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PwC Does Not Relinquish Top Spot In Vault Accounting 25 (2023)

Vault today released its newest ranking of the best public accounting firms to work for, and it’s a slimmed-down version for 2023: the number of firms ranked went from 50 (as has been the case for many years) to 25. But one thing remains constant: PwC is No. 1.

This is the 10th straight year PwC has held the top spot in the 13-year history of Vault’s ranking, and the House of Ryan’s total score of 8.807 out of 10 beat 2022’s score of 8.742, which at the time was the highest score ever earned by any firm. Unfortunately now that Vault’s rankings are housed on the website Firsthand.com, the fun bad reviews (one- or two-star) for each firm are no longer published. So we’ll have to settle for things like “great culture,” “amazing, friendly people,” the “flexibility and ability to work remotely,” and “endless growth and learning opportunities” as why PwC is the best public accounting firm to work for.

The Vault Accounting 25 is based on the results of a survey of more than 9,700 accounting professionals, who were asked to rate their firms in several workplace categories, including benefits, compensation, culture, diversity, hours, satisfaction, training, wellness offerings, and work/life balance. They were also asked to rate firms other than their own in terms of prestige. The Accounting 25 is then compiled using a weighted formula based on these internal and external rankings.

According to Vault, non-PwCers called the firm “the gold standard,” “elite,” “the best and most prestigious firm in the world by far,” and “built to continue leading into the future.” PwCers say the firm is a “good place to start a career,” has “strong technical and training programs,” and their “compensation is great.”

The top five firms in the 2023 Vault Accounting 25 are the same as in 2022 and 2021. Deloitte, which held the top spot in Vault’s inaugural ranking in 2011, is again No. 2 in 2023. According to Vault, accountants at peer firms say Deloitte is “the best of the Big 4,” “aggressive,” “high quality,” “the leader in the industry,” and “the top global firm.” Deloitters told Vault that the firm has “great leadership, culture, and people,” as well as “limitless growth, development, and learning opportunities.” Deloitte employees also appreciate the “flexible work options” and “ability to work remotely,” Vault said.

In third place is KPMG, which according to what Klynveldians told Vault, has the “best and brightest colleagues,” “world-class clients,” “flexibility of hours,” and “endless development opportunities.” Non-KPMG employees said the firm is “very prestigious” and a “great firm” with a “friendly culture,” according to Vault.

In fourth once again is BDO USA, followed by Plante Moran in fifth. Wondering where EY is? That would be No. 23, up from No. 29 in 2022. The biggest mover within the Accounting 25 is Rehmann, which jumped seven spots from 26th in 2022 to 19th in 2023. Firms other than EY that gained six spots include Marcum, BPM, Grant Thornton, and Crowe. The biggest losers this year are RSM US and Grassi—both dropped two spots in 2023’s ranking.

New to the top 25 for 2023: Rehmann, BPM, Grant Thornton, and Crowe.

Firms that fell out of the top 25 in 2023: Withum, Brown Smith Wallace, Marks Paneth, Mazars USA, and Sikich.

Here’s the full 2023 Vault Accounting 25 ranking (previous year’s ranking in parenthesis):

1. PwC (1)
2. Deloitte (2)
3. KPMG (3)
4. BDO USA (4)
5. Plante Moran (5)
6. Moss Adams (8)
7. Baker Tilly (7)
8. RSM US (6)
9. CohnReznick (9)
10. CBIZ MHM (10)
11. Friedman (11)
12 Schellman & Co. (12)
13. Marcum (19)
14. PKF O’Connor Davies (15)
15. Eide Bailly (17)
16. Frank, Rimerman + Co. (18)
17. Armanino (16)
18. Aprio (21)
19. Rehmann (26)
20. Frazier & Deeter (24)
21. BPM (27)
22. Grassi (20)
23. EY (29)
24. Grant Thornton (30)
25. Crowe (31)

Tomorrow we’ll get to Vault’s prestige ranking, which is once again dominated by PwC.

Related articles:

Vault Accounting 50: PwC Remains No. 1; Top 5 SALY (2022)
PwC Continues to Dominate Vault Accounting 50 (2021)

One thought on “PwC Does Not Relinquish Top Spot In Vault Accounting 25 (2023)

  1. Congrats to the top 25! Unfortunately, with the change in ownership of Vault to Firsthand there was a glitch in our Firm receiving communications about the survey, so Withum actually missed the opportunity to participate!! We are confident that our firm would have remained in the top 25 had we participated. Next year!!

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