Number of professionals at the leading accounting firms in the U.S. 2023

With almost 140,000 professionals employed in 2023, Deloitte represented the largest accounting firm in the United States in terms of staff. In the same year, Ernst & Young (EY) came second in the list of accounting firms with the most professionals, where they employed less than half of the number of that of Deloitte.

Accounting industry in the U.S.

The accounting industry in the United States has proven itself to be a highly profitable industry. The revenue of accounting services in the United States has grown annually since 2013 and has shown no signs of slowing down. The average annual expenditure on accounting fees per consumer unit in the United States has also increased significantly since 2020, and reached over the 100 U.S. dollar mark for the first time in 2022.

The Big Four

The Big Four have continued to dominate the global market when it comes to accounting. The revenue of Deloitte, for example, reached almost 65 billion U.S. dollars at the last count. As the influence of these firms have grown, they have become involved in some policymaking decisions in various countries across the globe. The outsourcing of public services by the UK government, for instance, has become a contentious issue over the last few years. This is due to hugely lucrative contracts being awarded to the Big Four and other consulting firms in the UK by the government.