Big 4 Accounting Firms | Largest Accounting Firms In The World
What are the big 4 accounting firms?
The big four accounting firms are the four largest international CPA firms in the world.
They are well known for their large audit practices, auditing 99% of companies in the FTSE 1000.
In addition to audit services of publicly traded companies, the Big Four also offers private company audits, assurance services, taxation, management consulting, corporate finance and other advisory services.
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Mission Statement
Here at the big4accountingfirms.com we seek to help big 4 candidates get a big 4 job by educating them about the largest accounting firms in the world and the recruiting process.
We also seek to help current big 4 professionals by
- providing tactics, tools and habits of the most successful big 4 partners and professionals
- Educating them on the latest services and technologies being offered by the big 4
- Reducing big 4 scandals and discrimination by raising awareness around them and by providing roadmaps on how they can be prevented in the future
- Reducing frustrating bureaucracy in the big 4 by raising awareness around the corporate red tape and by providing alternative approaches that can be used by the big 4 in the future
So if you want to be part of the change, please help us reach more big 4 candidates and reach more big 4 professionals by forwarding this page on to someone you know that would be interested in improving the big 4 accounting firms.
Big 4 Interview Questions & Answers Book
Want to know the questions and answers that you will be asked on your big 4 interview? Check out our Big 4 Interview Questions and Answers book on Amazon.
Key Facts & Figures about the big 4 accounting firms
Big 4 Revenue
The big 4 accountancy firms together earned over $160 billion in 2021.
The break out of the big four accounting firms in order :
| Big 4 Accounting Firm | Revenue |
|---|---|
| Deloitte | $50.2 Billion |
| PwC | $45.1 Billion |
| EY | $40 Billion |
| KPMG | $29.8 Billion |
Big Four Accounting Firms Number of Employees
The top four audit firms in the world employed 1.1 million in employees in 2021.
| Big 4 Accounting Firm | Number of Employees |
|---|---|
| Deloitte | 345,374 |
| PwC | 295,000 |
| EY | 312,250 |
| KPMG | 219,000 |
Number of Countries Where the Big Four CPA Firms Operate
Each of the top 4 cpa firms operates in over 150 countries.
The actual number of countries by firm is included below
Deloitte – 150 countries
PwC – 158 Countries
EY – Over 150 countries
KPMG – 154 countries
Where is each top 4 cpa firms headquartered?
EY is headquartered in London, UK
Deloitte is headquartered in London, UK
KPMG is headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands
PwC is headquartered in New York City, NY
History of the big 4 accounting firms
Each of the big 4 accounting firms was created by a series of mergers. In the list below we’ve included the earliest start date of the member firms of each big 4 firm, and we’ve also included the last date of significant merger for each top accounting firm.
EY History – The earliest founding date for a member firm is 1849. The last major merger for Ernst & Young was in 1989.
PwC History – The earliest founding date for a member firm of PwC was in 1914. The last major merger date for PwC was in 1998 when Pricewaterhouse merged with Coopers & Lybrand.
Deloitte History – The earliest founding date for a member firm of Deloitte was in 1849. The last major merger date for Deloitte was in 1989.
KPMG History – The earliest founding date for a member firm of KPMG was in 1891. The last major merger date for KPMG was in 1987.