Accounting and Tax Firms Top List for Workplace Flexibility

It’s almost the end of tax season, and most accounting and tax professionals are likely hunched over their multi-monitor displays for 16 hours a day, dreaming of vacationing on a private island.

But some may be toiling away in the comfort of their own home, or in the local Starbucks, or wherever they have good connectivity.

That’s because some firms (show this to your boss) allow, even encourage, their staff to be more mobile and take time to do things like, say, watch your kid’s school play or soccer game. Or just work from home because you feel like it. It’s called quality of life. And keeping you from going insane can also help with workplace productivity.

As long as you comply with RULE #1: Get the job done. It is also recommended that you comply with RULE #2: Be damn good at your job, consistently. Oh, and RULE #3: Be responsive to your boss, your clients, and anyone else you do business with or for- so that it’s just like you were in the office.

After all, what is the difference between you and your boss sharing emails when he’s down the hall in his office, and you’re in yours … compared to him in his office and you somewhere else.

It’s the quality of the work and communication that matters most. In today’s tech-driven, mobile-mobile-mobile world, good bosses understand that.

Like the management at the international tax firm Ryan. That’s why the firm has landed at the number one spat in Fortune’s list of the 50 Best Workplaces for Flexibility. The list was compiled based on employers who offer “job sharing, telecommuting, compressed workweeks, flexible scheduling, and phased retirement options to employees.“

Ryan was named to the top spot, according to Fortune, because: “Ryan is very unique because of the MyRyan policy. The policy gives us the freedom that we deserve, no more working set hours. It’s all about the quality of the work we put out, not the hours we put in. MyRyan gives you the freedom to work with a peace of mind and also attend to personal matters without being harassed about it,” says one employee at this tax services and consulting company.

While the rest of the list was mostly technology and other professional services companies, Ryan wasn’t the only tax and accounting firm to make the list. Others included PWC at number 12, Plante Moran at number 27, and DeLeon & Stang at number 30.

So, back to that private island. The Meridian Club, which operates the private island resort in the Turks & Caicos Islands, is even offering a discount for CPAs starting April 16.