'Big Four' salaries: How much accountants and consultants make at Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, and EY

Alex Nicoll,Rachel DuRose,Britney Nguyen,Lakshmi VaranasiApr 6, 2024, 20:41 IST

Even an entry-level consultant at the "Big Four" can earn over $200,000.Luis Alvarez/Getty Images

The "Big Four" accounting firms employ about 1.3 million people worldwide.
Many of these employees make six-figure salaries and are eligible for annual bonuses.

The so called "Big Four" accounting firms — Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), KPMG, and Ernst & Young (EY) — are known for paying their staff high salaries.

An entry-level consultant who just graduated from business school can make over $200,000 a year at the four firms when you include base salary, bonuses, and relocation expenses.

Several of these firms have faced layoffs and implemented hiring freezes over the past year as demand for consulting services has waned. Still, they're a good bet for anyone looking to land a six-figure job straight out of school.

Business Insider analyzed the US Office of Foreign Labor Certification's 2023 disclosure data for permanent and temporary foreign workers to find out what PwC, KPMG, EY, and Deloitte paid US-based employees for jobs ranging from entry-level to executive roles. We looked through entries specifically for roles related to management consulting and accounting. This data does not reflect performance bonuses, signing bonuses, and compensation other than base salaries.

Here's how much Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, and EY paid their hires.

Deloitte paid senior managers between $91,603 to $288,000

Deloitte offers its top manager salaries close to mid six figures.Artur Widak/Getty Images

With close to 455,000 employees worldwide, Deloitte employs the greatest number of people of any of the 'Big Four.' It pulled in close to $64.9 billion in revenue for the 2023 fiscal year, marking a 9.3% increase from 2022.

Deloitte did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its salary data or 2024 hiring plans.

Here are the salary ranges for consulting and accounting roles:

Analyst: $49,219 to $337,500 (includes advisory, business, project delivery, management, and systems)
Senior business analyst: $97,739
Audit and assurance senior assistant: average $58,895
Consultant: $54,475 to $125,000 (includes advisory, technology strategy, and strategic services)
Global business process lead: $180,000
Senior consultant: average $122,211
Manager: average $152,971
Tax manager: average $117,268
Senior manager: $91,603 to $288,000
Managing director: average $326,769
Tax managing director: average $248,581
Principal: $225,000 to $875,000

Deloitte did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its salary data or 2024 hiring plans.

Here are the salary ranges for consulting and accounting roles:

Analyst: $49,219 to $337,500 (includes advisory, business, project delivery, management, and systems)
Senior business analyst: $97,739
Audit and assurance senior assistant: average $58,895
Consultant: $54,475 to $125,000 (includes advisory, technology strategy, and strategic services)
Global business process lead: $180,000
Senior consultant: average $122,211
Manager: average $152,971
Tax manager: average $117,268
Senior manager: $91,603 to $288,000
Managing director: average $326,769
Tax managing director: average $248,581
Principal: $225,000 to $875,000

Principals at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) can make well over $1 million.

PwC.Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is a global professional services firm with over 328,000 employees worldwide. The firm reported a revenue of more than $53 billion for the 2023 fiscal year, marking a 5.6% increase from 2022.

PwC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its salary data or 2024 hiring plans.

Here are the salary ranges for both consulting and accounting roles.

Associate: $68,000 to $145,200
Senior associate: $72,000 to $197,000
Manager: $114,300 to $231,000
Senior manager: $142,000 to $251,000
Director: $165,000 to $400,000
Managing director: $260,000 to $330,600
Principal: $1,081,182 to $1,376,196

PwC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its salary data or 2024 hiring plans.

Here are the salary ranges for both consulting and accounting roles.

Associate: $68,000 to $145,200
Senior associate: $72,000 to $197,000
Manager: $114,300 to $231,000
Senior manager: $142,000 to $251,000
Director: $165,000 to $400,000
Managing director: $260,000 to $330,600
Principal: $1,081,182 to $1,376,196

KPMG offers managing directors anywhere between $230,000 to $485,000

KPMG managing directors can earn close to half a million.Sean Gallup/Getty Images

KPMG has over 219,000 employees worldwide, working out of over 650 offices. The firm reported a revenue of $36 billion for the 2023 fiscal year, marking a 5% increase from 2022.

Over the past five years, the firm has raised starting salaries for accounting graduates by 26% and "continues to recruit on campuses coming off the heels of our largest summer intern class ever last year (3,300 interns)," a KPMG spokesperson told Business Insider by email.

Here are the salary ranges for consultants, accountants, and leadership at KPMG.

Associate: $61,000 to $140,000
Senior associate: $66,248 to $215,000
Director: $155,600 to $260,000
Associate director: $155,700 to $196,600
Specialist director: $174,000 to $225,000
Lead specialist: $140,500 to $200,000
Senior specialist: $134,000 to $155,000
Manager: $99,445 to $293,800
Senior manager: $110,677 to $332,800
Managing director: $230,000 to $485,000

KPMG has over 219,000 employees worldwide, working out of over 650 offices. The firm reported a revenue of $36 billion for the 2023 fiscal year, marking a 5% increase from 2022.

Over the past five years, the firm has raised starting salaries for accounting graduates by 26% and continues to recruit on campuses coming off the heels of our largest summer intern class ever last year (3,300 interns), a KPMG spokesperson told Business Insider by email.

Here are the salary ranges for consultants, accountants, and leadership at KPMG.

Associate: $61,000 to $140,000
Senior associate: $66,248 to $215,000
Director: $155,600 to $260,000
Associate director: $155,700 to $196,600
Specialist director: $174,000 to $225,000
Lead specialist: $140,500 to $200,000
Senior specialist: $134,000 to $155,000
Manager: $99,445 to $293,800
Senior manager: $110,677 to $332,800
Managing director: $230,000 to $485,000

Statisticians at Ernst & Young (EY) make salaries ranging between $66,000 to $283,500.

EY spends $500 million annually on learning for its employees.TOLGA AKMEN / Contributor / Getty

EY employs more than 298,000 people in more than 150 countries worldwide. For the 2023 fiscal year, the firm reported a record revenue of $49.4 billion, marking a 9.3% jump from 2022.

The firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its salary data or 2024 hiring plans.

Here are the salary ranges for consultants, accountants, auditors, and chief executives at the firm:

Accountants and auditors: $54,000 to $390,000
Appraisers and assessors of real estate: $166,626 to $185,444
Analyst: $145,000 to $239,670 (includes financial & investment and operations research)
Computer systems analyst: $62,000 to $367,510
Management analyst: $49,220 to $337,500
Statistician: $66,000 to $283,500
Financial risk specialist: $62,000 to $342,400
Actuaries: $84,800 to $291,459
Economist: $77,000 to $141,000
Logisticians: $72,000 t0 $275,000
Mathematicians: $165,136 to $377,000
Computer and information systems manager: $136,167 to $600,000
Financial manager: average $320,000

Aman Kidwai and Weng Cheong contributed to an earlier version of this post.