12 Accounting Firms Made Fortune's Best Workplaces for 2022 List

Fortune magazine, along with the website Great Place to Work, released this year’s Best Workplaces by Industry lists last week, and 12 public accounting firms were ranked in consulting and professional services—nine in the large firm category and three in the small and medium category.

To determine Fortune’s Best Workplaces in Consulting & Professional Services list, Great Place to Work analyzed survey responses of more than 104,000 employees from Great Place to Work-Certified companies in the consulting and professional services industry.

The survey asked employees to share confidential quantitative and qualitative feedback about their firm’s culture by responding to 60 statements on a 5-point scale and answering two open-ended questions. These statements describe a great employee experience, defined by high levels of trust, respect, credibility, fairness, pride, and camaraderie, according to Fortune. In addition, firms provided organizational data like size, location, industry, demographics, roles, and levels.  

Great Place to Work then measured the differences in survey responses across demographic groups and roles within each organization to assess both the quality and consistency of the employee experience. Statements are weighted according to their relevance in describing the most important aspects of an equitable workplace.  

Survey data analysis and company-provided datapoints are then factored into a combined score to compare and rank the companies that create the most consistently positive experience for all employees in this industry, with companies appearing on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For ranking at the top of the list.

Of the 25 companies ranked in the the large category, Deloitte was the highest-ranked accounting firm at No. 6, with 92% of employees saying Deloitte is a great place to work. Here is where all nine large firms placed with the employee satisfaction percentage in parenthesis:

6. Deloitte (92%)
7. Plante Moran (96%)
10. RSM US (93%)
11. KPMG (90%)
14. EY (83%)
18. PwC (90%)
19. Crowe (91%)
22. Baker Tilly (94%)
23. Withum (92%)

A typical company has an average of 57% of employees who say it is a great place to work, according to Great Place to Work. Accenture was named the best large workplace in consulting and professional services.

Of the 50 companies ranked in the small and medium category, Tampa, FL-based Schellman was the highest-ranked CPA firm at No. 7, with 97% of employees saying Schellman is a great place to work.

Here is where the three accounting firms were ranked in the small and medium category with the employee satisfaction percentage in parenthesis:

7. Schellman (97%)
49. Lumsden McCormick (97%)
50. The Bonadio Group (91%)

Staffing and recruiting firm Jobot was ranked the No. 1 small and medium workplace in consulting and professional services.

Fortune and Great Place to Work released their 100 Best Companies to Work For rankings last April, which also featured several of the largest accounting firms listed above:

24. Deloitte
30. Plante Moran
40. RSM US
41. KPMG
52. EY
63. PwC
67. Crowe