Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman, CPAs

Careers at GRF : Our Culture

Located in Bethesda, Maryland, Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman has been a part of the Washington, DC metropolitan area since 1981. Attesting to our reputation in the community, the firm was cited in Washingtonian magazine as one of 25 local firms recognized by its peers for providing sound financial and tax advice. We have also appeared in the Washington Business Journal's "Book of Lists" for the past five years as one of the metropolitan area's 50 largest accounting firms (currently ranked 20th).

As a professional corporation, the firm has approximately 95 employees, including directors, principals and staff accountants supported by paraprofessional and administrative personnel. The firm is committed to providing its employees with a positive working environment that supports a flexible work life balance for all.

Firm Diversity Profile

We have a richly diverse staff, as we actively recruit for this multiplicity. We believe that our people should reflect the world we live in and the organizations we serve. Employing a diverse team provides unique and valuable perspectives which benefit both our firm and our clients. Of more than 90 staff members, approximately half are from various geographic and ethnic backgrounds:

Profile of GRF Staff:

African-American	12
African	2
Asian-American	13
Filipino	2
Latino(a)/Hispanic	2
Mediterranean	2
Multi-racial	1

Vision statement:
Our primary purpose as an organization is to deliver high quality financial products both in appearance and content. We will continue to be known as the firm where personal attention will never become obsolete. We want to employ people who are extremely satisfied and who go the extra mile for clients. We want a culture of growth, profitability and enthusiasm throughout the firm.

Values:
All of our people are proudly committed to the following values:

Integrity – Always dealing with our clients and our colleagues in a fair and ethical manner; gaining trust through our actions.
Knowledge – The value we place on our ability to develop leaders and the need to continually grow our collective technical expertise to meet the needs of ever more sophisticated clients.
Service – Encompasses the concept of quality in everything we do; having a service-mindset when dealing with clients; and demanding a lot of ourselves.
Respect – Respect for one another in the office will lead to greater productivity and staff satisfaction, which should result in lower turnover.
Leadership – Leadership both within the firm with respect to developing our next generation of leaders, and within our market segment with respect to being recognized by current and prospective clients as a firm that is the leading expert in the field.
Enthusiasm – Employing and nurturing staff with a passion for providing the highest-level quality service to our clients.

Our Philosophy:

Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman's philosophy is to strive for the following:

To provide the finest auditing, accounting, tax and management advisory services and to anticipate client needs.
To be associated with today's fastest growing companies and to help clients reach their maximum potential.
To be a firm for whom it is both enjoyable and rewarding to work.
To contribute to the community and the professional respect of our clients in handling their matters to the best of our ability in a strictly confidential manner.
To be progressive with the professional management and system techniques currently in use.
To grow, but not lose the personal relationships with clients that are the foundation of the practice.
To establish open lines of communication between the client's personnel, the key staff accountant responsible for the client and the firm's directors.
To maintain the capability to provide all services required by our clients.

Our Goals:
Maintain superior quality of services to existing clients and to expand the range of these services.

Be fair, ethical and honest in all business transactions.
Maintain a high level of motivation, professional development and satisfaction for all personnel.
Continue growth in number, size and quality of clients.
To grow, but not lose the personal relationships with clients that are the foundation of the practice.
To establish open lines of communication between the client's personnel, the key staff accountant responsible for the client and the firm's directors.
To maintain the capability to provide all services required by our clients.

Staff Development:

It is imperative that as the firm grows, we have the processes in place to recruit, hire, and develop the best people. Aside from having the requisite technical skills, the firm is also focused on developing leaders that can serve clients, develop business, and inspire others.

The firm is committed to developing the client relationship skills of its staff so that they may take on an increasingly active role in client management. As the firm continues to grow, it will become increasingly important that we have the staff in place to take over client relationship roles.

With the two senior partners approaching retirement age the firm needs to identify and develop the next generation of leaders to be able to assist in the transition and beyond. Future partners need to be identified early to ensure that they receive both the necessary training and the proper incentives to stay with the firm.

It is typical, but not automatic, for members of the accounting staff to begin as staff accountants and get promoted through each level based on performance over a course of several years. A typical, but not necessarily automatic, course of progression might occur as follows:

LEVEL	YEARS OF EXPERIENCE
Staff Accountant	Up to 3 years
Senior Accountant	3 years to 5 years
Supervisor	5 years to 8 years
Manager*	5 years and greater
*Contingent upon passing the CPA exam or obtaining a law degree.

The necessary years of experience may be gained while employed at the firm, or elsewhere.

These time frames have been defined so that the accounting staff can identify a typical progression in their careers with the firm. There are overlaps in this progression schedule to reflect the fact that individual accounting staff members may progress within the firm at different rates.

Accounting staff are given formal evaluations annually, in June. Any resulting promotions and/or salary increases are effective July 1 of each year. The firm highly encourages accounting staff members to seek feedback and opportunities for development and progression.

Code of Conduct:

As a member of the Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman team, you would represent the firm to our clients and therefore everyone should speak, look and act in ways, which reflect pride in our organization and ourselves. At Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman, we expect you to:

Provide clients with the highest quality of service and product.
Recognize the dignity of all people, be fair and impartial in relationships with others and pursue in good faith responsibilities to offer equal opportunity in business to all people.
Be courteous and considerate of your co-workers, managers and partners.
Cooperate with fellow employees by giving assistance as required.
Carry out instructions and follow procedures as directed by your supervisor, manager or partner.

Employee Benefits:
Group Medical Insurance Plan
Preferred Provider coverage is currently with CareFirst/Blue Cross Blue Shield and is effective on the first day of the month following your date of hire. The firm pays the full cost of individual employee coverage. Vision care and prescription coverage are included in the plan. For most services, copays range from $10-$20.

Life Insurance/Accidental Death & Dismemberment
The firm pays the full cost of term life and AD&D insurance to a maximum of one times your salary, with a double indemnity feature for accidental death and dismemberment. The coverage is effective on the first day of the month following your date of hire.

Short Term Disability
The firm offers at no cost to employees a short-term disability insurance plan. If you become physically unable to work, the plan pays 60% of your base salary to a maximum of $1500 per week for up to 11 weeks. There is a 15-day wait for benefits to begin.

Long Term Disability
If after 90 continuous days you are still unable to return to work, the firm’s long-term disability plan pays 60% of your monthly base pay to a maximum of $10,000 per month for as long as you are disabled or until you reach age 65. There is no cost to you for this coverage.

Dental Care
A choice of two voluntary dental care options are available through Guardian . Both plans cover preventative care at 100% and provide Out-of- Network coverage.

401(k) Retirement Savings Plan
Participants may defer up to 20% per year of cash compensation on a pretax basis. The firm matches 50% on the dollar up to 6% of employee’s contribution to a maximum of 3%. Eligibility coincides with date of hire.

Flex Spending Plan
You may save through payroll deduction on a pre-tax basis up to $6,000 per year for certain medical expenses and up to $5,000 per year for dependent care expenses.

Holidays
The firm observes 7 paid holidays per year as follows:
New Year’s Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Thanksgiving
Day after Thanksgiving
Christmas

Paid Time Off (PTO)
Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman recognizes that employees have diverse needs for time off and believes that employees should have opportunities to enjoy time away from work to help balance their lives. Our Paid-Time Off program (PTO) combines vacation and sick leave into one general category. The benefits of PTO are that it promotes a flexible approach to time off. Employees are accountable and responsible for managing their own PTO hours to allow for adequate reserves if there is a need to cover vacation, illness or disability, appointments, emergencies, or other needs that require time off from work. Employees will receive a certain amount of PTO each month. Those who have been at the firm for a longer amount of time will receive higher accrual rates.

Other Time Off
The Firm provides time off for voting, bereavement, military service, jury duty, and leave required to comply with the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Details are available in the Employee Handbook.

Continuing Education/Tuition Assistance
The firm pays for a minimum of 40 hours per year of continuing professional education (CPE) for accounting staff. In addition, you may participate in the tuition assistance plan, in which the firm will reimburse employees for courses that are directly related to career development. Reimbursement of tuition is as follows: Grade A = 100%, Grade B = 100%, and Grade C or below = No reimbursement. Eligibility is after one year of service.

Professional Association Dues and Licensing
The firm sponsors your membership in professional associations related to your job function. In addition the firm will pay for your licensure in one state.

Professional Development

We have built our reputation as CPAs on our expert knowledge and the trust placed in us by our clients. In order to keep you up-to-date with your accounting knowledge, we encourage and subsidize CPE classes and higher education classes.

We know that passing the CPA exam is a milestone for you and we want you to know that we recognize that accomplishment. In doing so, you will receive a $2,000 bonus whenever you pass the exam.

As a part of our mentoring program, one of our senior staff members will help you decide which of the following will help you implement your professional development: CPAmerica-sponsored CPE courses, in-firm training, outside seminars, higher education, or developmental assignments.

We also sponsor our staff’s participation in outside activities conducted by professional associations, as well as industry-specific sessions conducted by client-related organizations. We keep abreast of updated policies and regulations concerning the nonprofit industry by requiring our audit and tax accountants to fulfill sufficient CPE credits on an annual basis.

Computer Purchase

The firm will reimburse employees 25% of the cost of one computer system purchased for personal use. If the employee terminates his/her employment before one year from the date of purchase, the employee is responsible for reimbursing the firm said amount. All personal computer purchases must be pre-approved by the managing partner.

Recruitment Incentive
The firm will pay you a recruitment bonus if you recruit new hires. These bonuses range from $500 to $10,000 and payments are subject to conditions contained in the Employee Handbook.

Business Casual Dress and Flexible Work Schedule
The firm has a business casual dress policy and flexible work schedules for all employees while in the firm’s office. Employees are expected to adapt to the clients’ requirements while on assignment outside the office.

Direct Deposit
You may have your paycheck deposited in the bank of your choice. Our current payroll software allows for your paycheck to be split into three different accounts.

In addition, GRF offers international travel opportunities to those who perform on-site services. We have a team approach that extends outside of the office with holiday parties, happy hours, employee get-togethers and league teams for softball! We take steps to ensure that our employees will be happy with our policies.

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