The Big Four accounting firms are facing a startling reality: partner promotions have plummeted to a five-year low. This isn't just a dip; it's a symptom of a deeper struggle within the industry. As demand for consulting services cools, these giants are grappling to safeguard profits, and that means tightening the belt on promotions. But here's where it gets controversial: is this a temporary blip or a sign of a fundamental shift in the accounting landscape?
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According to a Financial Times analysis, a mere 179 individuals were promoted to partner status across Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PwC in the 2025 cycle. This marks a staggering decline from the peak of 276 just three years ago. The data, gleaned from reports, press releases, LinkedIn posts, and Companies House filings, paints a clear picture: the Big Four are rethinking their partnership strategies.
Deloitte and PwC saw the lowest number of partner promotions in five years, while EY promoted less than half of its 2022 total. KPMG, however, broke the trend, resuming promotions after a multi-year hiatus. This disparity highlights the varying approaches firms are taking to navigate the current climate.
The Big Four are in a race to protect the interests of their approximately 3,000 equity partners. Beyond slashing promotions, they're implementing cost-cutting measures like reducing pay raises, bonuses, and even making redundancies. This retrenchment follows a hiring and promotion frenzy during the pandemic boom, which has now fizzled out, leaving revenue growth stagnant and prompting these drastic actions.
Take Deloitte, for instance. They promoted 60 people to partner this year, a far cry from the 124 in 2022. While they boast nearly 800 equity partners, their promotion figures don't differentiate between those with and without equity stakes. Equity partners, it's important to remember, are the joint owners of these firms, sharing in the annual profits.
PwC, meanwhile, named 40 new equity partners, nearly half the number from 2022, bringing their total to 1,024. EY added a mere 34 equity partners, down from 74 in 2022, pushing their total below 800. KPMG, with the smallest partnership of the Big Four, promoted 45 in its main October round this year, adding to the 42 from last year, for a total of around 460.
Laura Empson, a professor of management at Bayes Business School, offers a compelling perspective. She attributes the decline in partner promotions, in part, to the Big Four's cautious approach to assessing the impact of generative AI on their core services. "It's not just about whether a potential partner can bring in enough business this year," she explains, "but whether they can consistently generate substantial income in the face of an increasingly uncertain future." And right now, that future is shrouded in ambiguity.
The financial results further underscore the challenges. Deloitte's UK business experienced its first annual revenue decline in 15 years, while PwC's revenue growth stagnated, as reported in September. EY managed a modest 2% revenue increase, which they termed a "challenging market." KPMG, yet to release its 2025 results, reported a mere 1% rise in revenues last year, a sharp slowdown from the 9% growth in 2023.
Interestingly, despite the overall decline in promotions, average partner payouts have risen across the board, reaching record highs of £816,000 at KPMG and exceeding £1 million at Deloitte. This raises questions about the sustainability of this model and the potential impact on morale among non-partner employees.
KPMG's story is particularly noteworthy. After promoting virtually no one to equity partner between 2021 and 2023, Jon Holt took the helm and initiated a major overhaul following years of reputational damage. This included a culling of the senior ranks in 2023, resulting in the smallest partnership in over two decades.
For the first time in five years, the total number of equity partners across the Big Four has decreased. While the firms added around 80 partners annually between 2021 and 2024, this year saw a decline of roughly the same number, bringing the total to approximately 3,050.
In response to these challenges, Deloitte, EY, and KPMG have introduced a "salaried partner" rank, seen by many as a way to retain talent without granting full partnership privileges. PwC, the lone holdout, maintains an equity-only partnership model but introduced a "managing director" title last year to retain top performers who don't fit the traditional partner mold.
This shift in partnership dynamics raises crucial questions: Is the traditional partnership model still viable in today's rapidly evolving business landscape? Will the Big Four need to fundamentally rethink their structures to remain competitive? And what does this mean for the aspiring accountants and consultants climbing the corporate ladder? The answers to these questions will shape the future of the accounting industry, and we'll be watching closely to see how this story unfolds. What's your take on the future of partnerships at the Big Four? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
