Porte Brown Recruiting Booklet 2020

Porte Brown Recruiting Booklet 2020

www. portebrown .com

SMART PEOPLE WORK HERE.

PorteBrown ® ACCOUNTANTS & ADVISORS

CONTENTS

Smart Policies

Who We Are

04

06

Professional Development

Employee Spotlight

10

16

Awards & Recognition

08

Community & Events

18

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I'm not the smartest fellow in the world, but I can sure pick SMART colleagues . – Franklin D. Roosevelt

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WHO WE ARE

F or more than 70 years, Porte Brown LLC has been providing top-quality accounting services and personalized assistance to its clients because of its strong culture of positivity and can-do mentality. The positive energy of Porte Brown is nearly tangible due to its pervasive presence in all aspects of its business. Porte Brown’s culture begins with its hiring process, only hiring recruits who are capable of filling multiple roles and feel comfortable tackling any challenge that comes their way. A CULTURE OF YES

Since a company’s culture is what makes it run, it is important to build the foundation with people who are not just good employees but good people. Our staff is full of go-getters who love to give their clients the best possible service by providing them with timely guidance and insight for their unique and specific needs.

We Help You Get to Your Next Level. ™

4

Quality Benefits to Enhance Our Employees' Quality of Life • Short-Term Disability Insurance • Long-Term Disability Insurance

Our Benefits

FIRST-RATE COMMISSION PROGRAM Many accounting firms offer its staff a commission when they bring in new clients. It's a great way to reward staff who go above and beyond their typical work duties. Porte Brown has a very robust and lucrative commission program for its staff. While most firms typically offer a 10-15% commission for one year, Porte Brown offers an unheard of rate of 25% for 4 years! • BCBS of Illinois – PPO Health Insurance • Employer Funded HRA Account • Health Care and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts • VSP Vision Coverage • Basic Life and AD&D Insurance • Voluntary Life and AD&D Insurance • Guardian Dental Insurance

• Paid Time Off • Paid Holidays

• Employee Assistance Program • Annual Health and Wellness Screening Flu Shots • 401(k) Plan • Profit Sharing

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GET SMART...

Flexible Dress Policy Dress Smart

Dress Smart – Flexible Dress Policy Our Flexible Dress Policy is one that embraces our employees differences. Giving our employees the independence to choose the attire that fits their day and allows them to feel and perform at their best just makes sense.

Going out after work? Wear something more casual!

Meeting with a client? Wear something business professional!

Taking a half day and going golfing? Wear kakis and a polo!

The point is... Wear what makes sense for you.

6

Work Smart Flexible Work Policy

Work Smart – Flexible Work Policy Our Flexible Work Policy is one that is built around our firm's culture of trust and confidence in our employees. Giving our employees the ability to balance and integrate their work lives with their personal lives is essential in creating long term and sucessful careers for our employees.

Need to leave early for an appointment? That's Okay!

Traffic backed up and running late? That's Okay!

Don't want to start your work day at 8am or end at 5pm? That's Okay!

Make sense to wrap up your work at home? That's Okay!

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Creating an Environment of Total Success

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

B eing an all around successful firm is about creating an environment and culture that revolves around the mutual success and prosperity of our employees, clients, and our firm alike. Porte Brown is very proud of the awards it receives because it draws a direct connection to the overall happiness and effectiveness of its employees. Since happy employees tend to be more productive, it is in Porte Brown’s best interest to keep finding new ways to provide a better work environment and keep improving.

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BEST PLACES TO WORK IN ILLINOIS Ranked as one of the top mid-size employers in the state of Illinois in 2020

ACCOUNTING TODAY REGIONAL LEADERS Named by Accounting Today as one of the 2019 Great Lakes Regional Leaders

CHICAGO'S LARGEST ACCOUNTING FIRMS Recognized by Crain's Chicago Business as the 22nd largest firm in the Chicagoland area

IPA BEST OF THE BEST FIRMS 2020 Named a Best of the Best Firm in the United States by Inside Public Accounting

9

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT B ecoming a successful public accountant starts with a great education and continues with professional training and guidance. Continuing to hone one's skills and knowledge is vital to providing the best possible service to clients, which is why Porte Brown asks for all of its employees to remain focused on their professional growth. By developing new skill sets each year, Porte Brown ensures its employees are constantly pushing their limits and always looking for new and better ways to help their clients.

Training

Making an Investment in Our Greatest Asset: Our Employees

Mentoring

Coaching

10

From day one the employees of Porte Brown are given the tools and resources to succeed independently because they will be the ones closest to the issues that matter the most to the client. To help staff excel and increase their knowledge base, Porte Brown places great importance on continuing one's education. Porte Brown has a robust mentoring program to help employees stay on track with their professional development and also identify a course of action to help them overcome future challenges.

Complete more than 200 hours of training & shadowing in their 1st year

11

CAREER GROWTH PROGRAMS O ne of the ways Porte Brown helps its staff members succeed is by providing robust and comprehensive career development programs. We want our employees to excel and progress over the course of their careers into areas of greater responsibility, which is why we devote so much time to the development and growth of staff. This development process can be broken up into three general areas: training, mentoring, and coaching.

INVESTING FOR THE FUTURE TRAINING PROGRAM

12 Like most accounting firms Porte Brown invests lot of time in the training of its staff. While many firms only focus on the very basics of accounting, Porte Brown believes it's important to be well-versed in many different areas. Not only does this help our staff members be more versatile in what they do, it allows us to provide a higher level of service to our clients. Porte Brown offers training in the following areas: ACCOUNTING | TAX | AUDIT | LEADERSHIP | BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

MENTOR PROGRAM

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES COACHING & SUPPORT While training and mentoring programs are vital to the development and growth of an employee, there's no substitute for real-world experience. And to that end, Porte Brown supports its employees by providing on-demand assistance and support.

DEVELOPING CAREER GROWTH GOALS Setting up clear goals and creating a realistic course of action to achieve them is a cornerstone of our mentor program. By listening closely to the mentees' needs and then providing them with substantive feedback, our mentors are able to help their mentees develop into true professionals and tackle any challenges that arise.

External Training

Webinars & Seminars Conferences & Expos Training Academy LinkedIn Learning Business Development Leadership Bootcamp

Professional Sales Coaching Specialty Software PrimeGlobal Training & Resources AICPA ENGAGE Conference QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program Path to Partner Program

13

PORTE BROWN PERSONALITY

"Life is short. Work somewhere awesome." – Unknown

14

"I'm a big personality. I walk into a room, big and tall and loud." – Adele

15

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT

T he sky’s the limit to your success at Porte Brown. Senior management cares about the staff as people, not just as employees, and is dedicated to their personal and professional advancement. The ever-changing nature of business, challenging clients, and other opportunities ensure that you will always be growing and learning.” " — Danielle Martin, CPA, Manager

“One of my favorite projects was actually a total mess when I first took on the case. The books were in complete disarray, but I was able to turn this project around and make it one of my gems. I really felt like I made a difference, because every time I see the client, they’re so happy to see me.” — Mike Turi, CPA, Supervisor

16

Achieving Success EXPLORING NEW IDEAS “One of the qualities that has made me so successful here at Porte Brown is my willingness to share new ideas with the rest of the firm. We’re always looking for new ideas to grow and improve so we can make the firm as a whole better.” — Gabe Grzeskiewicz, CPA, CITP, Sr. Manager/Director of Info. Systems

CONQUERING CHALLENGES O ne of the most challenging things about my job is being able apply technical accounting knowledge into real-world applications that have a big impact on clients. Being able to answer clients’ questions and seeing how grateful they are to be better equipped to enhance their business leaves me feeling good about what I do.” " — Ashley Trabaris, CPA Supervisor

17

COMMUNITY A key focus of Porte Brown is to provide and they go to great lengths to gain a full understanding of their organization’s specific challenges and goals. The focus we place on our clients’ needs goes beyond providing financial and accounting assistance; it extends to supporting their interests and activities within the surrounding community. Many of our employees volunteer their time to support charities of all walks of life. From sponsoring 5K charity runs to attending not-for-profit events, Porte Brown believes it is paramount to stay active within the community and give back to the people who provide the foundation to Porte Brown’s business. unparalleled service that is fine-tuned for each and every client. This is possible because many of Porte Brown’s staff work at our clients’ offices,

18 18

COMPANY EVENTS Having FUN at work is a core value!

• Annual Staff Appreciation Day • Tax Season Party • Holiday Party • Monthly Catered Staff Meetings • Team Building Events

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PorteBrown ® ACCOUNTANTS & ADVISORS

www. por tebrown .com

Elk Grove Village 845 Oakton St Elk Grove Village, IL 60007 Phone: 847-956-1040

Elgin 1752 Capital St, Suite 400 Elgin, IL 60124 Phone: 847-695-1775

Evanston 909 Davis St, Suite 500 Evanston, IL 60201 Phone: 847-866-6800

McHenry 4123 W. Shamrock Ln McHenry, IL 60050 Phone: 815-385-1120

Tinley Park 18400 W. Creek Dr Tinley Park, IL 60477 Phone: 708-429-1040

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