45 Accounting Industry Statistics (2026)
Accounting firms handle tax preparation, compliance and advisory work, with technology needs varying by practice and client. These 45 figures cover market estimates, electronic filing, workforce trends and technology surveys. They distinguish market estimates, administrative counts and dated survey findings and do not establish a single transformation affecting every firm.
Collection updated: October 2026
45 Accounting Industry Statistics (2026) reveal key trends in scheduling and appointment management. This collection contains 45 data points. Check each source's population, reporting period and methodology before applying a figure to your business; forecasts and vendor case studies are not general industry results.
Table of Contents
Accounting Market Size & Growth
Grand View Research estimates the global accounting-services market at $740.1 billion in 2026, with a 2025 base of $688.2 billion. This is a publisher market estimate covering bookkeeping, payroll, auditing, tax preparation and other services, not an audited global revenue total.
Derived US 2024 revenue total for accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services (NAICS 5412): $246.704 billion employer revenue plus $14.531 billion nonemployer receipts in Census AIES00NONEMP. Historical nominal revenue, not a 2026 market forecast. Employer estimates use AIES sampling; nonemployer figures use administrative records and disclosure protection.
US Census Bureau 2024 AIES employer/nonemployer revenue table, 2026 release
Grand View Research forecasts 8.1% compound annual growth for the global accounting-services market from 2026 to 2033. This is modeled forecast growth, not an observed annual rate.
NASBA reports 650,667 actively licensed CPAs as of August 27, 2026, based on official board data from 53 of 55 U.S. licensing jurisdictions. Hawaii and New Mexico are excluded; this is a license-status count, not total accountant employment.
U.S. employer establishments classified as Offices of Certified Public Accountants in the Census Bureau's 2023 County Business Patterns (NAICS 541211). Counts locations with paid employees; excludes nonemployers and other accounting-service categories.
U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 County Business Patterns, national employer establishments
Sum of the Big Four networks' reported FY2025 global revenues: Deloitte $70.5B, PwC $56.9B, EY $53.2B and KPMG $39.8B. Includes their professional-services businesses beyond accounting; fiscal year-ends differ, and KPMG reports on a continued-operations basis.
Calculated from Deloitte, PwC, EY and KPMG FY2025 revenue announcements
US employer CPA-office establishments with fewer than ten employees in Census 2023 County Business Patterns: 45,984 of 55,052 locations (NAICS 541211). Derived share of establishments, not firms; excludes nonemployers and other accounting-service categories.
US Census Bureau 2023 County Business Patterns, national establishment-size table
Median prior-year growth in total net client fees among CPA practices reporting fiscal-year 2024 results in the AICPA 2025 MAP survey. Not mean growth or exclusively small and midsize firms. May-July 2025 fieldwork; 1,073 complete firm responses, with growth-item count undisclosed.
Derived US 2024 revenue for establishments classified as tax preparation services (NAICS 541213): Census employer revenue $8.749B plus nonemployer receipts $3.653B. Excludes CPA offices and non-CPA businesses combining tax preparation with accounting, bookkeeping or payroll. Historical nominal industry revenue, not all tax/advisory spending or a 2026 forecast; sampling and administrative/disclosure limits apply.
US Census 2024 AIES employer/nonemployer revenue, national NAICS 541213; derived sum, 2026 release
Tax Season Trends & Volumes
Individual income tax returns received by the IRS cumulatively through December 26, 2025. This is the filing-season series, not the fiscal-year Data Book count of returns processed.
Tax-professional e-filed returns as a share of all individual returns received through December 26, 2025: 87.855 million / 165.824 million. This does not count professionally prepared paper returns or establish the paid-preparer share of all returns.
Average fee for a non-itemized Form 1040 reported on page 18 of NSA's 2020-2021 Income and Fees survey. Historical survey benchmark, not a current 2026 price; the survey was conducted in 2020 and received 1,009 usable responses overall.
National Society of Accountants, 2020-2021 Income and Fees Survey, page 18
Share of 2025 individual returns received through December 26 that arrived between April 4 and April 18: 39.211 million / 165.824 million. Derived from IRS cumulative weekly totals; this two-week interval includes three days after April 15 and is not exactly the final two weeks before the deadline.
Calculated from IRS April 4, April 18 and December 26, 2025 filing tables
Respondents citing complexity of remaining unautomated workflows as a barrier to further automation in Thomson Reuters' 2026 State of Tax Professionals Report. Surveyed 600 tax, audit and accounting firm professionals in Q1 2026; 64% were in the US. Item base and weighting are undisclosed. Workflow-complexity barrier, not the share reporting year-over-year increases in client tax-return complexity.
Average fee for a itemized Form 1040 reported on page 18 of NSA's 2020-2021 Income and Fees survey. Historical survey benchmark, not a current 2026 price; the survey was conducted in 2020 and received 1,009 usable responses overall.
National Society of Accountants, 2020-2021 Income and Fees Survey, page 18
Electronic returns as a share of all individual returns received through December 26, 2025: 154.911 million / 165.824 million, rounded to one decimal place.
Corporation and partnership income-tax returns filed in fiscal year 2025: 2,350,205 C/other corporation returns, 6,154,614 S corporation returns and 5,215,815 partnership returns. Derived sum excludes employment taxes and sole proprietors filing individual returns; not all business-related tax forms.
US taxpayers surveyed by Intuit preferred the option of all correspondence with their tax professional being digital, reported in its 2022 Taxpayer Insights & Intelligence Brief. The report describes about 3,000 participants who used a tax professional; exact field dates, item base and weighting are undisclosed. This is a historical communication preference, not willingness to switch preparers or a current national estimate.
Intuit original Taxpayer Insights & Intelligence Brief 2022, PDF pages 2, 8, 12 and 14
Client Acquisition & Retention
Mean audit-client retention measure in 1,246 Korean accounting firm-year observations using 2008-2018 engagement data, reported in Jeon, Kwack and Yi's 2025 study. Clients retained over one year divided by current-year audit clients; continuous variables winsorized at the 1st/99th percentiles. Historical firm-year mean, not a current US all-firm retention benchmark, previous-year cohort survival or client-weighted national average.
Business decision-makers in TaxDome's 2025 U.S. survey who named a referral as the primary way they found their current accountant or firm. The overall study surveyed 353 businesses; this is a respondent share, not the share of all new accounting engagements.
TaxDome 2025 Niche Business Accounting Report, pages 5 and 16
US business decision-makers naming online search as the primary way they found their current accountant or firm in TaxDome's 2025 report. Not all consumers or any use of search during selection. Overall sample: 353 businesses; fieldwork dates and item count undisclosed.
H&R Block reported net average tax-preparation charge at its US company-owned operations for July 1, 2025-April 30, 2026. Defined as tax-preparation fees divided by returns prepared; assisted returns include current/prior-year individual and business returns signed by a professional and accepted by the client. One provider's reported per-return fee, not tax-client lifetime value, unique-client revenue or an all-preparer average.
Median growth over the prior year in CAS net client fees among respondents to the 2024 CPA.com/AICPA benchmark survey. Practice revenue growth, not the percentage calling advisory their fastest-growing service. The survey opened May 1, 2024 for 13 weeks with 206 self-selected participants; exact growth-item count and financial comparison years are undisclosed.
CPA.com and AICPA PCPS 2024 CAS Benchmark Survey, pages 25 and 27
High-growth accounting firms in the Hinge/AAM 2023-2024 Marketing Budget Benchmark Study included SEO in their marketing budget. The executive summary was published in 2023 and defines high growth as the top quarter of participating firms by three-year compound growth. Exact subgroup base, field dates and weighting are undisclosed. Historical subgroup budget inclusion, not the share of all accounting firms investing in digital marketing or proof that SEO caused growth.
Business decision-makers in TaxDome's 2025 U.S. survey rating responsiveness very or extremely influential when selecting an accountant. The overall study surveyed 353 businesses; this is an importance rating, not a ranking as the single most important factor.
TaxDome 2025 Niche Business Accounting Report, pages 5 and 16
Business clients who left generalist accounting firms citing poor service as a departure factor in TaxDome's 2025 Niche Business Accounting Report. Overall survey: 353 US business decision-makers; generalist-switcher base, field dates and weighting undisclosed. A stated reason among switchers, not an annual accounting-firm churn rate or proof of a causal effect.
US clients preferring a secure portal for communication and document exchange in TaxDome's 2024 Client Satisfaction report. Stated preference, not actual use or the share switching firms. Overall sample: 1,000 adults aged 18+ who hired accountants or tax preparers; fieldwork dates, recruitment and item count undisclosed.
Accounting Technology & Automation
Respondents selecting QuickBooks Online as a primary client-accounting product in CPAFMA's 2026 Digitally Driven Firm survey, completed December 2025. Overall 162 firms, mainly medium/large member firms; item base and weighting undisclosed. Specific cloud-product usage in client accounting, not national all-firm cloud-accounting adoption; reported product shares overlap.
CPAFMA original 2026 Digitally Driven Firm Survey Results, PDF pages 1 and 5-6
US accounting-professional respondents reporting AI use for at least one client service in the previous 12 months in Intuit's 2026 survey. Actual self-reported use, not adoption-or-evaluation by all firms. May 2026 online survey of 725 adults, 59% business owners and 41% firm employees; item count undisclosed.
Intuit 2026 Accountant Technology Survey, May 2026 fieldwork, June 23 release
Of prior manual-bank-entry time reported from month three onward after setting up Xero bank-feed rules, in Della Hudson's account of Hudson Accountants published by ICAEW on October 11, 2018. One UK practice's retrospective self-report; task counts, observation dates and independent validation are undisclosed. A historical case result, not an industry-average reduction in data-entry volume or a controlled causal estimate.
ICAEW original Della Hudson practice-automation case study, published October 11, 2018
Tax and accounting professionals in the 2024 Tax Firm Technology Report who regarded technology as a significant or integral part of their firm's future strategy, as reported by Thomson Reuters Institute on October 29, 2024. This is a survey opinion, not proof of competitive performance or a current all-firm adoption rate.
Thomson Reuters Institute, 2024 Tax Firm Technology Report publisher summary
Grand View Research's 2026 global accounting-software market estimate in its July 2026 updated summary. Covers software plus professional/managed services, including payroll, invoicing and spreadsheets. Commercial revenue estimate, not observed software-license revenue, accounting-firm revenue or a verified Fortune Business Insights figure; proprietary underlying model not independently replicated.
Grand View Research original accounting-software market summary, updated July 2026
AI use for invoicing and payments reported among the firm-operation uses in Intuit's 2026 survey. AI-specific task use, not all invoice or bill-pay automation. May 2026 online survey of 725 US accounting professionals; exact task denominator and item count undisclosed.
Intuit 2026 Accountant Technology Survey, May 2026 fieldwork, June 23 release
Average planned technology investment for the next year reported in Intuit's 2026 survey; 91% planned to invest. Budget intention, not realized spending or the percentage of mid-size firms increasing budgets. May 2026 online survey of 725 US accounting professionals; spending-item count undisclosed.
Intuit 2026 Accountant Technology Survey, May 2026 fieldwork, June 23 release
Respondents using SafeSend in the portal/secure-email category of CPAFMA's 2026 Digitally Driven Firm survey, completed December 2025. Overall 162 firms, mainly medium/large members; item base and weighting undisclosed. Category shares overlap. Tool usage, not the share achieving 20% administrative-time reduction or a measured client-self-service effect.
CPAFMA original 2026 Digitally Driven Firm Survey Results, PDF pages 1 and 3-4
Practices reported as having adopted cloud platforms in Xero's 2025 US State of the Industry survey release. Quadrant Strategies surveyed 250 US accountants/bookkeepers via independent panels December 19, 2024-January 8, 2025, with practice-size weighting. Item base and weight details are not provided in the release. Survey adoption, not solo practitioners saying they cannot operate without cloud tools or a census of US firms.
Accounting Workforce & Pipeline
NASBA reports 650,667 actively licensed CPAs as of August 27, 2026, based on official board data from 53 of 55 U.S. licensing jurisdictions. Hawaii and New Mexico are excluded; this is a license-status count, not total accountant employment.
Rounded decline in new CPA exam candidates from 48,004 in 2016 to 32,186 in 2021, using AICPA's 2025 Trends report historical series. This is a dated new-candidate comparison, not all students taking the exam or the decline through 2026.
Median annual wage for US accountants and auditors in May 2025; excludes self-employed earnings.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook (2025 data)
US accountant and auditor employment growth projection, 2025-35, faster than average.
US accounting-professional respondents reporting at least one hiring difficulty in the previous 12 months in Intuit's May 2026 survey. Reported hiring experience, not a ranking of top concerns among all CPA firm leaders. Online sample of 725 adults, 59% owners and 41% firm employees; item count undisclosed.
Intuit 2026 Accountant Technology Survey, May 2026 fieldwork
Difference between published annual-average BLS CPS estimates of US full-time wage and salary accountants/auditors aged 16+: 1.488 million in 2020 versus 1.394 million in 2023, distributed by FRED. Derived difference in employment estimates; excludes part-time and self-employed workers. Sampling variation and annual population-control updates apply. Not a count of people leaving the profession or evidence of 300,000 departures.
Median average salary for new master's graduates reported for fiscal-year 2024 in the AICPA 2025 MAP survey, nearly 17% above the fiscal-year 2022 benchmark. A compensation benchmark change, not the share of firms raising pay by 15% or more. 1,073 complete firm responses; salary-item count undisclosed.
AICPA and CPA.com 2025 MAP survey, fiscal-year 2024 compensation
Respondents identifying work-life balance as a negative factor affecting the appeal of an audit career in ACCA/CA ANZ's 2024 Attract, Engage, Retain report. Overall 6,574 finance professionals from 150 countries, including current, former and prospective auditors; exact item base, field dates and weighting undisclosed. Career-attraction perception, not younger US CPAs ranking their top career priority.
ACCA/CA ANZ original 2024 Attract, Engage, Retain report and work-life-balance Figure 1
Responding firms offering a remote and/or hybrid work option in Rosenberg Associates' 2022 North American remote-work survey. The article reports 132 participating firms overall; exact field dates, recruitment, weighting and item base are undisclosed. Historical respondent offering, not fully remote positions, current national prevalence or a measured talent-pool effect.
Rosenberg Associates original 2022 Remote Work Survey, remote/hybrid findings and sample description
What the Data Tells Us
Grand View Research estimates the global accounting-services market at $740.1 billion in 2026. Census reports 2024 US employer and nonemployer revenue for accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services totaling approximately $261.2 billion when its two published components are added. This is historical nominal revenue, not a 2026 forecast. Census counted 55,052 employer CPA-office establishments in 2023 (NAICS 541211), a narrower category than all accounting firms and a count of locations rather than firms.
Through December 26, 2025, 93.4% of individual returns received by the IRS were electronic. Tax-professional e-filings represented 53.0% of all returns received; this excludes professionally prepared paper returns.
In TaxDome's 2025 U.S. business-client survey, 58% named referrals as the primary way they found their current accountant. In the same report, 17% named online search as their primary discovery method; this is not the share using search at any point in selection.
Intuit's May 2026 survey of 725 US accounting professionals found 88% reporting AI use for at least one client service in the previous 12 months. This is respondent use, not all-firm adoption or evaluation. CPAFMA's survey completed December 2025 found 75% selected QuickBooks Online as a primary client-accounting product, within a mainly medium/large member-firm sample; this is not national cloud-adoption prevalence.
AICPA reports a rounded 33% decline in new CPA exam candidates from 2016 to 2021. BLS CPS annual-average estimates, distributed by FRED, show 1.488 million full-time wage and salary accountants/auditors in 2020 and 1.394 million in 2023, a derived difference of 94,000. These employment estimates exclude part-time and self-employed workers and do not count profession exits; sampling variation and annual population-control updates apply.
The 2024 CPA.com/AICPA CAS survey reports 17% median prior-year growth in CAS net client fees among participating practices. Its 206 participants self-selected; this is a practice-growth benchmark, not the percentage of all firms identifying advisory as their fastest-growing service.
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