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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It was a good place to work

Cons

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1.0
Jun 22, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

Compensation is OK. There are some really nice people in the organization to work with, but you have to find them.

Cons

If you are not part of the SWC "club" (company name prior to them joining BDO), good luck. Poor leadership!!! Practice lead talks to everyone like they are talking to a CEO, not relatable in most cases. No clear employee development plans. You are held accountable for things completely outside of your individual control. They stress incorporating AI into work strategy, but have no plan on what that looks like or how to do it and want everyone to formulate it because leadership has no roadmap. One has no control over where you want to take your career, yet you are expected to know everything, about everything. As a result, you become an expert of nothing! Work assigned rarely leverages skills, almost as if they throw darts to see who works on what.

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