Stay Away from Transfer Pricing - Anonymous employee BDO Employee Review

1.0
Jun 4, 2018
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I worked in transfer pricing at BDO USA, LLP. BDO is generally competitive with the Big 4 accounting firms in terms of salary and benefits, maybe slightly less. The office atmosphere was generally positive, and there are many good, intelligent people working for the company.

Cons

The leaders of the transfer pricing group are classic bullies. Soon after I began I was told that the guiding metaphor for the group was that one employee was always to be singled out as the "wounded wildebeest"--the employee that management, the keepers of this metaphor, wanted to hunt down and kill. They followed through on this approach to management: there was always one employee being targeted for dismissal, often based on purported underperformance that existed only in the minds of management. I was continually told that I was "too nice" to my subordinates because I refused to join in the predatory environment. I was also told that regardless of my actual performance I would never be promoted. Who would want to stay in such an environment?

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5.0
Apr 16, 2026
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Pros

Learn good accounting concepts and people are nice.

Cons

Boring work unfortunately but it’s a job

2.0
Jun 5, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

There actually are great people, but you play manager roulette.

Cons

BDO is notorious for promoting people who just never leave. The middle of the road, not great, not awful, people get promoted over and over again. There have been changes every 3 seconds since the ESOP. Terrible communication around change (non-existent). My manager's favorite term was "We are building the plane as we fly it". After 4 years, I was hoping to have more plane built. It was never built.

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