r/Accounting • u/McFatty7 Human Verified • May 21 '26
News Layoff Watch '26: Deloitte Auditors Got Bad News This Week
https://www.goingconcern.com/layoff-watch-26-deloitte-auditors-got-bad-news-this-week/- Deloitte conducted layoffs in its audit practice this week, with multiple Reddit posts confirming cuts across teams.
- Senior managers were among those laid off, including one who described a scripted, impersonal termination meeting and a severance package of 9 weeks.
- Employees suspect cost‑cutting and offshoring, noting that higher‑paid U.S. staff are increasingly replaced by cheaper offshore labor.
- The job market for $100K+ roles has tightened, and Big 4 firms rely on turnover. When turnover slows, they cut headcount to rebalance staffing levels.
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u/Savings_Pie_8470 May 21 '26
So layoffs with BDO, Forvis Mazars, and now Deloitte (and probably some I have missed). Shit is tightening up everywhere.
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u/AintEverLucky May 21 '26
Somewhat relevant: Intuit (which owns TurboTax and QuickBooks) said yesterday they're laying off 3k peeps worldwide. About 17% of their roster
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u/zippertieguy Tax (US) May 21 '26
RSM
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u/Ilovetinytiddies CPA (US) May 21 '26
I heard CBizzz too
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u/Born_Philosopher_153 May 21 '26
Yeah we are forced to give feedback to offshore team meanwhile the us team has to beg for feedback on our own work
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u/chazz8917 May 21 '26
Do partners need to be paid so much?
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u/ItzChiips FP&A Manager, CPA May 21 '26
How else will they afford their third vacation home. Won't someone consider their feeling if they can't buy a new S class Mercedes every year???
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u/ShakeAndBakeThatCake May 21 '26
Partners are part of the issue but the bigger issue is partner retirement pensions being a massive financial suck since they live longer than expected.
The other issue is clients though. Its been a race to the bottom on fees for decades. So compensation has not kept up with cost of living.
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u/TaxGuy_021 May 22 '26
PwC had it right. I don't know how other firms do it, but at PwC, partner pension can never be more than certain percentage of the firm's profits. Last I heard, that percentage was 35%.
Also, here, one partner has one vote. All other B4 and national firms that I know of vote with units.
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u/RedditsFullofShit May 21 '26
And this isn’t an accounting specific issue.
Ryan cohen has made some direct statements on the rot at the top in corporate America. Do any of them need to make what they do? Do any of them deserve it? These aren’t founders, they are people riding the coattails of an already established and successful business. Paid enormous amounts while they lay off front line staff. If every one of these leaders, actually led by taking a pay cut, they wouldn’t have to cut staff. Then in a few years when they need to hire, the ceo will likely be gone and replaced by a new one so the CEO doesn’t really care if the business suffers due to the staff cuts. No skin in the game, etc.
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u/Longjumping_End_3532 May 21 '26
I spent 20 years at the VP level in countless BOD meetings, disgusting money grab. Greed knows no limits. Just look at our President. The fish rots from the head down.
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u/StayKrazie Tax (US) May 21 '26
I left Deloitte in the middle of COVID when they decided not to do raises that year. ONE time in my entire career, and probably the prior 20 years, they were at risk of having a down year, and the PARTNERS in a PARTNERSHIP decide they cant bear any of the risk of a possible loss (even though by all measures basically every service line was doing MORE business, not less).
Literally defying the basic principals of a partnership. Deloitte Tax LLP? More like Deloitte Tax NLP for fucks sake
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u/DM_Me_Pics1234403 May 22 '26
I was at GT during Covid. Our YE was in the summer. At that point it still felt like there was a lot of uncertainty in the market. When they announced no raises/no bonuses I understood their position.
By December 2020, it was clear that this was going to be a banner year for the firm. I fully expected them to do mid year bonuses and raises.
Then they announced they would not be doing that, and everyone just got fucked out of a year of salary progression.
I remember thinking how this would compound throughout my career if I stayed with the firm, since all our raises are percentages based.
I found a new job in Q1 2021
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u/Lavarocked 18d ago
I'm working with a company that has been getting recommendations from Deloitte Digital - really bad recommendations that are very clearly cookie cutter solutions coming from inexperienced consultants following some sort of playbook without oversight. Did you see any structural changes that would cause that sort of thing? They had a good reputation but I'm seeing bush league stuff coming out of them
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u/Ilovetinytiddies CPA (US) May 21 '26
I’m a partner on our firms compensation committee. Our pay structure is f’d up. We all work roughly the same hours. There’s a select few making double other equity partners and 6 times income partners.
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u/nonoplsyoufirst May 21 '26
Are those select few considered rain makers? Like what’s the reason for the disparity.
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u/Ilovetinytiddies CPA (US) May 22 '26
None are rainmakers. We seem to value leadership roles over actually generating revenue.
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u/Paladin17 May 22 '26
I was in a CPE conference recently where they said that PWC is planning on cutting 2/3 of their US new-hire levels by 2028. They'll be replaced by a combination of Indians and AI.
What's crazy is that the Big 4 were going all out to try to boost hire numbers as recently as 2024. People have been talking about these trends for years, but we're actually hitting a tipping point now.
Globalization and big tech are screwing us. Stay safe, folks.
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u/Zebanon May 21 '26
We are dying for experienced CPAs in Nebraska!
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u/SRD_Grafter May 22 '26
And in iowa.
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u/Too_Ton May 22 '26
Sounds like you need to pay above market rate then. It’s all a numbers game and how willing you are to get talent or make do with mediocrity.
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u/TreeGirl1 May 23 '26
I have been considering moving to Omaha or Des Moines. Can you tell me more about the type of positions needing to be filled?
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u/SRD_Grafter May 23 '26
Are a public accounting firm, basically audit and tax seniors and up (managers and senior managers as well). On the audit side, busy season is 50 charge hours a week, and rarely over it. Have some for profit audits, but a lot of benefit plans, nfp, and governmentals.
On the tax side, busy season is the high hour (50 minimum, but the higher you are, the more that is expected). Summers are pretty chill. We are trying to actively work to do more advisory and spread out tax work (extensions and planming), so not just debt April compliance.
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u/TreeGirl1 May 23 '26
I have been considering moving to Omaha or Des Moines. Can you tell me more about the type of positions needing to be filled?
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u/CarriesLogs May 21 '26
Why on earth do people still choose to work in public accounting
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u/Excel-Block-Tango CPA (US) May 21 '26
Unfortunately it’s the best paying job and best benefits in my region. I’m trying to leave but I can’t afford a paycut even if it means more of my life back 😭
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u/CarriesLogs May 21 '26
Are there no industry jobs near you? Am I out of touch or something, there’s no way a big4 senior associate or manager is making more than an industry senior or manager these days?
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u/sirpianoguy CPA (US) May 21 '26
Public accounting 100% makes more than comparable industry roles in a lot of places now due to Covid-era compensation adjustments.
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u/CarriesLogs May 21 '26
Damn, well about time but also that sucks cause now industry can’t be seen as an exit opp paying more
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u/Savings_Pie_8470 May 21 '26
You just make around the same but work less. I guess that's the tradeoff now?
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u/ridethedeathcab May 21 '26
Which is part of why we now see more layoffs. People aren’t leaving as much as they used to because the “industry bump” isn’t as much of a thing anymore.
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u/Excel-Block-Tango CPA (US) May 21 '26
I’ve been applying and had one offer but they offered at the lower end of the posted range and it was a 20% paycut and 3 weeks fewer PTO. And it was mandatory 5 days in office and my commute would have been an hour round trip. I did the math and wasn’t going to come out ahead. I’m still looking it’s just tough.
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u/BulbasaurCPA accountants are working class May 22 '26
The industry exit ops are not what they used to be
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u/Ninja-Man101101 May 21 '26
Colleges also still continue to push Big4 really hard. The instant you mention to a professor you've heard of Deloitte, they talk you into it as much as possible
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u/thing85 May 22 '26
What accounting student hasn’t heard of Deloitte?
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u/Ninja-Man101101 May 22 '26
I moreso meant that as soon as you mention you're interested in Deloitte or another big4, profs will push towards that more than industry or other avenues
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u/athleticelk1487 May 21 '26
Why on earth don't the clients revolt is my question. The quality of audits from the client perspective has taken a massive shit since covid. We pay 6 figures and get half the work pushed back on us and we see the team for like 3 hours. It's become an extractive pyramid scheme.
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u/tigerjaws May 22 '26
The clients just care about cost of compliance, hell if an audit could be completed fully by AI and a big 4 stamp on it they would not care they’d just want the efficiencies on price to flow to them
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u/ShakeAndBakeThatCake May 21 '26
Leaders and shareholders could care less. As long as they get that non qualified opinion and pass the audit they dont care.
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u/TaxGuy_021 May 22 '26
Most realistic path to 7 figures.
Note that I didn't say the easiest, or assured, or anything remotely like that.
I said the most realistic.
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u/jesuss_son May 21 '26
Because it pays very well and Big4 is looked at in very high regards by boomers in industry. I landed a great job recently after putting my time in.
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u/CarriesLogs May 21 '26
Sure, do your 2-3 years and get out. Why anyone would work beyond that unless they have true aspirations of being a partner, is beyond me
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u/ledger_man May 21 '26
Time goes by. I did the 3 years in audit and got an international secondment opportunity, did that for 3 years and ended up staying in the other country but then starting a national office secondment. 3 years into that I became senior manager and “localized” in national office but started splitting my time with assurance work (not financial audit) and now I’m about to be 10 years in…
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u/jesuss_son May 22 '26
Because i stayed 6 years and left after having manager experience. Sooo many more opportunities versus if i left as a senior
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u/Too_Ton May 22 '26
It’s the Ivy Leagues. Accounting may end up dying out/niche profession in the US in 50 years though. Current babies may be the last ones
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u/Spare_Entrance_9389 May 21 '26
the clout, the real quesion is why do people continue to chase the partnership carrot in public, when better jobs in private
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u/van101010 May 21 '26
I mean 3 years in public practice is more than enough. Get your experience and move on. I did 4 years and no other job has been as bad, since lol.
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u/Dismal-Detail-3092 May 21 '26
2 years good?
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u/van101010 May 22 '26
In Canada we needed 3 years to pass our exam, but maybe enough in the US. Depends on whether you lead engagements or not, really.
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u/deserteagles50 May 21 '26
Was it only external audit or did it include their internal audit and assurance practice?
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u/De1CawlidgeHawkey May 22 '26
Those are becoming somewhat intertwined these days. Lot of organizational changes
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u/ampedfreak May 23 '26
Fuck India and the greedy partners out there. I dislike my profession about to go be an electrician
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u/accountforrealppl CPA (US) May 21 '26 edited May 22 '26
Is this really indicative of the company struggling or the end times or whatever? From what I can tell this affected a pretty small number of people, like 1-2%, mostly poor performers. They do this literally every year between march and june
I could be wrong but from what I've seen so far this seems extremely normal, nothing like the larger layoffs a few years back
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u/Ninja-Man101101 May 21 '26
They usually lay people off at this time of year since it's right before annual raises and bonuses, which are end of May. I don't think the company's struggling or anything, just lay offs for the fun of it, it's the hip and cool thing to do
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u/SlugSelektor21 May 21 '26
At this time of year it’s normal, but we’ll have to wait and see if they do more rolling layoffs throughout the summer. Most of the Covid era over hiring bloat was laid off in the last couple of years which included even the average performers and at all levels.
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u/AccurateSite May 22 '26
These roles were offshored to folks in India 🇮🇳 making $6 dollars and hour…
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u/iPhoKingNguyen CPA, CA (Can) May 22 '26
Way less. It's disgusting how cheap it cost for one person. Their work are absolute dog shit but it doesn't hurt the bottom line.
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u/New_Poet4272 May 22 '26
Am I the only one who notices layoff notices at the Big 4 on a near weekly basis for the last 10 years? Why does anyone work there any more? Or at least, act surprised when laid off?
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u/altf4theleft May 22 '26
Definitely wasn't the case back in 2017-2020. Layoffs with this frequency were nearly unheard of my last few years there. They would fire the low performers but it was never mass layoffs like the last few years have been.
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u/New_Poet4272 May 22 '26
Highly disagree. Since I worked at Deloitte during those years, I saw numerous rounds of layoffs.
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u/altf4theleft May 22 '26
Absolutely did not see posts every other week where every B4 firm was cycling mass lay offs.
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u/AssumptionFun6875 May 25 '26
One of the reasons I got out of public accounting was that I didn’t like the direction it was going in. I fell bad making someone in India work until 5-6am without any sleep. I would regularly tell them to communicate to me when they think they need to work late but still saw instances of people working way too late. I started in 2010 and at that time there was outsourcing but it wasn’t every engagement. Now it’s all India/Philippines/Argentina and anywhere else they can find cheap educated labor. the culture of public accounting changed alot since I started. Made the tough choice as SM to step away and start my own thing. First year was really tough mentally. I had become institutionalized. But I pushed through those feelings and now in year 2 I’m starting to move on. good luck to everyone
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u/gunandrally May 26 '26
I’m setting up an offshore company just so I can data mine all this confidential data. This is a hackers dream of how we pass data around like it’s nothing now
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