How to Compare Public Accounting Firms Before You Apply

1. Define the decision before the shortlist

Start with the choice you actually need to make: where to apply for an internship, which teams to investigate, or which experienced role deserves a conversation. A list of famous names does not answer those questions.

Write down your intended practice area, locations you could realistically work in, current experience and two priorities. Keep requirements separate from preferences. “I cannot relocate” and “I would prefer a smaller office” should not have the same effect on your shortlist.

Choose two or three firms to investigate first. Use the same dimensions for each one so that an unusually detailed website does not win merely because it gives you more text to copy.

2. Research a practice and a team, not just a brand

AICPA’s career overview places audit, tax and advisory within public accounting. That is a useful starting vocabulary, not a description of every team or a confirmation that a firm offers every service.

Read the relevant service page, then look for the actual office or team connected to your interests. Record the wording the source uses. If a page says “assurance,” do not silently replace that with a specific kind of audit engagement. If it says “advisory,” ask which work that label includes.

Turn broad claims into interview questions: Which client work would an entry-level hire support? How is work allocated? Who reviews it? What would change for someone entering at your experience level? A firm-wide page may leave all of these unknown.

General career context: AICPA ThisWayToCPA — Career Options. See scope below.

3. Separate location, brand and employing entity

Capture an office address as an office address. It does not, by itself, answer where your team sits, where you would work, whether travel is expected or whether that address is headquarters.

Record the public-facing brand separately from the name used in the job posting, application portal or offer. If different names appear, preserve both and ask which legal entity would employ you. Do not assume every similarly branded organization has the same ownership, benefits or hiring process.

For a remote or hybrid description, save the exact role-level wording and any geographic restrictions. A statement on a general careers page is a question to reconcile with the role, not permission to choose any work location.

4. Keep size claims attached to their scope

Before comparing a headcount, identify who is being counted: one office, a particular legal entity, an entire brand or a wider network. Also record the date. Two numbers with different populations or dates are not directly comparable.

When a site gives no reliable figure, leave size unknown. Do not estimate it from a building photo, a search-result snippet or the number of people shown on a leadership page. Ask the question that matters to you instead: How large is the team I would join, and who would supervise my work?

5. Use a comparison grid that produces next steps

For each cell, keep the recorded answer, source, date and unresolved question. Use “unknown” where evidence is missing; do not convert uncertainty into a platform rating.

6. Date the evidence and retain conflicts

Save the source URL or a clear description, any date printed on the material, and the date you observed it. An access date tells you when you looked; it does not prove when the underlying information last changed.

If two sources disagree, keep both descriptions with their scope and dates. Do not quietly select the more attractive answer. Mark the issue as a conflict, then create a focused task such as “Ask the recruiter which office this role belongs to.”

Keep your own interpretation distinct from the source. “The page lists a tax practice” and “I think this team suits my interests” are different kinds of statement. Neither becomes a platform-verified fact because you save it.

7. Make a provisional choice you can explain

For career development, ask about work exposure, supervision, feedback, training support and the criteria used for progression. Ask how these apply to the specific team and level. Do not infer a promotion timetable or a qualification requirement from a generic career ladder.

End the first pass with a simple decision: investigate further, prepare an application, or pause until a named question is answered. Record why, which evidence you relied on and what remains unknown. A shortlist is a working decision, not a permanent ranking.

In FirmGist, add your firms, record each research dimension with its source and status, then select two or three for comparison. Use a decision dossier to keep your priorities and next questions together. Your judgments remain private and separate from official employer facts.