Big Four Firms Honored by Fortune Magazine in 100 Best Companies List

All the Big Four firms have made it in the top 100 of Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2009. Not only have these firms made the list, they have also each moved up in rankings. Accenture, which did not even make the list last year, debuted at position 97.

Fortune follows a rigorous process to select the 100 Best. In their own words, “…we conduct the most extensive employee survey in corporate America. More than 81,000 employees from 353 companies responded to a 57-question survey created by the Great Place to Work Institute. Two-thirds of a company's score is based on the survey, which is sent to a minimum of 400 randomly selected employees. The remaining third is based on our Culture Audit, which includes detailed questions about demographics, pay, and benefits, and open-ended questions on philosophy, communication, etc. “


Top of the Big4 list is Ernst and Young at rank 51, moving up 6 ranks from previous rank of 57. What makes it so great? According to Fortune, one-quarter of all manager hires and above are "boomerangs," ex-employees who get credit for their previous time in computing vacation and retirement. One new benefit: zero costs for hospital stays.

Next in line is KPMG at rank 56, moving up 15 ranks from previous rank of 71. What makes it so great? Employees received wage hikes averaging 6.7% in October, while the accounting firm passed out bonuses totaling $108 million. Year-end gift was shelved in favor of a donation to a food bank.

In third place is PricewaterhouseCoopers at rank of 58, moving up a substantial 32 ranks from a previous rank of 90. What makes it so great? Dennis Nally, the audit firm's chairman, issued updates to employees, saying, "We have no plans to downsize, rightsize, or reduce our staffing levels."


Fourth among the Big Four accounting firms is Deloitte at rank of 61, moving up a huge 34 ranks from a previous rank of 95. What makes it so great? Women now hold 22% of top positions at this accounting firm, compared with 6% in 1993. Minorities account for 8% of top positions, vs. 4% in 1998.

Finally, debuting at rank 97 is Accenture, which did not even figure in the previous top 100 ranking. What makes it so great? Every employee of this consulting company is assigned a career counselor -- and he or she then has thousands of courses to choose from. Average training is 78 hours a year per person.

Congratulations to each of these firms for this creditable honor, it’s certainly not easy to make this list with tough competition, and moving up in ranks indicates that things are improving from an employee’s perspective, and something to be proud of all Big Four Alumni who have spent part of their careers at the top-notch firms.