Recommendation Report

Unit 2: Employee Recommendation Report

Joe Laber

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 Recommendation Report

Unit 2: Employee Recommendation Report

Research Conducted By
Joseph Laber

October 10, 2010

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 Executive Summary

Amy Anderson is an accounting major at North Dakota State University. She has recently
received 3 job opportunities of which she is qualified for. Eide Bailly has offered a position as a
bank auditor, Mutual of Omaha offered a position as a financial service representative, and
Deloitte offered a position as a business analyst. I have evaluated each job according to Amy’s
needs. The criteria I used for this evaluation is stated as followed…

Background and Direction:

 Economic Stability: All three employers are recognized for being economically stable.
Deloitte as of 2010 is the world’s largest firm in offering professional services.
 Future of the Company: Eide Bailly and Mutual of Omaha are acquiring more and more
business locations indicating that they are continuously growing.
 Commendations: Deloitte is recognized as being 2009 best place to launch a career.

Suitability:

 Location: Deloitte Consulting is located in Minneapolis, MN and Eide Bailly is located in

Bloomington, MN making them both preferable.
 Pertinence to Amy’s Future Goals: Deloitte’s position as a business analyst will benefit
Amy the most by making her familiar with business strategies so that she can implement
them on her own business in the future.
 Work Environment: Deloitte offers a combination of both a social work and antisocial
work environment which is what Amy prefers. Deloitte also offers top notch training
programs for new employees.
 Challenge Offerings: The position offered by Deloitte is as a business analyst requires the
understanding of client’s business and pinpointing where operations can be improved.
This job will offer an endless supply of challenges in many different forms.

In conclusion I recommend that Amy takes the position offered by Deloitte Consulting.
This is the largest company that brings a lot to the table. It offers the highest pay, is located
in Minneapolis, MN which is a favorable location, is economically stable, and has a work
environment that is compatible with Amy. Deloitte has been commended on having great
relationships with their employees and is recognized as the number company to launch a
career. I hope this report will help Amy in choosing one of these positions.

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 Table of Contents
Executive Report………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. iii

List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… V

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1

Job Opportunities ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2

Eide Bailly…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2

Position…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 2

Background and Direction…………………………………………………………………………………….. 2

Suitability………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 3

Mutual of Omaha…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 4

Position…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4

Background and Direction…………………………………………………………………………………….. 4

Suitability………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 4

Deloitte Consulting………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5

Position…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 5

Background and Direction……………………………………………………………………………………… 5

Suitability………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 6

Conclusion and Recommendation……………………………………………………………………………………. 7

Final Recommendation…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 8

Works Cited……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 9

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 List of Figures
Figure 1: Growth of Eide Bailly……………………………………………………………………………………….. 3

Figure 2: Aggregate Member Firm Revenue by Industry………………………………………………... 5

Figure 3: Aggregate Member Firm Revenue by Functional Area……………………………………. 6

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 Introduction

As a Business and Professional Writing course requirement, I needed to help one of my

classmates pick from three employers that they were qualified to work for after graduation. My
partner’s name is Amy Anderson, a well spoken and motivated individual who is ready for
whatever challenges come her way. Amy is a student at North Dakota State University and is
studying the field of accounting. I had the opportunity to interview her as well as receive a
questionnaire stating many of her qualities. This gave me a thorough understanding of her
motives and characteristics that will be attributed to the business world.
The first thing that we discussed was her long and short term goals. Her life path starts
with working for an accounting firm to gather knowledge and experience in the accounting
field. She has no intention of working as an accountant her whole life. Instead she wishes to
own a business and perform all the accounting work herself once enough experience has been
gained.
Another topic we discussed was her ideal work environment. Amy has proven to be very
sociable but she claims that she motivates herself and works more efficiently alone. However
she does not desire working at a desk all day and that there should be a good mixture of social
activity as well.
Location of Amy’s future job has some importance to her. When we were discussing this
topic she clearly stated that she preferred to stay within the Midwest region to remain close to
her family. She also stated that she wants to leave Fargo because she wants a change in
scenery.
Amy has found three job postings that seem to interest her. My responsibility is to
research these employers and decide which will best suit Amy’s traits. The basis of my
recommendation will be on criteria such as the economic health of the employers, the area in
which the firm is located, and various things that appeal to Amy’s desires as stated in the
interview and questionnaire.

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 Job Opportunities
This section will briefly summarize the 3 employers in which Amy has an interest. Additionally I
will include background that will dictate the suitability of each employer to Amy’s best interest.
The 3 employers include Eide Bailly offering a bank audit position, Mutual of Omaha offering a
financial service representative position, and Deloitte offering a business analyst position.

Eide Bailly
Position:
Eide Bailly is offering a full time position as a Bank Audit Professional. The position is
offered at the Bloomington, MN branch. The responsibility of this position requires preparation
and performance of audit related projects for clients of financial institutions on a regular basis.
Job qualification requirements are as followed….

 Bachelor’s degree in accounting with a total of 150 credit hours.

 Intention of possessing or possession of a Certified Public Accountant License.
 1 – 3 years of work related experience
 Experienced with computers and spreadsheet software

This position requires applicant to obtain certain qualities which are listed as followed….

 Demonstrates Professionalism
 Demonstrates technical competency
 Demonstrates strong communication skills
 Demonstrates project management skills.

Background and Direction:

Eide Bailly is a certified public accounting advisory firm that offers assurance, tax, and
various financial services. It was established in 1917 in Fargo, ND. Eide Bailly is a private
company that employs approximately 1200 people and provides their services to nearly 39,000
clients. Eide Bailly has grown substantially over the past decade and shows promise for
continuous economic growth.
An article written by Rodger Russel in “Accounting Today” says a lot about where the
company is going and the trends of their growth. Eide Bailly has sustained an internal growth
rate of 10% throughout the past 5-7 years. During the fiscal year of 2009 Eide Bailly acquired
four firms in Oklahoma, Idaho, and Colorado. “This company, which now has 19 offices in nine
States, ranked No. 23 on Accounting Today’s 2010 Top 100 Firms list with revenues of
142.3 million dollars” (Russel, 2010). The article also states that the company is expected to
show growth of 3% in 2010. This is not a significant amount but is satisfactory considering the
current status of the economy. In summary, Eide Bailly has been continuously growing and
shows no signs of faulting.

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Below I have included a table that easily shows the gradual growth that they have accomplished
over the past 4 years.
Figure 1
Growth of Eide Bailey
Measurements 2007 2008 2009 2010

Staff 820 1031 1054 1000

Partners 122 157 163 168

Total 942 1188 1217 1168

Number Offices 13 20 19 19

Net Fees, Fiscal Yr $101M $114M $142M $152M

(Chart taken from http://www.eidebailly.com/about/Firm%20Profile.pdf )

Suitability:
The position offered by Eide Bailly is suits Amy’s interests significantly. This is based on 4
different criteria; location, work environment, economic stability, and the presence of various
challenges.
This position that Amy is looking at is located in Bloomington, MN. When I was
previously interviewing her she stated that she preferred to live close to the family and wished
to reside in the Midwest. By Amy working at Eide Bailly, she would remain close to family. This
could also have a positive effect on any children that Amy may have in the future for they
would develop relationships with their relatives. This position does subject Amy to the
possibility of relocation.
The work environment at Eide Bailly is one that is compliant to Amy’s expectations.
There is a mix of social and alone time. In addition to that Eide Bailly is notorious for their
continuous learning program. Jerry Topp, managing partner and chief executive of Eide Bailly
states, “We spend twice as much as most firms on professional development, including
continuing education, internal training and developing people skills” (Russel, 2010). Many say
that this action is largely part of the company’s success. Eide Bailly offers a work environment
that works with their employees. This can take a lot of stress and anxiety off of new employees
which better enables them to learn.
As discussed previously Eide Bailly is continuously growing. They are economically well
off and they show no signs of failure. This is a great indicator of good job stability and greatly
lessens concerns of getting laid off.
When I received Amy’s questionnaire, one statement that I noticed is “I like to
constantly have a challenge in front of me that I can work on”. Firms like Eide Bailly work for
clients in various industries such as health, construction, dealerships, real-estate, and many

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others. This variety requires a different style of accounting for each type of industry. This poses
many different challenges on the job which is a trait Amy desires.
I conclude my analysis of Eide Bailly by stating my preference on this position. Eide Bailly
offers everything that a college graduate would ever need in a first career.

Mutual of Omaha
Position:
Mutual of Omaha is offering a full time position as a Financial Service Representative.
This position is offered at the Fargo, ND branch. This position requires you to offer financial
advice to bank clients and sell the products offered by the bank. This position has minimal job
qualification requirements. They are accepting applicants with a bachelor’s in any degree. Perks
offered by employer are as followed…
 No limits on income; get paid based on your results.
 Commissions, bonuses, and other awards
 One of the best comprehensive training programs
 Turn-Key programs aimed to get you off to a fast start

Background and Direction:

Mutual of Omaha was founded in 1909 and is stationed in Omaha, Nebraska. This is a
public company and is a Fortune 500 organization. They provided various insurance services for
many years. Up until late 2007 they had only offered insurance services. In 2007 Mutual of
Omaha had purchased their first set of community banks. According to a journal article written
by David Lagesse, “Mutual of Omaha Bank started small at first, buying three community banks
in Nebraska and Colorado in late 2007 that had combined assets of less than $600 million”
(Lagesse, 2010). Mutual of Omaha Banks within the last three years have acquired $4.1 billion
and obtained nearly 40 branches in six states (Lagesse, 2010). This article makes apparent the
magnitude of growth that Mutual of Omaha has encountered since entering the banking
industry and they’re only expecting it to grow more.

Suitability:
The position offered by Mutual of Omaha suits the majority of Amy’s needs but fails to
address others. This is based on 3 criteria; work environment, pertinence to Amy’s goals, and
location.
The work environment for this position contains the social aspect desired by Amy but
doesn’t offer time to work alone. The financial service representative position requires
consulting with customers and selling the bank’s products. This is nothing more than a sales job
with basic knowledge on financing. This position does offer a great career opportunity with an
exceptional training program, but this does not prepare Amy for what she wants to do.
Amy’s goals are to gain knowledge and experience in the accounting field to eventually
use those skills on her own business. This position offered by Mutual of Omaha does not offer
that experience and knowledge. Granted this job will offer experience in financing which is
beneficial to business owners, this will not prepare Amy for becoming a competent accountant
for her own business.

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 Mutual of Omaha is located in Fargo, ND. This job is located too close to home. Amy
states in her questionnaire that she wishes to live close to her family. But at the same time does
not need to live in Fargo anymore. She also states that she would like a change in scenery and
enjoys meeting new people.
I conclude my summary on Mutual of Omaha by stating that there are better positions
with better opportunities out there. The economic stability of the company is great but this is
not an appropriate steeping stone on the path to achieve her goals.

Deloitte Consulting LLP

Position:
Deloitte is offering a full time position as a business analyst. The responsibility of this
position is to consult with clients and to help them strategize and implement improvements to
help their business run more efficiently. Deloitte offers full time benefits and various retirement
plans. Job qualification requirements are as followed…
 Strong analytical and problem solving skills
 Strong communication skills
 Intent to acquire MBA degree
 Willingness to travel
Deloitte offers many training programs to help solve challenging issues

Background and Direction:

Deloitte Consulting as of 2010 is the world’s largest firm in offering professional services.
According to their site Deloitte employs 170,000 professionals in more than 140 countries.
Deloitte has many service offerings including audit and enterprise risk services, tax services, and
advisory services. Their services are used by many industries. Types of industries and revenue
earned by each are illustrated in the pie chart below.

Figure 2

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(Illustration source: http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_GX/global/about/annual-review-
2010/index.htm )
Deloitte Consulting LLP has proven to be economically stable throughout the years and
maintains status to this day. Below is a graph illustrating their annual revenue intake along with
the percentage of change for each of their services provided.

Figure 3

(Illustration source: http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_GX/global/about/annual-review-

2010/index.htm )

The position that Amy has an interest lies in the consulting service. This graph clearly
shows the increasing demand for consulting services. This can ease the mind of any concern
regarding layoffs in this department.

Suitability:
The position offered by Deloitte as a business analyst will suit Amy and the knowledge
gained from this position will help her become a better business owner. Criteria that I base this
decision on are work environment, location, and the pertinence to Amy’s long term goals.
The work environment that Deloitte offers is primarily social because the role of a
business analyst requires consulting with clients. Similar to the position offered by Mutual of
Omaha, this environment does not offer much time to work alone. On a positive note, Deloitte
is recognized as being the 2009 best places to launch a career. According to an article in
Businessweek, “Deloitte takes the top spot with rich benefits, extensive training, and the
highest pay among Big 4 accounting giants”.

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 This position is located in Minneapolis, MN. This city is very large and has much to offer.
Working here satisfies the desire to live within proximity of family as well as leaving Fargo.
Living in Minneapolis offers a variety of activities to doo outside of work, making it an ideal
place to raise a family. The cost of living in Minneapolis varies slightly from that of Fargo, but
not significant enough to reject the position.
As stated many times in this report, Amy’s goal is to become a business owner. This
position offers the opportunity to become knowledgeable on business and operating strategies.
This experience will become very useful the day she acquires a business.
Overall Deloitte offers many beneficial characteristics. The position will make Amy more
insightful on business operations, provide a great lifestyle, and offers job stability. I highly
recommend taking this position.

Conclusion and Recommendation

Overall the 3 positions offered great opportunities but some lacked in a few areas.
Below is the summary of who best fits each criterion.

Background and Direction:

 Economic Stability: All three employers are recognized for being economically stable.
Deloitte as of 2010 is the world’s largest firm in offering professional services.
 Future of the Company: Eide Bailly and Mutual of Omaha are acquiring more and more
business locations indicating that they are continuously growing.
 Commendations: Deloitte is recognized as being 2009 best place to launch a career.

Suitability:

 Location: Deloitte Consulting is located in Minneapolis, MN and Eide Bailly is located in

Bloomington, MN making them both preferable.
 Pertinence to Amy’s Future Goals: Deloitte’s position as a business analyst will benefit
Amy the most by making her familiar with business strategies so that she can implement
them on her own business in the future.
 Work Environment: Deloitte offers a combination of both a social work and antisocial
work environment which is what Amy prefers. Deloitte also offers top notch training
programs for new employees.
 Challenge Offerings: The position offered by Deloitte is as a business analyst requires the
understanding of client’s business and pinpointing where operations can be improved.
This job will offer an endless supply of challenges in many different forms.

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 Final Recommendation

Deloitte Consulting; Minneapolis, MN:

I believe that the business analyst position offered by Deloitte Consulting is the best suit
for Amy. First off it is the world’s largest firm offering professional services indicating that there
are many opportunities for advancement and the business is financially stable. This position
offers fringe benefits and the highest pay. The position that is offered is high in demand and
that demand is sill increasing. Therefore it’s safe to say job stability won’t be an issue. The most
important reason for this decision is that this experience will benefit you as a future business
owner. The analysis of various businesses and the implementation of operational strategies will
teach you how to run a business more efficiently.
I have constructed this report only to help Amy in deciding where to start her career.
Much research, thought, and effort has been put forth to ensure the credibility of this report.
The final action lies in the hands of Amy. I hope she chooses my recommendation and that she
lives her life in complete satisfaction with the choice she is soon to make.

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 Citations

2009 Best Places to Launch a Career . (n.d.). Retrieved from

htt p://www.businessweek.com/careers/fi rst_jobs/2009/1.htm

Deloitt e 2010 Annual Review: Reaching New Heights, as One. (2010). Retrieved
from htt p://www.deloitt e.com/view/en_GX/global/about/annual-review-
2010/index.htm

Deloitt e Growth Enterprise Services: Our Service Off erings. (2010, September
24). Retrieved from htt p://www.deloitt e.com/view/en_US/us/Services/deloitt e-
growth-enterprise-
services/68eb6a44dfb fa210VgnVCM2000001b56f00aRCRD.htm

Eide Bailly llp. (n.d.). Retrieved from

htt p://www.linkedin.com/companies/eide-bailly-llp

Firm Profi le. (2010). Retrieved from htt p://www.eidebailly.com/about/Firm

%20Profi le.pdf

Lagesse, D. (2010). Going Against the Grain. US Baker, 120(6), Retrieved from
htt p://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.ndsu.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?
vid=9&hid=9&sid=3b50c276-69ec-4a0e-8f34-2387607368ac%40sessionmgr13

Mutual of Omaha’s New Career Path Programs Off er Expert Guidance, Training
and Educati on. (2010, January 27). Retrieved from
htt p://www.mutualofomaha.com/about/press/misc/20100127.php

Russel, R. (2010). A Foundati on of Learning in the Midwest. Accounti ng Today ,

24(6), Retrieved from
htt p://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.ndsu.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?
vid=7&hid=9&sid=314f1f47-d8ad-4e66-9e00-2bcd7e593825%40sessionmgr11