Last updated on December 12th, 2009 by 
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Most students pursuing an accounting degree aspire to land an entry level public accounting position with one of the members of either the Big 4 (Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers) or of the other biggest CPA firms (Grant Thornton, BDO Seidman, McGladrey & Pullen LLP, Crowe Horwath LLP, Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C., etc). Although we all are entitled to dream big, the reality is the talent pool far outstrips the recruiting needs of these big accounting firms. To put this in perspective, according to BusinessWeek.com, KPMG has received over 24,000 entry level job applications for the current fiscal year however only 2,100 applicants have been hired so far. The point I am trying to make is you must cast a wider net over the pool of CPA firms you can potentially work for. There are scores of third tier firms that can provide you with a career as challenging and rewarding as the one you would expect from one of the biggest CPA firms. I would love to throw a few CPA firms’ names out there, however I would rather have you do your own research then draw your own conclusions as to which CPA firms could constitute suitable alternatives to the biggest CPA firms. The objective of this post is to provide you with the tools to search for CPA firms that have enough scale to give you plenty of opportunities to build a successful career in public accounting. At the end of the day, what really matters is that you are the most successful you can be in whichever professional career you end up pursuing. The following is a listing of sources where you can find potential CPA firms that you can target in your job search.
1) Accounting Today 2011 Top 100 Accounting Firms (Comprehensive and interactive rankings of U.S. public accounting firms on a national basis, regional basis, by services, etc…you are going to love these rankings)
2) Top 100 Accounting Firms (This is an “unofficial” list maintained by James Cave, CPA. Although the list is unofficial, most of the CPA firms featured in it are indeed among the largest in the country)
3) Practical Accountant Magazine’s 16th Annual Survey of Regional Firms (This list is somewhat similar to the previous one. You get a regional breakdown of the public accounting industry)
4) Accounting Today 2010 Best Accounting Firms to Work for (The list is not very exhaustive but it can be beneficial to those of you who want to work for an accounting firm that promotes work/life balance)
5) INSIDE Public Accounting 2010 Top 100 Accounting Firms (This might be one of the most authoritative sources you will find on public accounting firms rankings. INSIDE Public Accounting is “the only publication to report and analyze the news, strategies, trends and politics that affect the accountant, his firm and the profession”)
I hope these resources help you locate your next employer. As you pursue your search for an employment within public accounting, always keep in mind that you only can affect the level of success you can achieve.
First published on December 12th, 2009 by 
sending...
I am an accounting professional actively seeking the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation. 
Do you have more great articles like this one?
I like your post, I’m a student who just completed his CPA exams and would like to know if you can offer advice for someone trying to get their foot in the door? I’ve been applying and networking and not much progress seems to have taken place. Any feedback and advice would be greatly appreciated.
Albert:
Thank you for your comment. Congratulations for passing the CPA exam! I must say that you are not alone in this situation. A friend of mine got a public accounting job three months after passing the CPA exam. Not knowing the specifics of your situation, it wouldn’t be wise for me to administer any particular advice. That said, I would recommend that you possibly rethink your job search strategy. Questions you might need to ask yourself or any trusted adviser would be: Does my resume need a makeover? Am I using the right tools to look for work? Are my salary expectations a little on the high side? Am I writing cover letters specific to each job I apply to? Do I need to expand my job search to other industries? Do I need to expand my job search to other cities, states…?
Last but not least, never despair. You are always one submission away from getting that job.
I wish you much success in your job search.
Thank you for the warm wishes and motivation Mr. Dansou. I’ll try to expand my job search and improve my resume and cover letter as you have mentioned. Hopefully something will come along soon. May I also request that I add you on my linkedin network? It would be a great honor.
Albert:
You are very welcome and there is no need to refer to me by Mr Dansou, just Narcisse will be fine. I am very flattered by your LinkedIn invitation. However I am gonna have to take a rain check on this one. If you wish, you can follow Me/TheStudentCPA on Twitter or you can become a fan of TheStudentCPA’s Facebook page. If you wish to keep in touch with me, those would the two best ways to do it.
Again, good luck with everything!
There are definitely both advantages and disadvantages to a career with the Big 4. As Sheila stated, the professional development opportunities are excellent. Training is typically sponsored by the company and completed during working hours. The disadvantages are the long partner track, “slave-style” working environment, and their tendency to pigeonhole professionals into a particular line of work. In my experience, a smaller firm can offer a more diverse range of assignments and a less-regimented career track.
Barbara:
Thank you for taking the time to provide your very valuable insights. I like the fact that you were absolutely impartial in your remarks. I was hoping that this blog post would spark some good spirited debate. I thought all hope was lost when you and Sheila jumped in to make some pertinent remarks. Let’s hope many other groups members follow you and Sheila’s lead.
Agreed. Big 4 experience is not necessary in having a satisfying accounting career. Big 4 firms are great. I worked at PWC for a couple of years. I also has the advantage of working for three other CPA firms in my travels. I can say that all the firms I worked for provided excellent oppportunities for professional development. The Big 4 have immense resources for research and development of proprietary practice manuals. However, there are other providers of practice materials available for regional and local CPA firms that allow all CPA firms provide quality work.
Thank you Sheila for the feedback!
Wow! That’s a really neat answer!
It seems like the accounting firms have plenty of people sending in resumes for their co-op. But what I see is that after the co-op many of them do not want to stay in a CA firm because of the long hours of auditing. What can the firms do differently to keep these people engaged?
@Janice:
Thank you for taking the time to submit a comment. There are a few things CPA/CA firms could do differently to improve employee retention. For instance, they need to have the audit teams large enough to complete the audits so that staffers don't find themselves stretched too thin too often. If the work is too much for the audit team to handle, the staffers are likely going to work a good amount of overtime (without additional pay) to have the work completed within very tight deadlines. CPA/CA firms might need to find ways to incentivize their staff. For example, compensating junior level and senior levels staffers for overtime work would be a good way to keep them motivated. What do you think?
This piece was a like life jacket that saved me from drowning.
Hi
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Good Luck!