Within the borders of the United States, one can find more than 138,000 different accounting firms. Through consistent mergers, acquisitions, and expansion into new international markets, these companies are able to grow in both size and power over time. As a consequence of this, the rankings of these individuals might shift over time. We will take a look at the top accounting firms in the United States in this article.

Over the past five years, an increase in the size of accounting firms has coincided with an increase in the value of the equity market. In addition, the rise of capital markets and the expansion of businesses in the United States can be directly attributed to the effects that quantitative easing and historically low interest rates have had over a very extended period of time. As a direct consequence of this, accounting firms in the United States have reaped the benefits of the country’s economic growth.

Through the provision of payroll services, tax preparation, and accounting services, accounting firms have seen a rise in their top line revenue of fifty percent over the course of the past five years. In the United States, accounting firms are responsible for the employment of close to 900,000 people. The expansion of private investments and capital markets will be the primary drivers of further growth for accounting firms over the next few years.

What are the services offered by accounting firms?

Professional accounting firms offer a wide range of services that can be adapted to meet the specific requirements of their clients. Some of these services include basic day-to-day bookkeeping, auditing, management consulting, tax services, and fraud investigations. In most cases, professional accounting firms act as an outsourced service to provide financial oversight for small businesses.

In this article, we will take a look at some of the services that top accounting firms provide for their clients. They are as follows:

Bookkeeping

Accounting firms often offer this service to their clients as bookkeeping is a basic but crucial component of financial management. It requires figuring out the company’s value and keeping track of every transaction that occurs within the company.

The accounts that each transaction impacts must be identified as well. This is because the company may be in charge of multiple accounts. Each transaction will be given a value by the accountant or bookkeeper as they keep records.

Accounting services

Accounting, which is very similar to bookkeeping, entails attributing a value to a company, identifying the financial transactions that have been accomplished by the business, and recording those transactions. The major difference between the two is that bookkeeping is primarily concerned with recording transactions, whereas accounting is concerned with interpreting these records in order to put up a financial statement for the organization.

These financial accounts, which were created by the accountant, are very important because they explain whether the company is progressing or not and the reason behind it, and you can use this information to decide what your next move should be. The accountant was responsible for creating these financial accounts.

Audit services

Auditing is the process of examining a company’s financial records, looking for mistakes and determining whether or not the company is operating in accordance with applicable laws and guidelines. This is a requirement that must be met on a periodic basis.

An auditor is a highly trained accountant who operates independently rather than within the organization being audited. As a result, the auditor is in a position to formulate an unbiased opinion regarding the company’s financial statements, including the question of whether or not the accounts were prepared honestly, accurately, and in accordance with the regulations that govern accounting.

Tax planning and preparation

This is a very typical type of service that accounting firms in the United States provide for their clients. Your company has a responsibility to evaluate its tax liability because taxes have an impact on virtually all commercial activities. In addition to this, you are responsible for keeping up with the ever-evolving tax rules and ensuring that you are in compliance with the most recent IRS requirements.

Consulting services

Business owners frequently find themselves in precarious situations that leave them uncertain of what to do and uneasy. Seeking the advice of a qualified person or organization who is familiar with every facet of the environment in which your firm operates and the conditions surrounding it is vital.

Accounting firms are known for serving as financial consultants. They use their knowledge to assess your current situation, decide the best course of action, inform you of changes to business regulations in your environment, and give you advice on how to improve the effectiveness and success of your company.

Photo Credit: Accounting Blog

What are the top accounting firms in the United States?

Deloitte

It is presently recognized as the top firm in the country. In the last year, the Deloitte organization booked aggregate revenues of $50.2 billion. New York City, New York is the location of Deloitte’s main office and headquarters. More than 56,000 people are employed by the company at this time, and it has more than 80 offices around the United States.

Auditing, advising, consulting, and tax preparation are the four primary focuses of Deloitte’s business operations. In addition to this, it has a clientele that is comprised of service professionals such as those working in data analytics, cybersecurity, risk, finance and accounting, strategy, operations, and so on.

PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) LLP

With annual revenue of $45 billion, this accounting firm comes in at a respectable second place. It has 73 offices in the United States, where it employs almost 295,000 people, and it spans across the country. PwC also stated that it will be working with Microsoft to develop a range of services focused specifically at the tax division.

Ernst & Young

This company ranks in third place overall in the list. The firm booked revenues of $15.8 billion in its last reported fiscal year. New York City, New York serves as the location of the company’s headquarters, where it employs more than 29,000 individuals. Services including advice, assurance, tax, and transaction advisory are offered by the company. The company works with customers from a wide variety of industries, including consumer goods, real estate, financial services, life sciences, oil and gas, technology, media and entertainment, mining, metals, and many more.

KPMG LLP

KPMG occupies the fourth spot in this list. It is the largest private employer in the United States, with more than 34,000 employees and 90 locations spread around the country. The organization’s main office is located in New York City, New York, in the United States. The company offers services in the three primary areas of auditing, taxation, and advisory, each of which has a concentration on serving a certain sector of the economy.

BDO USA LLP

This corporation comes in at number five with an annual revenue of $2 billion and holds the position of number five. It operates 42 offices in various locations across the country and has 95,000 employees. It is headquartered in the Windy City, in the state of Illinois. It offers a wide variety of services including auditing, taxes, transaction advising, investment banking, and corporate real estate among others.

Plante Moran

Plante Moran, at number six, is one of the top accounting companies in the United States in terms of yearly revenues. It has been seeing significant expansion over the past few years and has its headquarters in Southfield, Michigan, which is a suburb of Detroit. There are currently more than 3,300 employees working for Plante Moran across 25 offices.

The culture at this company is noted for putting a strong emphasis on working together to achieve common goals, and it provides auditing, tax, consulting, and wealth management services to its clientele.

Moss Adams LLP

A professional services company with its headquarters in Seattle, Moss Adams offers accounting, consulting, and wealth management solutions. With more than 3,800 experts spread across more than 30 locations, mostly in the Western United States, it has been in operation for about 110 years. More than 30 sectors are served by the firm’s services to private and non-profit clients.

By revenue, Moss Adams is the 12th-largest accounting company in the US with $955 million in sales during the most recent fiscal year. Praxity, a global association of independent accounting and auditing firms with a combined total of more than 60,000 professionals spanning more than 100 countries and territories, includes Moss Adams as a founding member. Additionally, it provides services to private clients and individuals by way of a subsidiary, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC, which manages assets.

Baker Tilly

Chicago-based Baker Tilly US, LLP (Baker Tilly) is a CPA advising firm. According to Accounting Today, it is currently one of the top 10 CPA companies with the highest yearly revenues in the United States. More than 6,000 people work at the company, including 500 partners. It includes 14 specialized offices and 29 full-service locations across the United States, serving clients in every state (five in the U.S. and nine overseas).

The largest member firm of Baker Tilly International, the tenth largest network in the world, which consists of 122 independent accounting and business services businesses in 148 territories with 38,000 professionals, is Baker Tilly US, LLP. The combined revenue of its independent member companies is $4.3 billion.