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Top 100 accounting firms rush to adopt AI – with mixed results
The nation’s largest accounting companies want to cut costs and swap routine compliance for real-time financial advice.
Revealed: Australia’s best accounting firms in 2025
The Financial Review list shows the country’s largest accounting firms are racing to deploy artificial intelligence across their businesses.
How this accounting firm doubled female partner numbers in five years
Walker Wayland partner Kate Douglass says new parents can be those who want a full break or those who call in after a few months desperate for adult connection.
Revealed: The AI tools that Australia’s top accountants swear by
From optimising workflows to elevating client relationships, artificial intelligence is adding value to both accounting firms and their clients.
Accounting firms want grads with the social skills AI can’t replace
Accounting firms are seeking graduates with personality and grit, making part-time retail work, team sports and volunteering as valuable as good marks.
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November 2024
Revealed: Australia’s best accounting firms in 2024
The Financial Review list shows that mid-tier accounting firms reached an unprecedented size as revenue at the big four consulting firms fell to a two-year low.
The big winners as scandal forces big four into retreat
Mid-sized firms such as those run by Steve Meyn of PKF, Jamie O’Rourke of RSM and Annabelle Clare of Walshs had their best year on record as clients move away from out-of-favour big players.
The graduate employment boom is over
Akshaya Josy has a master’s degree but can’t find a job in her field. It’s part of a recruitment trend that has started showing up at the big four accounting firms.
Accountants ramp up offshoring to bring down costs
Up to a third of staff at some of the nation’s top firms work in countries such as India and the Philippines as leaders cut costs and search for hard-to-find skills.
The fastest-growing firms have one thing in common: AI
BlueRock’s Peter Lalor says the firm is using generative AI across the firm, while McGrathNicol’s Jason Preston is using the machine learning to identify patterns that humans would overlook.
Accounting firms bullish about the future
Automation technology and ever-growing demand for advice are keeping the top firms optimistic about the years ahead.
November 2023
Mid-tier firm revenue surges 17pc, outpacing big four
Strong demand for traditional auditing, accounting and tax services, along with fast-growing consulting offerings, helped boost annual revenue at mid-tier firms.
Revealed: Australia’s best accounting firms in 2023
Income across Australia’s 100 biggest accounting firms jumped almost 12 per cent last financial year, with mid-tier firms outgrowing the big four.
Accounting firms look offshore amid ongoing talent drought
Accounting firm leaders are still having trouble hiring and retaining quality staff, and are increasingly sending work offshore to countries with low labour costs.
Smaller firms slam accounting regime as ‘useless’
Smaller accounting firms say the current regulatory regime is useless and riven by conflicts of interest between the major professional bodies and the larger firms.
December 2022
Mid-tier accounting firms fight off big four poaching efforts
Mid-sized firms are offering salaries 10 per cent higher than the big four, increasing bonuses and speeding up promotions.
November 2022
Big four accountants ramp up graduate recruitment by 85pc
Some top firms such as PwC, RSM and BlueRock more than doubled their intakes as the battle for white-collar talent continued.
The No. 1 problem for accountants (for the second year in a row)
Industry leaders say staff shortages are the biggest barrier to growth, the Financial Review Top 100 Accounting Firms list revealed.
These accounting firms have plans for growth despite a downturn
Australia’s biggest accounting outfits are looking to increase marketing, award fewer wage rises and upgrade technology in the face of economic downturn.
‘Behemoth’ big four consulting firms keep getting bigger
Revenue at PwC, Deloitte, EY and KPMG jumped a collective 17 per cent last year, the latest Top 100 Accounting Firms list revealed, while headcounts also grew.
Revenue at 100 biggest accounting firms jumps 14.5pc
The pandemic and economic downturn have sparked a boom in tax, compliance and refinancing advice.
Revealed: Australia’s best accounting firms in 2022
Income across Australia’s 100 biggest accounting firms jumped almost 15 per cent last financial year.
September 2022
Accounting firms look offshore to save 25-50pc on salaries
Accounting firms are saving as much as $47,000 per employee by using offshore labour, which in turn allows them to pay local staff more in a bid to retain talent.
November 2021
The nation’s best accounting firms in 2021 revealed
The Australian Financial Review’s list of Top 100 Accounting Firms explores how the industry is performing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘Inundated’: Pandemic boosts accounting income, but staff crisis grows
Strong demand from clients wanting assistance navigating the COVID-19 pandemic has boosted revenue across the country’s largest accounting firms, with the ongoing shortage of professionals across the sector now the main constraint on the sector.
