Just How Many People Left Big 4 Firms Last Year?

Posted on by Going Concern News Desk
exit sign on a mountain highway with fog

Just how many people left Big 4 firms — voluntarily or not — in 2022? About 56,600 according to this CFO Journal piece published on WSJ this morning. For this year, the number is about 21,400 through June, a 11.6% drop from the same period the year prior. That’s from workplace data analyzed by Revelio Labs. This year marks the first year the number of leavers has decreased rather than increased since 2019.

The article also says job postings at Deloitte, EY, and KPMG across all service lines were down 76% in July from the year before per analysis by investment bank William Blair & Co. They don’t track PwC “due to an inability to determine the number of positions on its internal job postings board” but PwC recruiters we’ve spoken to say they’re still doing plenty of hiring. The decrease in hiring is attributed to low attrition, decreased client demand for services, and firms overhiring prior to the business slowdown. Commenters are welcome to drop their own theories in the comments.

So there’s no shortage then, right?

Big Four Accounting Firms Pare Their Consultant Ranks in Postpandemic Reversal [WSJ]

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Big 4 Rotations: Great Career Opportunity or Recruiting Gimmick?

We touched on international rotations yesterday, albeit one that probably would be provide more risk than most accountants are comfortable taking.

That being said, rotations – either to another practice, office or international – can be a way to re-energize your career if you’re feeling stagnant or a simple distraction from the distinct possibility that you don’t like your job. We’ll discuss all three of these possibilities and then open it up for discussion:

International Rotations – Offering international rotations is an excellent recruiting tools for the firms that offer them (primarily Big 4) and most people that work in firms that offer them would state that they are “an extremely rewarding experience,” whether or not they’ve actually experienced one. It’s one of the cliché message that firms put out without mentioning the fact that the politics of negotiating one can be tricky. All that being said, those lucky few that do experience them rave about their experiences (for the most part, there are some that just can’t be pleased) on both a personal and professional level.


Domestic Rotations – Again, firms market these as opportunities for those that are interested in them. There are less politics involved in the domestic versions although a particular office may have to demonstrate a need before it would be approved. A slight twist on these the domestic “rotation” is an unsolicited one, where one office has a desperate need for warm bodies and your firm offers you up to spend a significant length of time (e.g. two to three months up to a year or more) working in a different office.

Practice Rotations – You’re sick of auditing/tax/advisory. One day the idea of a rotation to a new service line or to a support department (e.g. HR) comes along and you jump at it because, well, you’re bored out of your mind. This can be a great opportunity to do something completely different which could be the start of a new career path. Or it could be your firm filling its need for grunts in a practice that is short-handed.

From a recent thread on staying or leaving public accounting, commenter Guest had this to say regarding internal rotations.

Internal rotations are also BS. They are generally looking for cheap labor to bridge them in times of need. Most people don’t get asked to stay on, in which case your peers that stayed in audit may have a leg up. If you do get asked to stay, you will be behind your advisory/tax peers since you didn’t start with them.

So it’s a bit of a mixed bag out there. On the one hand, landing one of these rotations is the first step and then you have to consider the repercussions of leaving an office/practice for a length of time. If you’ve got personal experience with any of these, discuss below for the wishers and dreamers out there mulling rotations.

5 thoughts on “Just How Many People Left Big 4 Firms Last Year?”

  1. I’ve called bullshit many times before on the supposed “talent shortage crisis” in accounting. Now would seem to be a good time to call bullshit again. I continue to contend that any company in America can fill any accounting position with a qualified candidate in a reasonable period of time if the company is willing to pay the market rate for said talent. The real crisis is the assholes who run businesses thinking that accountants aren’t worth the money.

    I’ve also said before that the high turnover at public accounting firms (even if just a little lower than normal), is not a bad thing. It’s a good thing. It’s good for the firms because it allows them to continue to promote the people who stay and also bring in fresh talent. And its good for the staff because the high turnover is an indicator that their skills and experience are in high demand in private industry.

    1. The real crisis is the assholes who run businesses thinking that accountants aren’t worth the money.

      I’ve started emailing media contacts to ask for salary numbers if they aren’t readily available any time an entity claims they can’t find accounting talent.

  3. The industry model needs to change. The folks entering PA don’t see value in the hours they are forced to work vs. the pay. Consider an imputed hourly rate that equates with a job at Walmart! Not to mention, in an era of immediate gratification, why would associates and even managers aspire to be partners. Making partner doesn’t carry the prestige it once did. Its like winning a pie eating contest with the prize being more pie.

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