The Graduate Baruchian

Representatives from Grant Thornton

by Emily McMillen, MBA, Accounting, 2012

Tuesday afternoon, Grant Thornton joined Zicklin students for an infomation session of a different character. Instead if the traditional suit a tie, Grant Thornton employees looked out at a sea of jeans and grey shirts featuring the GT logo and their motto: “Every day I make a difference.” What has come to be a favorite among Zicklin students, the well known Grant Thornton T-shirt day was standing room only as GT Managers, Associates, Recruiters, and Interns shared their experience working for the firm.

Zicklin students were joined by Grant Rapaport, Senior Manager; Juan Cruz, Senior Manager; Jessica Yang, Senior Associate; Paul Zimbardo, Associate; Christine Quan, Associate; Darrell Lampa, Recruiting Manager; Matt Mendez, Recruiter; and Carly Reiner, Recruiter.

Grant Rapaport talks about his experience at Grant Thornton

The presentation focused on the Grant Thornton Experience. GT strives to offer an environment that provides a growing number of unique opportunities and a distinctive culture that maintains employee satisfaction and personal growth. The Grant Thornton Experience is defined with the following statements:

• meaningful and challenging work
• career development to support professional growth
• an environment of connection and appreciation
• and a culture of pride

GT offers many professional development opportunities including training sessions, a women at Grant Thornton group, and the chance to do secondments in GT offices around the globe. Christine Quan and Jessica Yang talked about the Women at Grant Thornton group which provides women with seminars on career development and opportunities to speak with female partners on best practices to advance their careers. Even on a day-to-day basis, associates will gain exposure to client leadership early in their career. Paul Zimbardo spoke of the buddy and coaching system and how it is “a built in network that helps guide you through your career.”

Paul Zimbardo talks about the buddy system and life at Grant Thornton

The culture at GT is one that emphasizes camaraderie among all employees. Partners and managers maintain an open door policy where offering your time, asking for help, or asking for advice is less intimidating. Beyond the work, there are many activities that employees can participate in from softball and kickball, to community service and acapella groups.

Grant Thornton has been recognized with many distinctions. Public Accounting Report’s Professor Rankings has named GT as the No. 1 firm in ethics. They have also been named by BusinessWeek as one of the “Best Places to Launch a Career.”  Most recently, GT has been named the No. 1 place to work for by Vault.com. True to their motto “Every day I make a difference,” GT participates in many charitable events such as The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, Habitat for Humanity, and the March of Dimes.

Zicklin students sport their Grant Thornton T-shirts

For more information about Grant Thornton, please visit their website at www.grantthornton.com

For more information about the Zicklin Graduate Accounting Society, please visit their website at www.zgas.org