Art of Accounting: 5th to 100th largest firms growing more than Big Four

Public accounting is a growth profession. Accounting Today’s annual lists of the Top 100 Firms bear this out. However, a close look at the lists show that the 5th to 100th largest firms are growing much more than the Big Four.

I compared the 2023 to the 2013 data giving me a 10-year comparison. The Top 100 total revenues for 2023 were $111,925 million against $49,468 million for 2013. This indicates a large increase of $62,456 million or 126%. However, the Big Four grew 117% in revenues while the Other 96 grew 154%. Not only that, but the increase in total employees was pretty similar for both groups, translating into higher overall revenues per employee for the Top 100 Firms, but the revenues per employee for the Big Four actually went down, from $249,000 to $246,000, while the Other 96 went from $190,000 per employee to $224,000, a nice increase.

A thorough examination of all of these numbers can be explained and explained and then explained. However, it appears the Other 96 are growing more than the Big Four in these categories. This indicates a healthy situation for those firms. For informational purposes, the Other 96 are quite large with the fifth largest having 2023 revenues of $3.6 billion and the 100th on that list with revenues of $50 million. The Big Four total revenues were $79 billion. 

I look for macro trends and, while these numbers are not conclusive, I believe they show that public accounting is a growing profession with perhaps the totals of the Top 100 being somewhat skewed because of the weight of the Big Four. When I started this analysis, my thoughts were that the Big Four overpowered the Top 100 listing when they are actually not growing as much as the Other 96. 

I do not know how a similar analysis would fare when separating the Top 100 into groups of 25 or extending this analysis into the next 400 firms, and which data exists. I also used a 10-year comparison, but there might be greater changes in the last two or three years. No matter, this is not a competition with the Big Four or even among the firms. My purpose is to indicate that public accounting is a growing profession and there appears to be great opportunities for these Top 100 Firms and especially for the Other 96. Projecting these results further might also show that many smaller firms are also likely to be experiencing great growth. 

Do not hesitate to contact me at emendlowitz@withum.com with your practice management questions or about engagements you might not be able to perform.