The Ten Most Profitable CPA Firms in the U.S.

Source: Inside Public Accounting

Inside Public Accounting (IPA), has made its annual selection of the All-Star firms. These are firms that have outperformed the hundreds of firms in the IPA annual analysis of firms.

Profit for purposes of the IPA selection was measured in three ways: profit as a percentage of net revenue, net income per partner, and partner compensation. Ten firms in each category were selected.

Profit as a Percentage of Net Revenue

At the 10 all-star firms in this category, net profit was almost 60 percent of net revenue. These firms are smaller—only two are on the list of the top 100 in the country. The smaller firms are more closely managed by the partners and expenses are better controlled. They have high leverage, and lower staff compensation. Turnover is higher.

Net Income Per Partner

At they 10 all-star firms in this category, average partner income was more than $822,000, compared to $402,000 at the top 100 firms and $342,000 at all participating firms. Seven of these firms are on the list of the top 100. They have high leverage, high revenue per partner, and high billing rates.

Partner Compensation

These 10 all-star firms in this category had average partner compensation of $706,000. They tended to have highly developed niche service areas, and a high percentage of non-traditional services.

To see a chart comparing the all-star firms to the top 100 and all the participating firms, click here.