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Fortune Includes 7 CPA Firms in 2024 ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ List

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The same seven public accounting firms that made Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for 2023 also made this year’s ranking, which was released earlier this month. The only thing that changed was their positioning.

The data used for the annual ranking, which is collected by the website Great Place to Work, is based on survey responses from more than 1.3 million employees across the country. They were asked to provide feedback about their company’s culture by responding to 60 statements on a five-point scale and answering two open-ended questions. Great Place to Work then measured the difference 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. 

The following seven accounting firms made Fortune’s top 100 for 2024. We’ve included where each firm was ranked, its ranking from last year, how many years the firm has made Fortune’s list, and Fortune’s reasoning for each firm being a top company to work for in 2024.

12. Plante Moran

2023 ranking: 16
Years on list: 26
Why the firm made the list: The audit, tax, consulting, and wealth management firm based in Southfield, MI, has relied on its DEI council for more than two decades to position Plante Moran as a leader in promoting diversity in the financial services and accounting sector. 

That commitment extends outside the office, too; Plante Moran has made efforts to engage with high school and college students across the country, including hosting students from seven high schools on the campus of Michigan State University to hear from accounting faculty and Plante Moran staff. When the firm learned that one of the schools wouldn’t be able to attend because of budget constraints, Plante Moran paid the transportation costs, enabling 43 additional students to participate and learn more about career opportunities in public accounting.

13. Deloitte

2023 ranking: 17
Years on list: 25
Why the firm made the list: Accounting titan Deloitte has made well-being a top priority, starting with the C-suite: The American arm of the multinational firm named a chief well-being officer way back in 2015. Core to the Deloitte experience, the concept of well-being is brought to life through offerings such as collective disconnects, in which the entire organization takes consecutive days off so everyone can focus on their personal lives without interruptions from work. Deloitte’s hybrid workplace model provides a range of options that vary based on the tasks performed and the clients served, balanced with the diverse preferences of employees. Hybrid “champions” serve as an ongoing resource as team members figure out what works best for them collectively.

Recruiting and supporting diverse talent is also a priority: The Neurodiversity@Deloitte program recruits neurodivergent candidates for a three-month internship with the potential to go full-time upon completion. And Deloitte was the ninth employer to achieve Black Equity at Work Certification from Management Leadership for Tomorrow, a national leadership nonprofit.

22. PwC

2023 ranking: 30
Years on list: 20
Why the firm made the list: The accounting and consulting firm knows that achieving a healthy balance between work and life is crucial to employee success. That’s why twice a year, the entire Big Four firm shuts down for a full week, during which time all staff can rest and recharge. All employees are also eligible to apply for a 20%-pay leave of absence, when they can take up to 26 weeks off work while receiving 20% of their regular base salary. 

As PwC U.S. incorporates generative AI into its operations, it has positioned itself as a leader in responsible AI—for which it’s earned recognition from Gartner, IDC, and Forrester. 

PwC cofounded the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion initiative, in which more than 2,500 CEOs representing over 21 million employees and more than 85 industries have pledged to create more inclusive workplaces.

32. Crowe

2023 ranking: 60
Years on list: 6
Why the firm made the list: Crowe is making efforts to diversify its talent pool by partnering with state CPA societies and local and collegiate chapters of professional associations to attract new hires from a wide variety of backgrounds. 

Crowe supports employees through initiatives such as Women Leading@Crowe and its Connect program, which offers instruction in wellness, work-life integration, and business etiquette to all female staff. The firm provides targeted support to senior managers through its Grow programming, helping them develop leadership skills to take their careers to the next level. Since it launched in 2013, over 95% of Grow graduates have advanced to a partner or director role.

In August of last year, the firm hosted its first-ever Crowe Cares Day, during which employees performed volunteer work in local communities for a collective 20,500-plus hours, supporting more than 110 organizations across 40 locations.

44. RSM US

2023 ranking: 42
Years on list: 4
Why the firm made the list: The assurance, tax, and consulting services firm continues to expand support-program offerings to its more than 17,000 employees. Building upon its already flexible workplace culture, RSM surveyed staff and decided to set no limits on remote, hybrid, or in-person workdays.

Launched in May 2023, the Women in RSM series, in conjunction with the firm’s 10-year-old culture, diversity, and inclusion celebration, spotlights women within the organization to make them feel seen and supported. Sponsored by its ¡Hola!, InspirAsian, and multicultural employee network groups, RSM’s conversational language program’s second cohort launched in July 2023 with the goal of increasing linguistic proficiency among staff who work with international clients. 

RSM is a signatory of the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion initiative and selected six participants last year to work alongside other firms in the creation of public policies and corporate strategies that promote racial equity. Four fellows are participating this year.

RSM’s annual stewardship campaign, the Power of Love, selects local youth-focused charities to volunteer for and support. The 2023 campaign raised more than $4.7 million, bringing the grand total raised to more than $41 million, which has so far been distributed to 760 charities.

64. EY

2023 ranking: 50
Years on list: 26
Why the firm made the list: Big Four accounting giant EY fell 14 places on the list while weathering multiple rounds of layoffs, including dozens of partners in December. Still, EY’s U.S. employee benefits remain top-notch, offering 25 no-cost counseling and mental health coach sessions per year (including household family members), flexible vacation, and full weeks off during company shutdown time in July and December, in addition to three four-day weekends for Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving. Some teams are testing out four-day workweeks.

EY expanded its Pathways to Transition program to provide reimbursements up to $50,000 for expenses relating to gender-affirming medical care not covered by a medical plan. The World Economic Forum named EY’s Neuro-Diverse Centers of Excellence a global Lighthouse model for inclusion and value. 

EY has the goal of achieving 50% representation for women and racially and ethnically diverse employees at its partner level by 2025. As of August 2023, 28% of its partners and principals are women, and 22% are racially and ethnically diverse.

72. KPMG

2023 ranking: 36
Years on list: 20
Why the firm made the list: KPMG was not immune to the layoffs that bit the consulting industry widely in 2023 amid an unfavorable climate for deals and advisory services. This year, the company is focusing on AI training for employees; last year, it committed $125 million over the next five years to advance equity in education, health care, and economic opportunities for underserved communities. Last summer, the company launched an internship program for 200 high schoolers to spend three weeks learning from KPMG coaches, mentors, and content developers.

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RightTool Wins 2024 Accountant Bracket Challenge

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QuickBooks automation tool RightTool is the champion of the 2024 Accountant Bracket Challenge, presented by Accounting High, as the 3 seed defeated 1 seed CPA Jason Staats, host of the Jason Daily podcast, by a score of 355 votes to 110 votes in the final.

“To everybody in the RightTool Facebook community and all the RightTool users, all of you came together and helped us get the most votes, so I wanted to thank you guys for being the best community in the industry, in my opinion,” said Hector Garcia, CPA, co-founder of RightTool, during the championship final show, which was streamed by Accounting High on YouTube and LinkedIn earlier this afternoon.

RightTool joins accounting and bookkeeping app Uncat as winners of the ABC Tournament. In the inaugural Accountant Bracket Challenge last year, Uncat defeated Staats 339-190 in the championship match.

“I think what we’ve learned is … machines win,” Staats said about his consecutive losses in the tournament final. “We thought that would be down the road, but it’s happening.”

A grand total of 36,831 votes were cast during the three-week tournament.

“This has been so much fun. It only works if other people participate and pay attention and have fun, so thank you to the 1,806 ‘students’ who participated,” said Scott Scarano, an accounting firm owner who founded Accounting High, a community for forward-thinking accountants.

He added that the tournament will return next year, with some tweaks to make it better.

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Tesla to Launch RoboTaxi on August 8

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Dana Hull
Bloomberg News
(TNS)

Tesla Inc. plans to unveil its long-promised robotaxi later this year as the electric carmaker struggles with weak sales and competition from cheap Chinese EVs.

Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk posted Friday on X, his social media site, that Tesla’s robotaxi will be unveiled on Aug. 8.

Shares gained as much as 5.1% in postmarket trading in New York. Tesla’s stock has fallen 34% this year through Friday’s close. Shortly before Musk posted the news about the robotaxi, he lost the title of third-richest person in the works to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms Inc.

A fully autonomous vehicle, pitched to investors in 2019, has long been key to Tesla’s lofty valuation. In recent weeks, Tesla has rolled out the latest version of the driver-assistance software that it markets as FSD, or Full Self-Driving, to consumers.

The company has said that its next-generation vehicle platform will include both a cheaper car and a dedicated robotaxi. Though the company has teased both, it has yet to unveil prototypes of either. Musk’s Friday tweet indicates that the robotaxi is taking priority over the cheaper car, though both will be designed on the same platform.

Reuters reported earlier Friday that the carmaker had called off plans for the less-expensive vehicle and was shifting more resources toward trying to bring a robotaxi to market. Musk responded by saying “Reuters is lying,” without offering specifics.

Tesla also produced 46,561 more vehicles than it delivered in the first quarter, which has forced it to slash prices. U.S. consumers have been turning away from more expensive EVs in favor of hybrid models, causing many manufacturers to rethink pushes to electrify their fleets.

Splashy product announcements by Musk have always been a key part of Tesla’s ability to gin up enthusiasm among customers and investors without spending on traditional advertising. They don’t always work: the company unveiled the Cybertruck to enormous fanfare in November 2019, but production was delayed for years and the ramp up of that vehicle has been slow.

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(With assistance from Catherine Larkin.)

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Retail Sales and Wages Grew in March

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Retail sales grew at a steady pace in March, according to the CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, powered by Affinity Solutions, released today by the National Retail Federation.

“As inflation for goods levels off, March’s data demonstrates steady spending by value-focused consumers who continue to benefit from a strong labor market and real wage gains,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “In this highly competitive market, retailers are having to keep prices as low as possible to meet the demand of consumers looking to stretch their family budgets.”

Total retail sales, excluding automobiles and gasoline, were up 0.36% seasonally adjusted month over month and up 2.72% unadjusted year over year in March, according to the Retail Monitor. That compared with increases of 0.4% month over month and 2.7% year over year in February, based on the first 28 days in February.

The Retail Monitor calculation of core retail sales – excluding restaurants in addition to automobiles and gasoline – was up 0.23% month over month and up 2.92% year over year in March. That compared with increases of 0.27% month over month and 2.99% year over year in February, based on the first 28 days in February.

For the first quarter, total retail sales were up 2.65% year over year and core sales were up 3.12%.

This is the sixth month that the Retail Monitor, which was launched in November, has provided data on monthly retail sales. Unlike survey-based numbers collected by the Census Bureau, the Retail Monitor uses actual, anonymized credit and debit card purchase data compiled by Affinity Solutions and does not need to be revised monthly or annually.

March sales were up in six out of nine retail categories on a yearly basis, led by online sales, sporting goods stores and health and personal care stores, and up in five categories on a monthly basis. Specifics from key sectors include:

  • Online and other non-store sales were up 2.48% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 15.47% year over year unadjusted.
  • Sporting goods, hobby, music and book stores were up 0.86% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 8.33% year over year unadjusted.
  • Health and personal care stores were up 0.03% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 4.5% year over year unadjusted.
  • Grocery and beverage stores were up 1.17% month over month and up 4.22% year over year unadjusted.
  • General merchandise stores were up 0.13% month over month seasonally adjusted and up 3.38% year over year unadjusted.
  • Clothing and accessories stores were down 0.01% month over month and up 2.13% year over year unadjusted.
  • Building and garden supply stores were down 2.13% month over month and down 3.97% year over year unadjusted.
  • Furniture and home furnishings stores were down 1.46% month over month seasonally adjusted and down 5.28% year over year unadjusted.
  • Electronics and appliance stores were down 2.27% month over month seasonally adjusted and down 5.92% year over year unadjusted.

To learn more, visit nrf.com/nrf/cnbc-retail-monitor.

As the leading authority and voice for the retail industry, NRF provides data on retail sales each month and also forecasts annual retail sales and spending for key periods such as the holiday season each year.

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