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Unsurprisingly, theBig Four accounting firms, Deloitte, PwC, EY, and KPMG, maintained the largest workforces of the accounting firms in the United States in 2025, ranging from Deloitte with approximately ** employees to KPMG with their workforce of roughly *. Outside the Big Four, there is a sizable drop to the next-largest U.S. accounting firm, RSM, which employed * U.S. staff. 

Accounting firm structure

Most accounting firms divide their employees into partners, professional staff, and administrative staff. Partners sit atop the hierarchy, and can be either equity partners or salaried partners. Equity partners do not receive a fixed salary, instead owning part of the business. This entitles them to a proportion of the distributable profits. Conversely, salaried partners receive a fixed remuneration like other employees, but are often entitled to bonuses based on the firm’s profitability. Next in the hierarchy are professional staff, who are qualified to provide the specific services offered by the firm (for example, accounting services or taxation advice). Finally, there are administrative staff who provide support to professional staff and partners. Generally, the majority of employees are professional staff. In 2025, for example, Deloitte comprised of over **percent professionals.

The Big Four versus the rest

The distance between the Big Four accounting firms and the others is also reflected in revenue figures, where the gap is even greater than for employee numbers. However, this gap can sometimes mask the size and success of the smaller accounting firms. RSM reported a global revenue of *** billion U.S. dollars in 2023 and have grown consistently for each of the last six years. Similarly, BDO reported a global revenue of ** billion U.S. dollars in 2023, following a period of consistent growth.