(All employees, bookkeeping and accounting sector, seasonally adjusted)
Seasonally-adjusted employment sinks to 874,100.
That’s down from 876,400 in January, according to new government data, and part of a consistent decline since January 2008.
Meanwhile, the nation and economy overall added 192,000 jobs to non-farm payrolls in February, the fastest pace in nine months. The unemployment rate declined to 8.9 percent, almost a two-year low.
Economists suggest the economy may be shifting into higher gear. But you wouldn’t know it from the employment trends in the almost million-person accounting and bookkeeping sector.
CPAs expressed their highest level of optimism on the U.S. economy since the third quarter of 2007, according to the latest AICPA/UNC Quarterly Economic Outlook Survey.
In addition, there was a slight improvement in expectations for hiring and an uptick in plans for capital spending for IT and other areas over the next 12 months. On the broader level, there was concern about inflation.
Up 1.4% in 2010 after 7% drop in 2009. Deloitte takes top spot from PWC.
via “The 2010 Big Four Firms Performance Analysis” by Big4.com
After an extraordinary period of continuous revenue growth from the early 2000s to 2008, combined revenue for the Big Four firms fell 7% in 2009, then recovered in 2010 and seems headed for bigger advances this year, according to “The 2010 Big Four Firms Performance Analysis” by Big4.com.
Source: Big4.com
In 2009, revenue decreases in US dollar percentage terms ranged from negative 5% for Deloitte to negative 7% each for Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers to negative 11% for KPMG. But in 2010, the situation improved remarkably, with $95 billion combined revenue for the four firms in fiscal 2010 increasing 1.4% from $94 billion in fiscal 2009 in US dollar terms.
INSTANT DOWNLOAD: Click for THE 2010 BIG FOUR FIRMS PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS by Big4.com (PDF, 18 pages)
Revenue increases in US dollar percentage terms ranged from negative 0.9% for Ernst & Young, 1.5% for PwC, 1.8% for Deloitte and 2.6% for the fastest-grower, KPMG. KPMG also had positive growth in all its three regions and narrowed its revenue gap with E&Y. E&Y was the only firm whose full year revenues shrank, though the firm indicated that the second half of the fiscal year was much stronger, especially in Advisory and TAS.
The big story of 2010 was that Deloitte with its 1.8% growth was able to beat PricewaterhouseCoopers with its 1.5% growth to gain first place and become the largest accounting firm on the planet. In 2009, PwC was narrowly ahead of Deloitte, but Deloitte’s 2010 revenues of $26.578 billion was ahead of PwC’s 2010 revenues of $26.569 billion by an ultra-slim, but very significant, $9 million. Ernst & Young took the third spot at $21.3 billion, and KPMG maintained its position as the smallest of the Big Four firms at $20.6 billion, but narrowed the gap against E&Y. READ MORE →
The good news: fewer layoffs. According to a survey of U.S. accounting firms released by Sageworks, there is reason for optimism in 2011. About 66% of accountants surveyed by Sageworks say they expect business headcounts to remain unchanged in 2011, … Continued
But no recovery until 2012. via AICPA After a dramatic drop last quarter, CPA executives regained modest optimism in the past three months about prospects for the U.S. economy but believe the recovery will be slow and they are cautious … Continued
Accounting and bookkeeping sector hits new low. Accounting and Bookkeeping, All Employees, in Thousands As the nation’s overall unemployment rate ticked upward to 9.8% in November from 9.6%, the number of jobs in the accounting and bookkeeping sector declined by … Continued
Zero employment growth: “one of the best performances in years.” via NFIB The National Federation of Independent Business Index of Small Business Optimism gained 2.7 points in October rising to 91.7, not a huge move, but at least a decent … Continued
78% see no recovery for two years. via TD Bank Sixty-nine percent of chief financial officers and other corporate finance managers at mid-sized businesses say that it’s the intense challenge of managing cash flow that worries them the most, according … Continued
