New York, NY, (September 28, 2010) Vault.com, the source of ratings, rankings and insight for the finance industry, has released its 2011 Accounting Prestige Rankings, and for the second straight year PricewaterhouseCoopers outdistanced its fellow Big Four competitors to take the top spot, followed by Ernst & Young, Deloitte and KPMG, respectively.  

According to Derek Loosvelt, Finance Editor at Vault.com, “For many years, PwC has had the reputation of the most selective firm when it comes to hiring recent graduates, maintaining a slightly more prestigious profile than its closest competitors Ernst & Young and Deloitte. As our survey results show, PwC still maintains this edge.”

As part of Vault’s annual Accounting Survey, conducted earlier this year, over 2,200 accounting professionals of all levels were asked to assess their peer accounting firms on a scale of 1 to 10 based on prestige. (Respondents were unable to rate their own firm, and were asked to only rate firms with which they were familiar).  

The Top 10 most prestigious firms based on Vault’s Annual Accounting Survey are:
 
1.    PricewaterhouseCoopers
2.    Ernst & Young            
3.    Deloitte            
4.    KPMG
5.    Grant Thornton        
6.    BDO Seidman                    
7.    McGladrey & Pullen / RSM McGladrey        
8.    Moss Adams
9.    Plante & Moran        
10.  J.H. Cohn               

According to accounting professionals at other firms, while PricewaterhouseCoopers is “very demanding of employees,” the firm is considered “the big dog” in accounting and the “best company of the Big Four in terms of benefits and employee morale.” Other survey respondents stated that PwC is “well respected,” has a “favorable public perception” and a “great culture,” offering “many opportunities” for its staff.  

Meanwhile, Ernst & Young, the No. 2 firm for the second year in a row, was also looked upon favorably with accounting professionals, who call the firm an “industry leader” with a “very intelligent staff and great client service.”  One respondent applauded Ernst & Young for its “quality people, quality audits and quality network.”

And while the Big Four dominated the Vault Accounting Prestige rankings, Grant Thornton continued to follow closely behind, taking the No. 5 spot as they have done since the rankings were first created.  Survey respondents say the firm is “growing in influence and may soon join the Big Four in reputation.”

“Grant Thornton is the perennial fifth-place finisher in our prestige rankings. It’s the fifth-largest accounting firm in the US and is well known as the firm just outside the Big Four,” added Loosvelt. “The tiers in accounting go something like this: first (Big Four), second (Grant Thornton), third (about 7 to 10 of the next largest firms), fourth (the rest).”

 Of those third and fourth tier firms, the big mover this year among the top 10 was BDO Seidman, which leaped three spots to No. 6. According to survey respondents, BDO is “a good mid-tier firm, growing in size and market share.”  Further down the rankings, Clifton Gunderson (a “solid regional”) made a strong move toward the Top 10, jumping seven places from No. 19 to No. 12; and Reznick Group, considered “the fun accountants, as opposed to the stereotypical nerdy accountants,” climbed six places to No. 16.  

The biggest drop in the top 25 came from LarsonAllen, which fell eight places to No. 22.  Accounting professionals called LarsonAllen a “good firm,” but faulted the firm because it “lacks work/life balance.”  Other firms falling in the rankings included Amper Politziner & Mattia (“a strong competitor” with a “poor working environment”), which slid seven spots to No. 20; and Cherry Bekaert & Holland (“known in the Southeast, yet not considered a competitive firm”), which dropped four places to No. 19.

The Vault Accounting Prestige rankings release is part of Vault’s Accounting 50 Rankings rollout that began on September 21, 2010.  The rankings provide a comprehensive road-map of who's who in the accounting industry and a detailed perspective on the criteria considered by candidates when evaluating banking firms. 

View the Complete Accounting Prestige Rankings.

About Vault
Vault.com is the source of employer and university rankings, ratings and insight for highly credentialed, in-demand candidates.  Vault.com is organized by profession, industry, company and schools.  Vault profiles, rankings and assessment tools deliver the insider perspective and career research candidates need to successfully match themselves to the best available job, employer and career opportunity. The Vault.com website features profiles on more than 4,500 employers, 4,000 universities and hundreds of industries and professions including the law, finance, accounting and consulting sectors.  Founded in 1996, Vault.com is the only career resource of its kind and attracts more than 1000 employer and recruiter advertisers, more than 1200 school and institutional subscribers and millions of individual visitors and members.


CONTACT:
Jon Minners
jminners@vault.com
646-792-6205