Uni graduates from across multiple disciplines, different walks of life, and all over the world dream about working at a Big Four accounting firm: Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), KPMG, Ernst & Young (EY). A career with these organisations is so coveted, in fact, that a Managing Director could invariably ask an ambitious commerce student to kill someone in exchange for an entry-level gig as an analyst, associate, or what have you – and reasonably expect that very someone’s decapitated head on their desk by EOD (this is a joke, please do not sue me again). Naturally, you’d assume the salary component attached with any/all of the Big Four accounting firms would be pretty ridiculous, right? Like some Jordan Belfort-level shenanigans? Well… yes and no.
In line with most aspects of life – and disturbingly enough, tangentially related to our murder for a career crack – working at a Big Four accounting firm entails grinding from the bottom. This philosophy also applies to Big Four employees’ financial compensation. It starts low to reasonable, gradually rewarding you for time in, before hitting the stratosphere after crossing a certain threshold.
Business Insider conducted a fairly extensive investigation, collating stats + figures which have traditionally been difficult to source by analysing the US Office of Foreign Labour Certification’s 2020 disclosure data for both permanent and temporary foreign workers. From entry-level to top-end executive positions, this is what they discovered about the average salaries at Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, and EY. Keep in mind this doesn’t include bonuses, relocation expenses, etc.
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Big Four Accounting Firms Salary Comparison (Average)
**All figures converted to USD
Deloitte Salaries
- Analyst: $41,995 to $76,212
- Global Security Application Analyst: $127,858
- Senior Analyst: $74,800 to $90,900
- Audit & Assurance Senior Assistant: $69,315
- Consultant: $60,341 to $97,000
- Business Process Consultant: $120,000
- Tax Consultant: $57,676
- Senior Consultant: $84,462 to $150,000
- Manager: $106,238 to $178,660
- Manager (Tax): $98,572
- Senior Manager: $113,477 to $209,400
- Managing Director: $308,433
- Managing Director (Tax): $161,273
- Principal: $399,767
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Salaries
- Associate: $68,533 to $132,986
- Senior Associate: $82,500 to $184,173
- Senior Associate (Tax): $69,300 to $183,560
- Manager: $120,019 to $233,100
- Tax Manager: $126,600 to $240,450
- Senior Manager: $150,536 to $283,826
- Senior Manager (Tax): $151,200 to $362,400
- Director: $176,245 to $349,999
- Director (Tax): $200,000 to $332,0000
- Assurance Managing Director: $295,000 to $556,900
- Principal: $632,455 to $759,505
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KPMG Salaries
- Associate: $65,199 to $76,258
- Senior Associate: $86,934 to $109,555
- Director: $170,138 to $267,277
- Associate Director: $154,696 to $192,076
- Specialist Director: $163,494 to $249,333
- Lead Specialist: $138,967 to $178,916
- Senior Specialist: $115,100 to $140,571
- Manager: $117,486 to $149,493
- Senior Manager: $141,906 to $188,732
- Managing Director: $300,760 to $460,000
- Partner: $280,000
- Principal: $325,000 to $950,000
Ernst & Young (EY) Salaries
- Accountants & Auditors: $85,653 to $86,990
- Appraisers & Assessors of Real Estate: $100,944
- Analyst: $78,574 to $82,449
- Computer Systems Analyst: $125,088
- Management Analyst: $135,659
- Financial Analyst: $136,370
- Statistician: $103,657
- Risk Management Specialist: $104,790
- Actuaries: $127,416
- Economist: $135,526
- Logisticians: $155,198
- Mathematicians: $178,556
- Compensation & Benefits Manager: $198,737
- Computer & Information Systems Manager: $201,213
- Financial Manager: $516,666
