A career in accounting is one of the more lucrative ones around. Almost everybody would like to launch an accounting career at one of the Big 4 accounting firms.
However, the positions at these firms are highly competitive and not everyone can get it. The good news is that there are several other very good accounting firms. The following is a list of the top accounting firms, starting with the Big 4.
1. Deloitte. It is the largest accounting firm in the world and is headquartered in New York. It has presence in over 150 countries. This firm as it is today was formed through a series of mergers and acquisitions.
2. PricewaterhouseCoopers. This firm has its headquarters in London and was formed by a merger in 1998 between the firms Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand. It is present in over 150 countries worldwide.
3. KPMG. This firm has also gone through a series of mergers. KPMG is an acronym for the names of the four partners of the different firms in the merger, Klynveld, Peat, Marwick and Goerdeler. Its global headquarters are in the Netherlands.
4. Ernst & Young. Like Deloitte, this firm has its headquarters in London. It is present in over 140 countries worldwide.
5. Grant Thornton international. It has its headquarters in the United States and is present is about 110 countries.
6. RSM International. This is another top accounting firm with presence in over 70 countries. Its UK firm RSM Tenon was the first accountancy firm to be listed on the London Stock exchange.
7. BDO International. Headquarters are in Belgium and has member firms in over 100 countries.
8. Baker Tilly International. Comprises of 147 accountancy firms in over 110 countries.
9. PKF. This is the short form of Pannell Kerr Foster. There are 245 accountancy firms worldwide operating under the PKF brand and are located in more than 125 countries.
10. Praxity. This is an alliance of independent firms worldwide.
11. DFK International. It comprises of independent accounting firms globally.
12. Leading Edge Alliance. This is an international alliance of independent accountancy firms. LEA was named as the second largest association of accountancy firms.
13. Moore Stevens. Is located in almost 90 countries. It comprises of over 300 independent accounting firms.
14. Mazars. This was originally a French firm. It now has presence in at least 61 countries.
15. HLB International. It has over 450 offices in over 100 countries.
