Canada's Top Small & Medium Employers (2026) Magazine - Magazine - Page 22
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CANADA’S TOP SMALL & MEDIUM EMPLOYERS (2026)
Culture is built over generations at Crowe BGK
M
ichael Iammatteo
always knew he
wanted to work
with a smaller
company. That’s
why, when the senior auditor
set his sights on medium-sized
accounting firm Crowe BGK LLP,
he didn’t apply anywhere else.
“I didn’t want to work at a big
company where you feel like just
a number,” says Iammatteo. “I
prefer close-knit companies that
feel more like a community, and
we know each other’s names.”
The bet paid off, and in three
years, Iammatteo moved up from
junior auditor to intermediate and
now senior. In part, Iammatteo
attributes his career growth to the
Montréal-based firm’s hands-on,
communicative culture.
As a junior, Iammatteo received
clear feedback on files. Now, as a
senior auditor, he fields questions
from juniors and leaves the same
kinds of notes he used to receive.
“Sometimes as a junior I
envisioned myself as a senior,
and I thought, ‘I’d never be able
to answer these questions,’”
Iammatteo recalls.
But through the work and
guidance from supervisors,
Iammatteo picked up the
knowledge, leadership and
communication skills required to
succeed.
“Communication is something
the firm does very well,” he
says. “The managers are all very
emotionally intelligent and
approachable.”
Iammatteo’s learning also
accelerated thanks to Crowe’s
size. Unlike larger firms, where
an auditor may be on a 15-person
team assigned to one section of a
large file, Iammatteo’s assignments
are one or two-person teams on
a mid-size file, offering more
industry exposure and learning.
Smaller files also means that
sometimes, as a junior, Iammatteo
would work directly with a
partner.
“You’re familiarizing yourself
with the top right away,” he says.
Working directly with more
junior staff isn’t only a matter
of firm size, partner Benjamin
Wohl explains, but an intentional
practice that strengthens the firm’s
expertise and culture.
“It’s also a matter of making
the time,” he says. “It’s just
good business practice to spend
time working directly with
people, being able to train and
transfer knowledge.”
Working on files isn’t the only
place where employees at all levels
engage with heads of the firm.
For Iammatteo, going head-tohead against Wohl on the foosball
table in Crowe’s break room is a
regular lunchtime occurrence.
While it’s just a game, the little
things that bring people together
— like playing foosball, eating
lunch or heading to spin class (led
by another of the firm’s partners)
— all play a part in Crowe’s
success.
The approachable, down-toearth culture has been cultivated
organically and passed down over
generations, says Wohl.
Much like Iammatteo, Wohl
started with Crowe as a junior
auditor fresh out of university
As we grow, we want to be the biggest small firm.
— Benjamin Wohl
Partner
Partners and employees at Crowe BGK engage in friendly competition through games of foosball.
