BDO reviews

3.5

63% would recommend to a friend

(10,318 total reviews)

Pat Kramer and Peter van Laer

73% approve of CEO

58% positive business outlook

BDO has an employee rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 10,318 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The BDO employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Financial Services industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

10K reviews
1.0
Jun 5, 2026

Experiences You Don’t Want to Have

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Evaluate for yourself when you read the cons.

Cons

This review relates to a particular team within BDO Singapore Risk Advisory — one associated with the second letter of the alphabet. Those familiar with the practice will likely know which team this refers to. The biggest issue is not the workload, but the culture. Micromanagement is excessive. Emails often require review before being sent, and minor editorial mistakes can attract criticism that feels disproportionate to the issue. Constructive coaching is often overshadowed by fault-finding. The team revolves around a leader who appears to place significant trust in a small inner circle while concerns from the wider team frequently go unheard. Over time, this has created a perception that certain individuals hold influence far beyond their formal roles and can shape decisions, narratives, and priorities within the team. Many employees have raised concerns over the years, yet little appears to change. As a result, some team members no longer see value in speaking up. Workplace politics has become difficult to ignore. Professional judgement does not always seem to carry the same weight as alignment with the inner circle, creating an environment where employees can feel overlooked regardless of their contributions. Role boundaries are also unclear. From Associate to Director level, employees are often expected to handle responsibilities across multiple levels. The expectation is simply to do whatever is required, regardless of seniority, often without corresponding authority, support, or recognition. With more members leaving, this sends a clear signal about what it means to join this particular corner of BDO Singapore Risk Advisory. When capable employees repeatedly choose to leave, the departures themselves become the most honest reflection of the culture.

2.0
Jun 5, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There actually are great people, but you play manager roulette.

Cons

BDO is notorious for promoting people who just never leave. The middle of the road, not great, not awful, people get promoted over and over again. There have been changes every 3 seconds since the ESOP. Terrible communication around change (non-existent). My manager's favorite term was "We are building the plane as we fly it". After 4 years, I was hoping to have more plane built. It was never built.

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