When people talk about the Big 4 firms—Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC—they tend to toss around phrases like "They're all the same!"
However, while there are certainly similarities, this blanket statement doesn't do much to help students (like yourself) who are weighing potential careers at these firms.
So, what sets these firms apart? Let's explore!
In general, PwC and Deloitte are considered the most prestigious of the Big 4.
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. PwC and Deloitte will cost more, EY somewhere in the middle, and KPMG will sometimes even take a hit on their margin in order to get the project (so they can use that to build better relationships with the client).
– Consulting manager @ EY
There is always going to be a rank order (both informally and formally) among the firms and this could be based on revenue, brand reputation, training and learning opportunities, salaries, type of clients, number of clients, among other markers.
The rank order could vary in each country. For example, KPMG has a strong presence in France.
But for the US, Deloitte and PwC have typically been seen to have been in competition for the top spot at least in terms of revenue, though Deloitte has won in terms of revenue each year and PwC doesn't have the breadth and depth of offerings that Deloitte has nor the strength of brand reputation.
EY has come in third in revenue and has seen bad press regarding ethical challenges and has been known for some major mistakes and poor leadership. In the US, they were planning on splitting out their Audit function a few years ago but then backed out of it, causing a scrutinized brand image and I believe top EY leadership reputation took a hit. EY could be a great career for a student – just be aware of the challenges they've gone through recently.
KPMG is the smallest of the four and has not made similar acquisitions and also is not as strong in its consulting reputation. From an insider perspective and among those working in the Big 4 industry, KPMG is known as being ranked last by reputation, quality of work, competence, capability and type of talent working there.
At the same time, some say that there's not a big point in comparing who's more prestigious.
The Big 4 firms are very selective - so the bottom line, working at the Big 4 is going to provide a great career opportunity and will be a great resume builder no matter what.
Deloitte and PwC are described as more competitive, KPMG as more laid back, and EY as more technical.
Here's my take on the culture of the Big 4 firms, having worked at both EY and Deloitte and knowing people at KPMG and PwC.
The pace and demands are going to generally be the same across the board, but each Big 4 firm has its own way of doing things and each will have its own culture.
From my personal experience, Deloitte is big on internal initiatives, executive presence and networking internally. There, employees may have to work on many initiatives and be cross-functionally relevant, contribute to firm initiatives, and build their career through strong networking and leadership skills.
I found that EY was more interested in subject matter expertise and technical skills. They placed more emphasis on the work produced and were less concerned about their employee's ability to contribute to internal initiatives or to build relationships internally and externally.
KPMG tends to value people and a warm culture over profit, which is why it tends to be seen as less cutthroat and focused on people. But this might come at a cost of being less competitive with the other Big 4's and in the marketplace.
PwC's culture seems similar to Deloitte in terms of the people they recruit and their hyper-focus on performance, competition and top talent. I have heard from some that it could be highly political and stressful and if a student were to get offers to both PwC and Deloitte, most folks would encourage that person to take a role at Deloitte - both from a brand, career advancement and culture perspective. But again, culture varies by region/office/function, etc.
This Big 4 recruiter insider ended by emphasizing that there's no firm with the "best" culture – only a firm with the best culture for YOU.
The culture probably differs by country and even by region and type of function (like Tax, Audit, etc), so students should spend as much time as they can getting to know the recruiters, interviewers and employees at each firm to be able to tell the difference in cultures and identify which group of people they most resonate with and feel at "home" with.
Personally, I preferred Deloitte as I liked that they were more interested in the 'whole individual' - in other words someone who is a strong communicator, relationships builder, well-rounded, networker type. I found that people at EY tended to be less friendly and less polished in their interactions with each other, which might be because of their focus on technical expertise.
But that's just me! Some people I know who worked at KPMG were super laid back and not cut-throat. Maybe those folks would do better at KPMG then a high-performing environment like Deloitte.
So, the main takeaway for students is to know who you are, investigate the culture for your self, and see where you fit – regardless of external rankings.
It's important to consider cultural fit, because it doesn't just affect how you feel at work every day – at the end of the day, a firm's culture reflects its values.
This means a firm's culture relates to how they define a successful employee – which means that culture relates to how they decide whether to hire someone, how they'll evaluate your performance, and whether they'll promote you.
So in the long run, you'll do better at a firm where your values align with the firm's.
When it comes to measuring employee performance or what success looks like, the Big 4 differ as well. Performance frameworks like these are also used during the interview process to assess candidates. For example:
PwC Deloitte KPMG EY Whole Leadership: Ability to lead and contribute to teams effectively.
Technical Capabilities: Strong technical skills relevant to the industry.
Business Acumen: Understanding of business principles and market dynamics.
Global Acumen: Awareness and appreciation of global business environments.
Relationships: Skill in building and maintaining professional relationships.
Interest in Business: The demonstrated passion for the business world.
Sharp and Inquisitive Mind: Intellectual curiosity and analytical thinking.
Outstanding Interpersonal Skills: Strong ability to communicate and collaborate.
Willingness to Get Involved: Proactive attitude and hands-on approach.
Awareness of Business: Strong understanding of business principles.
Curiosity: Inquisitive nature and a desire to learn more.
Problem-Solving: Ability to think creatively and find innovative solutions.
Excellence: Commitment to achieving high-quality results.
Teamwork: Ability to collaborate effectively within a team.
Integrity: Upholding ethical standards and honesty.
Respect for Others: Valuing diverse perspectives and treating others with respect.
Energy: Enthusiastic and energetic approach to work.
– HR consultant, formerly @ PwC & EY
Deloitte seems to take the cake on the consulting front.
Generally, I think people tend to go to Deloitte for consulting, PwC for audit, EY for tax. Deloitte dominates in consulting.
But these are all pretty marginal differences. What matters more to each person’s experience at the Big 4 will probably be the team they work with directly and the types of engagements they end up on.
I would stress to students to consider other factors to help make their decisions like culture fit. Once you get into one Big 4, it’s pretty easy to bounce around to different ones. People who have worked at several have said that the team, location, client, type of project, etc impact their experience more than the general reputation of the firm overall.
Because remember these are massive firms with broad based offerings with offices all over the US. A Deloitte person working under Partner A in the NYC office on the account for Client B may have a very different experience than another Deloitte person working under Partner C, Chicago office, for Client D.
– Consulting manager @ EY
As for why Deloitte has a stronger consulting practice than the other firms, one explanation is that it didn't break off the consulting part of its business as its counterparts did in the 2000s.
Deloitte didn't carve out its consulting firms like the other Big 4 around 20 years ago, so they have a bit of a leg up compared to the others in terms of longevity and services. Now the other Big 4s have started to rebuild their consulting practices.
In my opinion, Deloitte has more breadth of services, technology offerings, thought leadership, global reach and client relationships over the others.
In tax and audit, there doesn't seem to be a clear winner in terms of which firm is better. One auditor recommends checking the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's (PCAOB) to determine which firm has the best (or at least least problematic) audit practice.
Ranking the Big 4 can be tricky. Typically they are ranked by total revenue from the audit practices which typically looks like Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG.
The PCAOB also does annual audit inspections that are public and essentially announce how many of the inspected audits had deficiencies or worse. PWC usually scores pretty highly on those. People also look at recent fraud activity or SEC reprimands/fines that were given out (I believe EY had a big one not too long ago).
For strength of audit practice, I would say the PCAOB inspections are the best tool for ranking them.
– Former auditor @ KPMG
I think EY has a better WLB than PwC and Deloitte. But we don’t get paid as much. That's the trade off!
– Consulting manager @ EY
I think hours are long at all the Big 4's but Deloitte MAY be longer because of the expectations of its employees to spend time on business development/proposal work and internal efforts like initiatives, committees, thought leadership etc.
While this article was about the Big 4 firms, we hope these insights help you decide what kind of company you'd like to work at – Big 4 or not!
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