The Big Four are the four global leaders in auditing and accounting. Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Ernst and Young (EY), and KPMG together audit the majority of publicly traded companies worldwide. In 2025, Deloitte employed the largest number of people with a workforce of approximately 473,100 people.
The Big 4 are the four largest global professional services networks that dominate audit and assurance, tax, and advisory work for companies and governments worldwide. They are Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG.
The Big Four accounting firms EY and PwC are projected to miss their 2025 targets for female partner representation in the UK. EY, with the most ambitious goal of a 40% female equity partnership, currently stands at only 28%. PwC is also lagging, three percentage points behind its 30% target.
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). They're so big that their joint revenue in 2024 was—you guessed it—$212 billion. Let's go into more detail.
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.
On June 8, 2020, the Audit, Compliance and Valuation Committee of the Board of Trustees (the Board) approved, and on June 9, 2020, the Board approved, Deloitte & Touche LLP as the independent registered public accounting firm of The Charles Schwab Family of Funds, Schwab Capital Trust, Schwab Investments, Schwab ...
Ernst and Young is the accounting firm that is charged with auditing Apple's public financial statements. Ernst & Young is one of the largest accounting firms in the world.
Professional certifications: Obtaining certifications like the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is often a prerequisite to work at a Big 4 firm.
The boom started to dwindle in 2023, when Deloitte, EY, and KPMG made staff cuts. PwC US followed suit, laying off around 1,800 people in October 2024 and 1,500 more in May 2025.
At the same time, finance leaders continue to grapple with a shortage of accountants. A recent AICPA report showed that the demand for new accounting graduates still exceeded the supply, though future years may see more of a balance—accounting schools saw an increase in enrollment in the 2024–2025 academic year.
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.
KPMG is the smallest of the four and has not made similar acquisitions and also is not as strong in its consulting reputation.
Ratify the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as Independent Auditors of the Company to serve for the 2025 fiscal year.
NVIDIA Corporation's independent registered public accounting firm is PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
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.