The Big 4 audit firms are the four largest professional services networks in the world, dominating the accounting, auditing, and consulting industry. They are Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Ernst & Young (EY), and Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG), which collectively audit the majority of public and private companies globally.
The Big 4 are the largest accounting and auditing firms in the world: Deloitte LLP (Deloitte), PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Ernst & Young (EY) and Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG).
This title refers to the four largest professional services networks in the world: Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Ernst & Young (EY), and Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG).
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.
Financial Controller , ACA @ BW Energy | Energy… We all now know it as the big four, but actually it was the big 5. Arthur Andersen was once a symbol of excellence in the accounting profession, standing tall among the prestigious "Big Five" firms alongside PwC, Deloitte, EY, and KPMG.
Choosing among the Big 4 consulting firms—whether as a client or an aspiring consultant—depends heavily on your strategic priorities, industry, and desired service line. Deloitte leads in innovation and transformation. PwC blends audit depth with strategic consulting.
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.
Promotions at all levels of the Big Four have also become tougher to secure as firms struggle to manage sluggish revenue growth and AI disruption to their traditional work.
AI juggernaut Nvidia, is being audited by PwC for its 2026 fiscal year, ending January 31, 2026, according to the Nvidia Corporation Annual Review. PwC has audited Nvidia since 2004, the report notes.
BDO – $14 billion (BDO Accounting Firm Information) RSM $10 billion. Grant Thornton – $8 billion. Crowe $ 5.8 billion.
Walt Disney company and PWC. We begin with Disney, in 2023 one hundred years old. At $180 billion, it is the largest entertainment corporation in the world and its auditor, Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) is one of the Big 4 global accountant partnerships.
As of Jan 18, 2026, the average annual pay for a Big 4 Accounting Firms in Ontario is $91,592 a year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $44.03 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,761/week or $7,632/month.
The single most important certification needed for a Big 4 career is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license.
The Enron scandal was an accounting scandal sparked by American energy company Enron Corporation filing for bankruptcy after news of widespread internal fraud became public in October 2001, which led to the dissolution of its accounting firm, Arthur Andersen, previously one of the five largest in the world.
Accenture isn't a Big Four firm because the "Big Four" (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG) are fundamentally accounting and auditing firms with a partnership model, while Accenture originated from the consulting arm (Andersen Consulting) that split from Arthur Andersen, becoming a public company focused primarily on technology, consulting, and outsourcing, not auditing. The Big Four's core service is statutory audit with strict independence rules, whereas Accenture offers broader, non-audit consulting, IT services, and has a public company structure with employee shareholders, differing from the partnership model.