After EY’s 2026 compensation and promotions left more than a few EYers feeling shafted, the firm is reaching into its pockets in what it’s calling “a bold shift in how the firm recognizes impact.” Announced via press release yesterday, EY says its investing $100 million to “reward EY US professionals who develop future-focused skills, advance the firm’s culture, drive innovation, and deliver exceptional client service.” Like you didn’t already have enough on your plate, now you have to figure out innovation.
Rather than slicing the text of this press release up into pieces, let’s view it in its entirety to see if we can spot any potentially sketchy wordplay:
EY US invests $100 million to reward employees leading the firm into the future
In addition to rewarding technology adoption, the program recognizes EY US professionals who harness advanced technologies to turn disruption into opportunity. This approach ensures recognition centers on the skills, behaviors and outcomes that matter most to the EY organization and its clients’ future.
“The pace and complexity of change in our industry require confident leadership,” said Dante D’Egidio, EY Americas CEO and US Managing Partner. “This significant investment reinforces our commitment to building the workforce of the future by recognizing the skills and behaviors needed to lead our profession and serve our clients with excellence.”
The program consists of three award categories based on scope and impact:
- Everyday leadership: Recognizes actions that contribute to learning, experimentation, collaboration and leadership in the moment
- Transformation that drives measurable results: Rewards individuals whose contributions drive meaningful change through innovation, disruption, technology or growth
- Game-changing impact for the enterprise: Honors individuals or teams whose actions make a long-lasting, material impact on the firm
In addition to introducing new award categories, all ranks of EY US professionals can recognize colleagues and acknowledge contributions as they happen.
“How we reward our people defines what we value as a firm. And what we value are confident professionals who continuously push themselves to learn fast and drive a lasting impact,” said Ginnie Carlier, EY Americas Chief Talent and Culture Officer. “With these awards, we are empowering our EY professionals to bring a curious mindset to their work, to challenge what is possible and to ultimately shape the future of EY US.”
Can we take this to mean that you can no longer count your impact on the firm in hours billed and work delivered? Or, less cynically, does this mean overachievers will be generously rewarded for doing partner-level strategy work while the underachievers can still get by on doing exactly what’s expected of them and no more?
