The "Big 4" in 2025/2026 remains the same top4 global professional services networks, dominating audit, tax, and consulting: **Deloitte**, **PwC** (PricewaterhouseCoopers), **EY** (Ernst & Young), and **KPMG**. These firms are classified by their immense, unmatched annual revenue and global, multi-disciplinary reach.
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.
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.
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 consulting firms are Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (Deloitte), PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Ernst & Young (EY), and KPMG International (KPMG). They are grouped together due to their dominance in the professional services industry.
The top 10 largest accounting firms by revenue:
Overview: KPMG is often considered the most conservative and audit-heavy of the Big 4. However, its consulting division—particularly in risk, forensic, and cyber—is respected and growing steadily.
The Big 4 firms share similar average salaries for starting positions, as well as similar salary ranges for senior management and directors. Entry-level roles range from around $55,000 - $75,000 per year, while growth potential at any Big 4 firm can exceed $1 million annually.
PwC and Deloitte are the most prestigious
If you ask most people about prestige, they'll probably rank PwC/Deloitte > EY > KPMG. This is reflected in pricing, for example. Big 4 will compete with each other on pricing.
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.
Stumpy and stubborn, with a pompadour of snowy hair and the operatic manner of a political Toscanini, Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, Prime Minister of Italy (1917-19), stamped out of the Versailles Conference because the “other three” would not give him the port of Fiume.
In May 2024, KPMG partners approved the merger of its UK and Switzerland firms, which are working across audit, legal, tax, and advisory, and generating $4.4 billion annually.
The highest salary at KPMG consulting can exceed $400,000 annually at the director level, with total pay influenced by base salary, performance bonuses, and profit sharing. In rare cases, senior leaders or partners may earn higher, depending on business generation and long-term firm contributions.
The "Big 6" accounting firms refer to a historical group from the late 20th century that included Deloitte, PwC, Ernst & Young (EY), KPMG, Arthur Andersen, and Coopers & Lybrand, though the industry consolidated, leading to the current dominant Big Four (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG) and a tier of large national firms like BDO, RSM, and Grant Thornton. The Big Four are the largest global networks, offering audit, tax, and consulting services, with the others serving as major players just below them.
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.
EY is one of the prestigious Big 4 accounting firms. It offers endless career development opportunities, including coaching, mentoring, training, web-based learning, and experience working with multinational clients. EY has a diverse mix of people at all levels and is committed to creating a culture of belonging.
Entry-Level Associates (Years 1-3)
McKinsey is the biggest among the three Big 3s. Founded by former professor of accounting at the University of Chicago James O. McKinsey in 1926, it is headquartered in New York. It has over 130 offices around the world and 38,000 employees, over 10,000 of them consultants.