History of the Big 4 accounting firms
In the late 1990s, the Big 6 became the Big 5 when Price Waterhouse merged with Coopers and Lybrand to form PricewaterhouseCoopers (later stylised as PwC). Five became four in 2001 after the insolvency of Arthur Andersen due to the firm's involvement in the Enron scandal.
However, today's Big 4 accounting firms were once known as the Big 8. Through mergers and company failures the Big 4 came to be the largest firms in the management consulting - and accounting - world.
These firms merged to become the “Big 5,” namely Deloitte & Touche, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and Arthur Andersen. The Enron scandal of 2002 saw the collapse of Arthur Andersen, and its practices were split among the remaining four firms, that is, the Big 4.
Big Four accounting firms. The Big Four are the four largest professional services networks in the world: Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC. They are the four largest global accounting networks as measured by revenue.
If you're looking for a safari in Africa and have carried out research on it, you must have come across the term “ Africa's Big Five and big six. ” The Big Five refers to the African: lion, buffalo, elephant, rhino and leopard.
This book focuses on the firms that make up of the Big Eight – Arthur Andersen; Arthur Young; Coopers & Lybrand; Deloitte Haskins & Sells; Ernst & Whitney; Peat, Marwick, Mitchell; Price Waterhouse; and Touche Ross.
The Big 5 consists of lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino.
PwC and Deloitte are the most prestigious
PwC and Deloitte will cost more, EY somewhere in the middle, and KPMG will sometimes even take a hit on their margin in order to get the project (so they can use that to build better relationships with the client).
The most prestigious firms are McKinsey, Bain, and BCG. Next most prestigious are "Tier 2" firms such as Kearney, Accenture, and LEK. This tier also includes the strategy consulting arms of the Big 4 firms, including Deloitte Monitor, EY Parthenon, and PwC's Strategy&.
Freddie Mac Scandal (2003) – PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) American International Group (AIG) Scandal (2005) – PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Lehman Brothers Scandal (2008) – Ernst & Young (EY) Satyam Scandal (2009) – PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
KPMG Work Culture
Though the smallest of the Big 4 firms, KPMG is known to have the best work-life balance amongst its employees.
The six major audit firms in India—Deloitte, EY, Grant Thornton, KPMG, MSKA, and PwC—oversaw a significant portion of audits in the Nifty 500 companies in financial year 2023-24 (FY24).
You're Tired of Working Late. 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.
KPMG is the smallest and most European-focused of the Big Four, although it still operates in 143 countries (so it's hardly a start-up!). It has a strong consultancy and advisory side to complement its audit work.
Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation is a sporting goods retailer headquartered in El Segundo, California with 434 stores in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
Which big 4 accounting firm pays the most? Well it depends on which practice you want to go into. If you want to make the most money in consulting, Deloitte pays the best. However if you want to make the most money in auditing or tax PwC is likely your best bet.
KPMG stands for Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler, the last names of the firm's four founding members. KPMG was founded in 1987 as the result of a merger between Klynveld Main Goerdeler (KMG) and Peat Marwick International (PMI).
We would, however, say that the minimum GPA required is 3.0. But if you find that yours is a bit lower than that, just work on your GPA for grad school, gain work experience, or take on leadership roles during your academic career. These are called compensating factors.
The Lion. The lion is arguably the most sought-after of the Big Five because it is synonymous with an African safari. Charismatic, powerful and beautiful, everybody wants to see the appropriately named 'King of the Beasts'.
The Big Five
Hippos, for example, were not included because it's easy to shoot a hippo – just go down to the river and fire away. Large mammals such as giraffes, wildebeest and antelope were also excluded, as were lesser predators such as cheetahs, hyenas and wild dog.
The Forum of International Respiratory Societies highlights five major lung diseases, the “Big 5”, which include asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), acute lower respiratory tract infections, lung cancer and tuberculosis.
Deloitte stands out from its peers in the Big 4 due to its exceptional focus on diversity, social impact, and innovation. With the right approach, showcasing your cultural fit, your ability to make an impact, and your commitment to continuous learning, you can land a role at Deloitte.
Until 2002, the Big 4 were the Big 5 accounting firms. The firm Arthur Andersen was dropped from this list after the Enron scandal. Arthur Andersen was Enron's auditors and was implicated in falsifying financial records.