Ernst & Young Marks Tenth Anniversary as One of FORTUNE's '100 Best Companies To...

Ernst & Young Marks Tenth Anniversary as One of FORTUNE's '100 Best Companies
To Work For'
- A Decade of Progress in Building a 'People First' Workplace Culture -

NEW YORK, Jan. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Ernst & Young LLP, one of the world's
largest professional services firms, announced today that it has been named
one of FORTUNE magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work for" for the tenth year
in a row. The firm ranks number 57 on the list of 100 companies, and ranks
number 18 on the large company list. Ernst & Young is the only Big Four firm
that has been on the list for ten consecutive years.
Ernst & Young began a journey toward putting "People First" more than a
decade ago. Since that time, the firm has seen tremendous progress in
advancing and retaining women and minorities, building a culture of
inclusiveness, championing flexibility for all employees, and providing
enhanced benefits and support networks for working parents. This past year, in
a global annual survey of employees, 94 percent of respondents said they were
proud to work for the firm.
"At Ernst & Young, our research has shown that the right environment is
what creates business results -- not the other way around," noted Jim Freer,
Ernst & Young's Vice Chair of People in the Americas. "By helping our people
reach their full potential, we know that we are ultimately driving the growth
and success of our business. With that in mind, we continuously seek new ways
to foster an inclusive and flexible work environment that supports our people
both personally and professionally."
The following new initiatives were launched this past year:
-- Generational dynamics workshops were hosted in local offices to help
Gen Y, Gen X, and Baby Boomers within the firm better understand the
values driving each generation.
-- A grassroots virtual organization, the AccessAbilities group, was
launched to focus on issues affecting recruitment, development, and
retention of people with disabilities.
-- Foster parents and legal guardians became eligible for parental leave.
-- More men were enlisted as champions of gender equity -- including
having men lead local gender equity committees, providing training for
men coaching women, and forming Working Dads Networks.
-- Diversity Recruiting Managers were assigned to assist in pipeline
development of minority talent at the levels of manager and above.
-- More allies became involved with Ernst & Young's lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender network. This was reflected by the addition
of the letter "A" to the descriptive acronym, LGBTA.
-- Ernst & Young professionals mentored elementary school students in math
and problem-solving, in conjunction with the firm's sponsorship of the
award-winning PBS program, Cyberchase.
-- The EY/Personal Financial Planning program was launched to provide
confidential and objective financial planning assistance to employees.

This past year, the firm also launched an internal campaign to celebrate
real stories of the firm's "People First" culture in action. Through this
campaign, people described their own experiences, in their own words. The
campaign, like Ernst & Young's culture, celebrated the "whole" person,
demonstrating that while Ernst & Young employees are consummate professionals,
they also have families and personal interests, and Ernst & Young works to
support and celebrate the whole package.
Ernst & Young is not only a proud member of the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies
to Work For list, but also Working Mother's Top Ten Best Companies for Working
Mothers and Training Magazine's Top 100. Ernst & Young has been named to
DiversityInc's Top 50 Companies and was recently recognized by the Human
Rights Campaign as one of the Best Places to Work for GLBT Equality.
About the FORTUNE "100 Best Companies to Work For" List
To pick the "100 Best Companies to Work for", FORTUNE works with Robert
Levering and Milton Moskowitz of the Great Place to Work Institute to conduct
the most extensive employee survey in corporate America. Of some 1,500 firms
that were contacted, 406 companies participated in this year's survey. Nearly
100,000 employees at those companies responded to a 57-question survey created
by the Great Place to Work Institute, a global research and consulting firm
with offices in 30 countries. Most of the company's score (two-thirds) is
based on the results of the survey, which is sent to a minimum of 400 randomly
selected employees from each company. The survey asks questions related to
their attitudes about the management's credibility, job satisfaction and
camaraderie. The other third of the scoring is based on the company's
responses to the Institute's Culture Audit, which includes detailed questions
about pay and benefit programs and a series of open-ended questions about
hiring practices, methods of internal communications, training, recognition
programs and diversity efforts, etc. After evaluations are completed, if news
about a company comes to light that may significantly damage employees' faith
in management, that company may be excluded from the list.
Any company that is at least seven years old with more the 1,000 U.S.
employees is eligible. The deadline for applying for next year's list is March
31, 2008. For an online nomination form, go to www.greatplacetowork.com.
About Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young, a global leader in professional services, is committed to
enhancing the public's trust in professional services firms and in the quality
of financial reporting. Its 130,000 people in 140 countries pursue the highest
levels of integrity, quality, and professionalism in providing a range of
sophisticated services centered on our core competencies of auditing,
accounting, tax, and transactions. Further information about Ernst & Young and
its approach to a variety of business issues can be found at
www.ey.com/perspectives. Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of
member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate
legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited does not provide services to
clients. Ernst & Young LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership, is a
U.S. client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited
SOURCE Ernst & Young LLP

Holly Humphrey of Ernst & Young, +1-212-773-2439, holly.humphrey@ey.com