Bartlett, Pringle & Wolf LLP of Santa Barbara has been named one of the 2010 Best Accounting Firms to Work For by Accounting Today magazine.

The 62-year-old South Coast business is among 13 other accounting firms in California, and the only one on the Central Coast, to be recognized.

The survey and award program was designed to honor the best places of employment in the accounting industry, benefiting the nation’s economy, its workforce and businesses, Bartlett officials said.

Accounting firms from across the country entered the two-part survey process. The first part consisted of evaluating each nominated firm’s workplace policies, practices, philosophy, systems and demographics. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience. The combined scores determined the top firms.

The best accounting firms list is made up of 100 companies, split into three groups: 45 small companies (15 to 49 employees), 45 medium companies (50 to 249 employees) and 10 large companies (more than 250 employees). Bartlett has been named one of the best firms in the small-company category with a total of 48 full-time employees, including seven partners.

— Noozhawk business writer Ray Estrada can be reached at restrada@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk or @NoozhawkNews.