To celebrate Tax Day today, Vault.com, an online careers site, is unveiling its annual ranking of the best accounting firms to work for in the U.S. This year, Ernst & Young is at the top of the heap.
“The rankings and survey give you an inside look at the top accounting firms in North America, and they allow you to tailor your job search to aspects that are most important to you when considering a place to work,” says Derek Loosvelt, senior finance editor at Vault.com. “They also give you a sense of what it's like to work for a top accounting firm, and help you prepare for interviews and life on the job.”
The list is derived from Vault’s annual Accounting Survey, which asked more than 4,100 accountants of all levels to assess their peer accounting firms on a scale of 1 to 10 based on prestige. For this portion of the survey, respondents were asked to score only firms with which they were familiar, not including their own employer. Separately respondents were asked to rank their employer in various quality of life categories, including firm culture, compensation, overall satisfaction and work-life balance, among others.
To calculate the results for the Best Accounting Firms To Work For, Vault used a weighted formula that combines the prestige and quality of life ratings.
Ernst & Young took the No. 1 spot thanks to the company’s kinder corporate culture and good work-life balance. “Ernst & Young makes working long hours more manageable for employees, treats its employees a bit better than other big firms, and provides excellent training to its employees and the ability to take on as much work as they can handle, which in turn can lead to fast career growth. It's also incredibly prestigious,” Loosvelt says.
According to one Ernst & Young employee, “This is a great place to build your career. Ernst & Young has great people and a great internship program. The hours are long, there are unlimited learning opportunities.” Another employee said, “I have all the flexibility I need to manage both my work and home life successfully. I look forward to going to work every day.”
Grant Thornton, last year’s winner, holds the No. 2 spot this year. The firm ranks higher in just about every quality of life category than the “Big 4” (PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, Ernst & Young and KPMG), and it's just slightly behind them in prestige. “As one respondent to the survey put it, at Grant Thornton you get ‘Big 4 experience without the Big 4 negatives,’” Loosvelt says.
Deloitte, which won the inaugural accounting firm rankings three years ago, ranked No. 3 this year. “Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young are all nearly equal when it comes to perceived prestige,” Loosvelt says. “This year, less than a tenth of a point separates these three in that category. [Deloitte] is a very recognizable brand name, and some people believe it's the best of the Big 4.”
PricewaterhouseCoopers ranked fourth on the Best Accounting Firms To Work For list—but it was named the No. 1 Most Prestigious Accounting Firm for the third consecutive year.
Why is prestige so important? “Most people will switch companies, if not their careers, many times during their working lives, and brand name certainly matters on a resume,” Loosvelt says. “Prestige of brand name also certainly matters when applying to graduate schools. And prestige typically means working on the biggest, most lucrative, most complex, and highest-profile projects and deals with the most intelligent people in the industry, which provides for more challenging work, more rewarding work, and better overall work experience.”
In Pictures: The 10 Best Accounting Firms To Work For
Click here to see the complete list.
See Also:
The Best Financial Companies to Work For Right Now
