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&lt;p&gt;Each year, Vault&#39;s annual Accounting Survey asks thousands of accountants to rate their peer firms in terms of &lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;/best-companies-to-work-for/accounting/most-prestigious-accounting-firms&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;prestige&lt;/a&gt;. In a few weeks, we&#39;ll reveal which firm ranked No. 1 this year. This means we&#39;ll soon know the answer to these questions: Will &lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;/company-profiles/accounting/pwc-llp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;PricewaterhouseCoopers&lt;/a&gt; (which ranked No. 1 the past three years) retain its title? Will &lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;/company-profiles/accounting/deloitte-llp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Deloitte&lt;/a&gt;, which ranked as the most prestigious four years ago, return to the top? Or will &lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;/company-profiles/accounting/ey-llp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Ernst &amp;amp; Young&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;/company-profiles/accounting/kpmg-llp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;KPMG&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;/company-profiles/accounting/grant-thornton-llp&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Grant Thornton&lt;/a&gt;, or another (smaller) firm rank as the most prestigious accounting firm in North America?&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;While the quantitative votes are being tallied (survey respondents were asked to rate firms other than their own on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of prestige), I thought we&#39;d take a look at some of the qualitative comments we received from respondents this year (along with a rating, the survey asks respondents to provide a few words about each firm; we call this &quot;The Buzz&quot;). And so, below is a sampling of recent Buzz about each of last year&#39;s top 5 most prestigious firms (along with their respective prestige ranking last year).&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;PwC (#1):&lt;/strong&gt; &quot;Cadillac of the industry,&quot; &quot;Very prestigious but kills its people with workload,&quot; &quot;No work/life balance,&quot; &quot;Good reputation but probably overvalued,&quot; &quot;Resume builder,&quot; &quot;Cutting-edge,&quot; &quot;Pompous,&quot; &quot;Great place to work,&quot; &quot;Exceptional,&quot; &quot;People burn out quickly,&quot; &quot;Very impressed with their people,&quot; &quot;Known as being too big to give good client service,&quot; &quot;Overly professional,&quot; &quot;Stuffy,&quot; &quot;Strong competitor&quot;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Deloitte (#2):&lt;/strong&gt; &quot;Good reputation,&quot; &quot;Employees seem happy,&quot; &quot;Good if you don&#39;t mind moving or working a ton,&quot; &quot;Technologically-advanced,&quot; &quot;Probably the second best firm,&quot; &quot;Leader of the Big 4,&quot; &quot;Impressive training,&quot; &quot;High turnover,&quot; &quot;Wonderful,&quot; &quot;Best of the big guys,&quot; &quot;Snobby,&quot; &quot;Great benefits,&quot; &quot;Lots of dissatisfaction,&quot; &quot;High-powered,&quot; &quot;Prestigious with a hint of arrogance,&quot; &quot;Everybody speaks highly of them&quot;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ernst &amp;amp; Young (#3):&lt;/strong&gt; &quot;Top firm in the nation,&quot; &quot;Super prestigious but highly competitive,&quot; &quot;Best of the Big 4,&quot; &quot;Lacks personality,&quot; &quot;Moving in the right direction,&quot; &quot;Friendly culture,&quot; &quot;Treats people well,&quot; &quot;Behind competitors in some areas,&quot; &quot;Less friendly and flexible,&quot; &quot;Least regarded of the Big 4,&quot; &quot;Fantastic,&quot; &quot;Sweatshop,&quot; &quot;Class act,&quot; &quot;Laid-back but professional,&quot; &quot;Reputable international firm with good employees&quot;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;KPMG (#4):&lt;/strong&gt; &quot;Great place to build a career,&quot; &quot;Reputation for over-hiring,&quot; &quot;Ethically-challenged,&quot; &quot;Losing some of its Big 4 credibility,&quot; &quot;Top-tier prestige,&quot; &quot;Shrinking,&quot; &quot;Unsatisfied clients,&quot; &quot;One of the oldest and well known,&quot; &quot;Plays with the big boys,&quot; &quot;Throws good parties,&quot; &quot;Weakest of the Big 4,&quot; &quot;Most laid-back culture of the Big 4,&quot; &quot;Great place to work,&quot; &quot;Redheaded step child of the Big Four,&quot; &quot;Party firm&quot;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Grant Thornton (#5):&lt;/strong&gt; &quot;Great firm,&quot; &quot;Good reputation,&quot; &quot;Nationally known,&quot; &quot;Second tier,&quot; &quot;Should be a Big 4 (Big 5) soon,&quot; &quot;Growth-oriented,&quot; &quot;Nice people, &quot;Wishes it could audit bigger clients,&quot; &quot;Solid,&quot; &quot;Somewhat prestigious,&quot; &quot;Less knowledge and fewer resources than Big 4,&quot; &quot;Very very good,&quot; &quot;Good alternative to Big 4,&quot; &quot;A player,&quot; &quot;Great breadth but not much depth,&quot; Big 4 experience without the Big 4 negatives&quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Read More:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;br /&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;/blogs/interviewing/21-interview-questions-the-big-4-ask&quot;&gt;21 Interview Questions the Big 4 Ask &lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;/careers/rankings?rankingId1=178&amp;amp;rankingId2=-1&amp;amp;rankings=1&amp;amp;regionId=0&amp;amp;rankingYear=2012&quot;&gt;Vault&#39;s 2012 Accounting Prestige Rankings&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&#160;&lt;/p&gt;

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