Here’s something you might not know if you’ve never worked on Wall Street: No recent college or b-school grad accepts a job on Wall Street thinking they’re going to work 40 to 50 hours a week, only surprised to find out that what they in fact signed up for was 80 to 90 hours a week. However, many new grads who accept jobs on Wall Street, knowing full well they’ll be working more than 80 hours a week, are often surprised to find out that, in exchange for those hours, they’re under-trained, underappreciated, and underpaid.

Today, on Tax Day, we’re extremely excited to release the 2026 Vault Accounting 25, a ranking of the best accounting firms to work for. The ranking is based on our survey of approximately 10,000 accounting professionals who were asked rate their firms in several workplace categories, including benefits, compensation, culture, hours, training, work/life balance, wellness, and more.

Today, we’re excited to release our inaugural Vault Fintech 100, a list of the most outstanding fintech employers to work for. We created this list to recognize those fintech firms that offer outstanding careers for students and young professionals.

Below is an account of an 18-hour period in the life of an investment banking summer analyst; she works as a corporate finance generalist for Houlihan Lokey in New York. 7:30 AM: Wake up to the repetitive beeping of my alarm; immediately check my phone.