Deloitte’s Time as the Most Prestigious Accounting Firm in the U.S. Has Run Out

Deloitte’s reign as the most prestigious accounting firm in the U.S. was short-lived, as PwC has regained that title for 2025, according to Vault.com, a website that provides career resources and advice to students and job seekers.

Deloitte ended PwC’s 14-year streak of being the most prestigious firm in Vault’s 2024 ranking, which was released in April of last year. It was the second time Deloitte had finished atop Vault’s prestige ranking, taking the title in 2009 as well. The only other firm besides PwC and Deloitte to be named “most prestigious” was EY in 2007.

In its 19th annual prestige ranking, which was published on April 15, Vault said PwC took over the top spot once again with a score of 8.858 out of 10, just edging out Deloitte, which had a score of 8.840. Rounding out the top five were EY, KPMG, and Grant Thornton. PwC has now been Vault’s most prestigious firm in 16 out of the 1ast 19 years.

For its 2025 prestige ranking, Vault asked more than 13,000 accounting professionals to complete a survey that consisted of questions about life at the accountant’s firm (or former firm) and a prestige rating. Survey participants were asked to rate firms other than their own on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most prestigious. Participants were asked only to rate firms with which they were familiar and were not permitted to rate their own (or former) firm. Vault then averaged the prestige scores for each firm and ranked them in order.

“Accountants at peer firms tell us that PwC is ‘the gold standard of audit and puts the other audit firms to shame,’” Vault said. “They also say PwC has a ‘great national reputation’ and ‘strong integrity,’ and ‘seems to be doing things right’ and ‘kicks butt in the market.’”

Based on the results of the survey, here are Vault’s 50 most prestigious accounting firms for 2025:

1. PwC
2. Deloitte
3. EY
4. KPMG
5. Grant Thornton
6. BDO USA
7. RSM US
8. Baker Tilly
9. Crowe
10. CohnReznick
11. Moss Adams
12. CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen)
13. Marcum
14. EisnerAmper
15. Forvis
16. CBIZ
17. Plante Moran
18. Mazars USA
19. Eide Bailly
20. Cherry Bekaert
21. Armanino
22. Citrin Cooperman
23. Withum
24. Wipfli
25. Cohen & Co.
26. PKF O’Connor Davies
27. The Siegfried Group
28. UHY Advisors
29. Weaver
30. Elliott Davis
31. Novogradac & Co.
32. BPM
33. RubinBrown
34. Aprio
35. Carr, Riggs & Ingram
36. Anchin
37. Grassi
38. Whitley Penn
39. Bennett Thrasher
40. Frank, Rimerman + Co.
41. Frazier & Deeter
42. Sikich
43. Anders
44. Baker Newman Noyes
45. Wolf & Co.
46. Schneider Downs
47. Kaufman Rossin
48. Warren Averett
49. HBK
50. Wiss & Co.

PwC also took the top spot in Vault’s 2025 ranking of the best accounting firms to work for.