Major Audit Companies

There are four major companies that compete in the financial audits arena. They form what is known as the Big Four. These companies are international firms and are the most well known outside auditors in the industry. They are as follows in order of size:

1) PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC

2) Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, also known as Deloitte

3) Ernst & Young, also known as E&Y

4) KPMG, used to be known as Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler

There are many other audit firms competing with the big four. In the US, mid-tier firms such as McGladrey & Pullen, Grant Thornton, Johnson Lambert & Co. LLP, Beard Miller Company LLP(bmc), and BDO Seidman serve many mid-size companies while smaller entities may contract the services of local CPA firms.

In the UK the medium sized firms are also referred to as mid-tier. Many of these firms are international and increasingly are competing for work against the big four, especially following the recent large auditing scandals (eg PKF).