The Best Accounting Firms In America In 2016
{{contrib_block.display_author.name}}Voice Karsten Strauss ,
{{contrib_block.display_author.type}} Contributor {{contrib_block.display_author.type}}
Contributor
Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.
Full profile →'">
The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.
There hasnât been too much change since last year among the top accounting firms in the country. The elite have, by and large, retained their positions.
This according to the latest analysis from Vault.com, a multi-industry intel, search and ranking firm based in New York City. This week the company released its annual ranking of the best and brightest accounting firms in the United States â The Accounting 50 â based on factors such as prestige, company culture, compensation and work/life balance, among others. (For a closer look at the top 10, see our gallery below.)
Just as in last yearâs rankings, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Deloitte and Ernst & Young made up the top three spots on Vaultâs list this year, in that order. The only alteration is that last yearâs rankings saw Ernst& Young ahead of Deloitte, in second place.
PwC topped the charts this year â as it has the previous three â by grabbing the number one spot in Vaultâs prestige ranking and itâs scored list of Best Accounting Firms for Diversity.
When Vault surveyed PwCâs employees, respondents spoke of "challenging and rewarding work with high profile clients," and their "talented," "helpful," "highly intelligent" coworkers "who care about one another." PwC staff also touted the companyâs "great training, learning, and promotion opportunities," "six weeks of paid paternity leave," "great healthcare and retirement benefits," "significant salary increases each year," "ability to work from home," and "amount of vacation and holidays."
When asked what aspects of working at PwC were not so great, company employees spoke of long hours and tough client demands, stress, and below-market compensation.
âThey have been looked at as the most prestige firm for many years,â says Derek Loosvelt, senior editor at Vault. âThey keep getting the top students that are looking to get into accounting.â Perhaps for that reason, PwC can be highly selectiveâsecuring a job with the firm can be difficult for the many accountants looking to work there, Loosvelt says. Along with Ernst & Young and Deloitte, PwC handles the accounts of successful large corporations, which adds to its prestige.
In second place, Deloitte scored better than all other firms in its formal training of employees and placed second in the prestige category. Employees there spoke of a culture based on teaching and teamwork, where workers interact with intelligent and motivated people. The downside, employees said, were the demanding and unpredictable hours, low pay relative to hours worked and bureaucracy.
To compile its Accounting 50 list, Vault staffers identified the 100 top accounting firms in the United States, based on revenue and employees and invited them to take part in its survey. They then sifted through input from over 9,000 accountants working for 23 of the top firms. Those 23, it should be noted, make up the top of the Accounting 50, making those, arguably, the most relevant positions on the list. Vaultâs Top 50 is a summation of the scoring of prestige (40%), culture (20%), work/life balance (10%), compensation (10%), job satisfaction (10%), business outlook (10%) and formal training (10). In rating prestige, employees surveyed were not allowed to rank their own firms.
Notes (1) - Followers (0) - Views (37) - Vote Count (0)
1 Notes
-
By Ala Mezher, Financial Controller - 7 years ago
The Best Accounting Firms In America In2016 according to Forbes