make them comfortable and make them feel attached to the firm leads to productivity, satisfaction and loyalty, and this makes all the difference in developing longevity in our staff and management group.

Kaila, you’ve just finished your first busy season with BaCo. What was it like for you and how did it compare to the environment at a Big 4 firm?

Everyone was much more flexible and there weren’t any reasons to work unreasonable hours in any given week. During most busy seasons, especially around the tax season deadline, some firms expect you to work 70 or more hours per week, crank out late nights projects, and do it again the next morning. Also, in the summer we get every other Friday off. It really helps motivate you through busy season and helps offset the overtime hours during the busy times.
At BaCo, I didn’t feel like I had to put my personal life on hold during busy season. It was a much less stressful and lower pressure atmosphere.

Specifically regarding desk/phone hoteling, how is that different for you compared to your old firm?

I have my own office and desk at BaCo! Now I don’t have to worry about signing up to get a desk every day and worry about dragging all of my paperwork and personal belongs around.
BaCo even asked for pictures of some of my favorite places to hang up in my office. It’s nice having your own space at work, and also, a way to make it your own.

How is it to be in a direct line of communication and training with owners everyday?

I enjoy the work I do at BaCo so much more because I get to be a lot more hands on with clients and their businesses. I think having the opportunity to build relationships with our client’s executives is encouraging because I am able to see a true impact of my work on a weekly basis.

Do you like BaCo’s causal dress code?

The dress code is much more relaxed than most accounting firms. We get to wear jeans and have an even more comfortable dress code during the summer. It's a huge perk not having to wear business professional dress every day and saves me a lot of money!

What else sets BaCo apart for you?

The overall culture sets BaCo apart from other firms. The atmosphere, positive attitude, and overall caring nature of the firm makes such a difference to me. BaCo invests heavily in training employees and constantly makes me feel like a valued member of the team. Even in the middle of busy season, BaCo makes time for ‘energizing moments’- basically, we take a step back from taxes and have some fun! It is a happy place to work and everyone takes the time to get to get to know each other.

You mentioned ‘energizing moments;’ can you tell us more about what that is in your own words?

Sure, it basically promotes teamwork and creating energy during those long days of tax season. Some examples are us playing Heads Up, Secret Santa, and having a costume contest on St. Patrick’s Day. The days went by much faster since everyone was in good spirits and didn’t feel the pressure and stress that a lot of other firms may experience during busy season.

What do you think about having a voice in decisions and being able to see the track to advancement?

This place makes me feel like my opinion matters and a valued member of the team. It highlights why we do the things we do and the type of opportunities, such as, promotion. We have been able to add two partners to the firm in the last couple of years, and that helps me focus on knowing there is advancement possibilities in the future.
BaCo also helped me become a CPA- they excused my time to take my ethics exams and paid for the final application. It feels nice to finally have that off my plate!

Does BaCo’s technology ‘work’?

When I mentioned I was going to work for a smaller firm a lot of people said the technology would be super behind, but they could not have been more wrong. BaCo has invested in technology that allows us to be more efficient, provide the employees and clients with greater flexibility, and allows us to have a more value-added service with our clients through a more hands on approach with the financials. By us already applying this, we have saved time, energy, and will eventually reduce the amount of overtime hours during busy season in the future.

We are excited about you winning a free bike recently-- can you tell us how you won it?

Our firm tries to beat the stereotype of the typical accounting organizations...and promotes a healthy lifestyle during busy season. One of the ways we do this is through a bike giveaway for an accountant that makes a healthy goal, keeps it throughout busy season, and then all entries go into a random drawing. Unfortunately, employees aren’t eligible for this, but if we shared about the bike giveaway with several people, signed up for the MS150 or the Tour de Cure bike races, you could win a bike- and I did! This is personally dear to my heart since my dad has diabetes and is a cyclist, so this has been a great way for us to grow closer!

What did you think about how we prepped for tax season?

We first off, we all had a pre-busy season energizing moment and went to go see The Greatest Showman!  But, of course, there was a lot planning that went into to getting ready for tax season, since BaCo works to have everything done a week in advance. That meant out clients had enough time for questions and made sure everything was correct before the deadline -thus avoiding many of the late nights and stress of trying to squeeze everything in right before the deadline.

It sounds like you’ve have a great first impression of BaCo and we’re so glad! It’s been amazing having you apart of the team Kaila! Thanks so much for your input.

Local Firm Striving For No Surprise Busy Season with Reduced Overtime

What happened to this?

Working immense overtime has always been the demand of the public accounting industry.  Top CPAs graduate from college and find themselves inundated with offers that include signing bonuses and a glamorous firm, important titles and dreams of partnership.  The reality quickly becomes a huge imbalance between work and life. This imbalance leads to dissatisfaction, heavy turnover, and a revolving door of accountants at public accounting firms.  Most firms now have a practice of hiring a huge number of intern candidates in order to have just a few of these accountants still employed at the 1-2 year mark. Why would a firm spend so much money on signing bonuses, new hire training and integration when such a high percentage of these human resources will depart in such a short amount of time?  The answer is simple, they are doing it wrong.  The old accounting firm mantra of work your employees to death does not work.  The industry demands that go with tax filing deadlines are driving this - and the reality is, those demands are always going to be there.  However, rethinking how we view our people and our clients, and innovating how we deliver services has allowed The BaCo Group to complete shatter the norms of our industry.

In the accounting profession, human resources are the bread and butter of being able to serve clients.  We cannot serve a client well without a strong team at all levels, thus we need to constantly be developing the new accountants so that they can grow and fill the senior, manager and partner roles in the future.  At BaCo, we do a number of things differently than our competitors, but the most important is that we hire candidates that have the right skill set. We focus on making the firm a great place to work so that we don’t experience this heavy turnover that other firms have accepted as reality.  The most important element in being able to retain an accountant at a public accounting firm is creating a balance - managing hours and expectations so that work and life are balanced. This matters for a number of reasons - first, the people we have trained stay at the firm, which saves real dollars and reduces disruption for our clients.  Second, massive turnover has an emotional cost that creates stress in the workplace. Minimizing this in the workplace leads to greater satisfaction among teams and that in turn creates loyalty. In a nutshell, we treat our employees well and commit to them, and they feel a commitment and passion to our firm as a result.

The deadlines will always loom, but changing the way we work to enable us to protect our people has been the ongoing goal.  Working with clients to plan ahead and getting involved in the books all year instead of just at year end makes a huge difference in shifting time demands for employees.  Innovations that streamline processes and create efficiencies - both in how our clients capture and record data, and in how we process information once it gets to us, also make a difference in enabling us to manage workflow.  The old plan of picking up a stack of our clients papers the week of the deadline and becoming familiar at that time with their business is simply something we will not do - if we aren’t involved on a more continuous basis, we do not accept the company as a client.  

The bottom line...breaking free of the ‘norms’ of our profession has made us better - better service providers to our clients, better employers to our employees, and has resulted in a stronger and more loyal workforce.