Grant Thornton LLP Named a 2008 Working Mother 100 Best Company By Working Mother Magazine

Working Mother magazine today named Grant Thornton LLP one of the 2008 Working Mother “100 Best Companies.” From a culture of flexibility to healthy lifestyles, Grant Thornton is expanding the concept of family-friendly benefits to ensure they cover adoptive parents, fathers and grandparents, as well as working mothers.

“The economy is not going to alter the commitment of Grant Thornton to working mothers, because they’ve made family-friendly policies a part of their corporate DNA,” said Carol Evans, CEO of Working Mother Media. “Supporting families is a vital part of their culture and not just an added benefit.”

Added Suzanne Riss, Editor in Chief, Working Mother magazine, “Grant Thornton knows that their investment pays for itself through employee loyalty, and they realize that productivity depends as much on satisfied staffers as on smart processes. By helping employees manage their work/life demands, Grant Thornton is creating a highly motivated workforce.”

“Grant Thornton is honored and delighted that Working Mother continues to recognize our culture as one that promotes the value of the individual,” said CEO Ed Nusbaum. “We promise our clients that they will work with the best of the best. To attract and retain our distinctive people, many of whom are working mothers — and firm leaders — we go to great lengths to find ways to make work ‘work’ for both individual parents and the firm. We’d be crazy not to. Our individual professionals are our brand, and if we don’t find a way to meet their needs, our competitors would be only too happy to welcome their talents.”

Grant Thornton offers all of its employees, including working mothers, a variety of programs aimed at creating a work/life balance. Two new programs the firm launched this year are the “Stay Connected program” and the “Leading Women’s Mentoring Network.” Stay Connected is an off/on ramp program, rather than see employees who exit the workforce as a lost resource, Grant Thornton supports those who have chosen to leave the firm for a period of time and draws them back to the Firm by catering to their unique needs. The Leading women’s mentoring network – currently being piloted – targets Grant Thornton’s high performing women senior managers and matches them with an experienced women partner outside their local office. The goal of this mentoring program is to provide our women with a source of guidance, counsel and experience to help them navigate the road to partnership and through their first year as partner.

“Grant Thornton has grown more than 70 percent over the past five years, which has allowed us to introduce initiatives and benefits that help our women and working mothers achieve their personal and professional best,” said Jacqueline Akerblom, national managing partner of women’s initiatives and programs. “However, as much as we’ve achieved over the past few years, we recognize that we still have opportunities for improvement. We have learned a lot and continue to seek innovative ways to support our women and working parents.”

Methodology:

Grant Thornton LLP was selected for the 2008 Working Mother “100 Best Companies” based on an extensive application with more than 500 questions. The application included detailed questions about workforce, compensation, child care, flexibility programs, leave policies and more. It also checked the usage, availability and tracking of programs, as well as the accountability of managers who oversee them. Seven areas were measured and scored: workforce profile, compensation, child care, flexibility, time off and leaves, family-friendly programs, and company culture. For this year’s 100 Best, particular weight was given to family-friendly policies, flexibility, leave policies and benefits for part-timers.

A complete list of the 2008 Working Mother 100 Best Companies can be found at www.workingmother.com.

About Working Mother Media

Founded in 1979, Working Mother magazine reaches 2 million readers and is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers. Its 22-year signature initiative, Working Mother “100 Best Companies,” is the most important benchmark for work/life practices in corporate America. Working Mother is published by Working Mother Media, which was founded in 2001. Working Mother Media includes the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), Diversity Best Practices, the WorkLife Congress, the Multicultural Women’s Conference and Town Halls. Working Mother Media’s mission is to champion culture change. For more information, please visit www.workingmother.com.

About Grant Thornton LLP

The people in the independent firms of Grant Thornton International Ltd provide personalized attention and the highest quality service to public and private clients in more than 100 countries. Grant Thornton LLP is the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, one of the six global audit, tax and advisory organizations. Grant Thornton International Ltd and its member firms are not a world wide partnership, as each member firm is a separate and distinct legal entity.

In the U.S., visit Grant Thornton LLP at www.GrantThornton.com.