Would you rather work for a firm where the entire team celebrates your success instead of being overly competitive? How about working for the fastest growing firm in Canada? Add flexible hours, office events throughout the year, banked overtime, and you get MNP – a leading national accounting, tax and business consulting firm in Canada. We interviewed three accountants to find out what MNP views as a balanced lifestyle and why it’s a valued part of their culture.
Ann Paterson discovered her passion for accounting through elective accounting courses she completed during her Biology program at Queen’s University. This motivated her to continue her education online and pursue a CPA designation. During her job hunt, she discovered MNP’s positive culture through word-of-mouth referrals that spoke to a reputation for fun staff functions, flexible work conditions, the ability to bank overtime, as well as approachable and knowledgeable leaders.
After applying and accepting a position with MNP, she wasn’t disappointed about the work environment. MNP lived up to, and surpassed, its reputation! With flexible hours, Ann focuses on completing her tasks, rather than punching in and clocking out. The workload for accounting firms is often seasonal, so Ann puts in extra effort between the end of February until early July. During off-peak times, she enjoys time off with her friends and family.
MNP encourages their staff to enjoy their lives outside of the office, but they also work hard to ensure team members are having a positive and fun internal experience when they come to work.
Ann describes MNP’s culture as encouraging, engaging, and rewarding.
Once you get your foot in the door at MNP as a new hire, Ann recommends the following tips for maintaining that “balanced lifestyle”:
1. “Ask questions – as much as you want to think your university experience prepared you for the working world, it didn’t. Don’t be under the impression that you should know everything on your first day.”
2. “Anyone can move up within the firm – don’t be under the impression that you will never be promoted within the ranks of the firm. Hard work pays off and the partners are aware of those who are putting in the time and effort and want to move up.”
3. “Don’t be afraid to take holidays – it seems silly to suggest that people don’t maximize their holidays, but that is the case. You feel like taking time off will look bad or you need to be at the office all the time to make an impression. You are better off putting in efficient hours during the day and taking holidays when you need than to burn out. Everyone in the office is human and nobody expects you to sacrifice your life for the job.”
David Hutter is a young professional, but he’s already advancing on his career path. He’s currently transitioning into a manager role at MNP and developing his own book of clients. Coming from a family of accountants, David always seemed to know that his career path would lead him to MNP and his experience from his very first day has been welcoming.
MNP highlights its core values and culture of giving back to the community with an annual United Way Campaign. David helped to coordinate the campaign by organizing fundraising events with games, competitions, bake sales, and Pie-a-Partner event.
In addition to these events at work, MNP’s balanced lifestyle philosophy allows David to explore the world and enjoy life outside of office. Over the last few years he’s taken month-long vacations to Europe, Australia and British Columbia! Coming back to work after a long break feels like coming home for David, where diversity is celebrated and inclusion is a guiding value:
Arthur Cheung graduated from University of Waterloo with an Accounting and Financial Management degree. He now provides valuation services for strategic planning, corporate reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, financial reporting and litigation matters for clients of MNP. Arthur admits that MNP was always top of mind as an employer of choice for him during his job search.
What Arthur likes the most about his job is meeting different people and learning their unique stories. He feels very fortunate to be a part of MNP.
Like Ann and David, Arthur highlights MNP’s dedication to team member satisfaction. One of the many ways MNP shows its commitment is by providing a balance subsidy to team members.
Arthur says that his team specifically stands out from the rest because of its highly entrepreneurial and supportive spirit. The team believes in providing continuous feedback, always looking for new opportunities to broaden their knowledge, become more effective, and excel at their careers.
Being highly involved in his community outside of work, Arthur is fueled by MNP’s culture of a balanced lifestyle.
MNP is an egg-cellent choice for a new grad to start a career. Team members receive extensive training and professional development to ensure that every individual is equipped with the necessary skillset to succeed.