Yes, Big 4 accountants (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG) generally make high salaries, especially as they progress to senior and partner levels, with starting salaries for entry-level roles often between $53,000 and $88,000. Compensation grows significantly with experience, with managers often earning over $100,000 and partners potentially earning between $250,000 and over $1 million annually, though this comes with long hours and high-stress environments.
The Big 4 accounting firms salary ranges from $55,000 for associates to $390,000+ for directors, with partners earning $250,000 to $5 million. Consulting roles pay the most, while audit and tax salaries start lower, showing function is more important than the firm.
According to the Austin Rose 2025 salary survey, a senior audit manager outside London can expect to earn from £59,000-£75,000 at a Big Four firm, £54,000-£68,000 at a mid-tier firm and £53,000-£66,000 at an independent firm.
Big 4 Accounting Firms Salary FAQs
The highest-paying role, Director, typically earns between ₹59.2 Lakhs to ₹70.5 Lakhs per year. The top 10% of employees earn more than ₹43 Lakhs per year, and the top 1% earn over ₹97.1 Lakhs per year.
Many accountants experience burnout at some point in their careers because of the long hours and constant high pressure of working in a Big 4 firm. It starts with struggling to cope with workplace stress. Over time, they are left feeling exhausted, empty, and unable to function or cope with everyday life.
The highest paying jobs in the UK range from £65,000 to over £250,000 annually. Top roles include CEOs, investment bankers, surgeons, and airline pilots. Best earning jobs also feature CFOs, orthodontists, and software engineering managers.
Associate, Accounting Advisory
Base salary $100k-$125k , plus performance-based bonus.
Fast-forward a few years, and Erica now runs an accounting practice making over $200,000 yearly—on less than 15 hours of work per week.
Landing a highly sought-after position at one of the "Big 4" firms—Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY), PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG)—is exceptionally challenging due to extremely low acceptance rates (ranging from 0.85% to 4%), but is desirable due to high potential for career ...
To be in the top 1% of income tax payers in the UK (i.e. to be among the 310,000 individuals with the highest income), a taxable income of at least £160,000 is required. £236,000 is required to be in the top 0.5% and nearly £650,000 to be in the top 0.1%.
American households that make $250,000 or more are typically within the top 10% of earners. Some of them don't feel wealthy. So we took to the streets of New York to ask what salary would make people feel rich.
The Big Four are notorious for their late nights. When it comes to work-life balance, they typically score low on employee satisfaction surveys. This is because their hours are long, and they tend to demand a lot. While a good job is a challenging one, there is a limit.
Accountants are one of the least happy careers in the United States. At CareerExplorer, we conduct an ongoing survey with millions of people and ask them how satisfied they are with their careers. As it turns out, accountants rate their career happiness 2.6 out of 5 stars which puts them in the bottom 6% of careers.
ACA is typically for a number of the larger practices and is a very technical qualification. Some say this is the hardest qualification out of CIMA, ACA, and ACCA.