Methodology
How firms are listed and compared
Best Accounting Firms doesn’t score firms with stars or secret weights. Every firm is described with the same fields, each taken from a source you can open, so you can judge the firms against your own needs.
What every listing contains
- Name and website
- As the firm writes them on its own website.
- Headquarters
- The city and state the firm names as its headquarters. Other offices appear where the firm lists them.
- Size type
- One of Big Four, National, Regional, Local:
- Big Four: Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG: the four largest global accounting networks. They audit most large public companies.
- National: Firms with offices in many US regions, serving middle-market companies, nonprofits and public entities across the country.
- Regional: Firms with offices in one region or a handful of states, often with deep industry niches and partners who work on each client directly.
- Local: Firms serving one metro area, usually from one or two offices.
- Services
- Which of these the firm lists on its website: Audit and assurance; SOC examinations (SOC 1 and SOC 2); Tax advisory and compliance; Client accounting services. A service missing from a listing means the firm’s site doesn’t list it, not that the firm can’t do it.
- Industry niches
- Which of these industries the firm lists as a specialty on its website: Skilled nursing and long-term care; Multifamily and affordable housing; Mortgage banking; Technology and software; Nonprofits; Manufacturing and distribution; Construction; Health care; Real estate; Banks and financial services; Government and public sector.
- Sources and date
- The pages the listing was taken from, and the date it was last checked.
What the directory doesn’t publish, and where to check it
- Fees. They depend on your scope of work. Ask each firm for a written proposal (see how to choose).
- Licenses. Check them live on CPAverify or with your state board; a copy here could go out of date.
- Peer review results. Ask the firm for its latest report, or look it up through the AICPA peer review program.
- Ratings and reviews. The directory publishes none. Ask firms for references from clients like you.
- Headcount, revenue and client counts. Firms report these differently; where it matters, ask the firm and ask how it counts.
Order
With no filters set, the directory opens with Pease Bell, CPAs, then lists firms by size type and then alphabetically. Filters show only the firms whose listing matches every filter you choose.
How listings are added and updated
- A firm is added from its own website, or when someone submits it through the submission form.
- Each submission is checked against the firm’s website before it is published; it is not listed automatically. Once approved, it appears in the directory, its filters and its own profile page within minutes, with the firm’s website as its source.
- Listings are rechecked on a rolling basis. The most recent check was November 11, 2026.
- Corrections from firms or readers are checked the same way and published when the source confirms them.