The top accounting firms include members of the Big Four firms, like Deloitte and KPMG, and smaller accounting networks, like BDO and Grant Thornton. These accounting firms offer a range of accounting, auditing, and professional services to clients of all sizes. Using revenue data from the 2022 fiscal year, we’ve determined the top 10 accounting firms.
Top 10 Accounting Firms
1. Deloitte
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Global Revenue: $59.3 billion
Deloitte, officially called Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, is the largest accounting firm in the U.S. and the world both by revenue and number of employees (415,000). Founded in 1854, Deloitte is also one of the oldest firms and has managed to hold its original namesake through countless mergers and acquisitions. A member of the “Big Four” accounting firms, Deloitte’s U.S. revenues neared $30 billion for the 2022 fiscal year.
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2. PwC
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Global Revenue: $50.3 billion
PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, better known as PwC, is a multinational accounting firm operating in over 150 countries. PwC was born from a merger of Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand in 1998, but the merged firms were each founded in the mid-1800s. While PwC’s global revenue surpassed $50 billion for fiscal year 2022, its U.S. revenue also exceeded $18 billion, making it the second-largest accounting firm in the world and the U.S. by revenue.
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3. EY
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Global Revenue: $45.4 billion
Ernst & Young, or EY, was officially created in 1989 from a merger of the then-fourth and fifth largest firms in the world: Ernst & Whinney and Arthur Young & Co. EY currently operates in more than 150 countries and has been consistently ranked for 25 years as one of the best companies to work for by Fortune magazine.
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4. KPMG
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom and Amstelveen, Netherlands
Global Revenue: $34.6 billion
KPMG, an initialism of Klynveld, Peat, Marwick, and Goerdeler, was founded in 1987. Though it’s incorporated in London, KPMG’s headquarters are in the Netherlands. KPMG operates in 145 countries, and its U.S. revenue was close to $11.5 billion for 2022.
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5. BDO
Headquarters: Zaventem, Belgium
Global Revenue: $12.8 billion
BDO stands for Binder, Dijker, Otter — the initials of the three firms that merged to create BDO in 1963. BDO is an accounting network, meaning that BDO firms operating in various countries worldwide, like Canada or Australia, are individual legal entities. The BDO member firm in the U.S. had around $2.5 billion in revenue in 2022.
6. RSM International
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Global Revenue: $7.3 billion
RSM is an accounting network founded in 1964. The name RSM comes from the initials of the three founding firms: Robson Rhodes, Salustro Reydel, and McGladrey. Since RSM is an accounting network, the individual member firms operate as separate legal entities. While the U.S. firm and U.K. firms are the largest of the network, RSM currently offers professional services in 123 countries.
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8. Grant Thornton
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Global Revenue: $7.2 billion
Grant Thornton was founded in 1980 as a professional services network. The network offers accounting and consulting products to 147 markets and employs more than 68,000 people. Grant Thornton’s clients include public sector institutions, private businesses, and public interest entities.
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9. Baker Tilly International
Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
Global Revenue: $4.7 billion
Baker Tilly International is an accounting network incorporated in London, England, with 700 offices around the world. Founded in 1987, Baker Tilly has expanded to include commercial law and real estate advisory services alongside its auditing and accounting practices.
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10. CLA
Headquarters: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Global Revenue: $1.6 billion
CliftonLarsonAllen, or CLA, is an accounting network founded in 2012 after a merger of U.S.-based firms Clifton Gunderson LLP and LarsonAllen LLP. Through its global network, CLA provides wealth advisory and accounting services in nearly 130 locations.
What Are the Big Four Accounting Firms?
The Big Four are the top accounting firms in the United States and the world: Deloitte, KPMG, EY, and PwC. The Big Four used to be the Big Eight. However, following a series of mergers in the 1980s, the list was consolidated, and four conglomerate accounting networks emerged.
Each firm offers similar services, and all are relatively comparable in size and scope compared to the rest of the market. Many of the world’s largest companies rely on Big Four firms to perform annual audits and accounting services.
The services offered by Big Four firms include:
- Audit
- Assurance
- Taxation
- Management consulting
- Valuation
- Market research
- Actuarial services
- Corporate finance
- Legal services
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