RSM Ranks No. 5 on Accounting Today Top 100 Firms List

RSM US LLP (“RSM”) – the nation’s leading provider of audit, tax and consulting services focused on the middle market – was recently ranked the fifth largest accounting, tax and consulting services firm in the U.S. for the twelfth consecutive year by Accounting Today.

The publication’s 2018 special report shows surprisingly slow growth across leading firms in the profession; while their revenues continue to swell, and individual firms bucked the trend in a big way, the average firm grew more slowly in 2017 than in the four or five previous years, according to the publication. While Accounting today had predicted ongoing revenue growth of around 9 percent for the Top 100 firms, based on trends that had held true for the previous six years, the average growth rate was 6.33 percent, the slowest rate the Top 100 have seen in a non-recession in the past 20 years. (RSM’s year-over-year growth rate was 7.22 percent – higher than any of the Big Four firms, but down by 1.06 percent from its 2017 rate.)

The publication goes on to state, however, that it’s important to remember that even slower-than-previous growth is still growth. The threshold for the Top 100 rose $2.6 million, from $37.7 million last year to $40.3 million this year.

2017 marked RSM’s 91st anniversary. Highlights in Accounting Today’s report include:

• March 2017 – RSM acquired assets of consulting firm Athens Partners and launched its First-Choice Advisor Center,
• December 2017- RSM launched RSM Canada, and
• January 2018 – RSM acquired Cleveland-based security and privacy consulting firm SecureState.

Also in 2017, RSM enhanced it’s first-of-its kind economic index focused on the middle market, the RSM US Middle Market Business Index (MMBI), by forming a partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world largest business organization, representing more than three million members. This partnership provides RSM and ultimately its clients to stay close to what’s happening in Washington, as the firm advises the middle market businesses its people serve, while at the same time providing a tremendous platform to share the needs and expectations of middle market businesses with influencers in the nation's capital and beyond.

“RSM’s continued focus on truly understanding middle market business leaders’ needs continues to result in strategic growth opportunities for our firm, which get us included in prestigious rankings such as Accounting Today’s Top 100 Firms list,” said Joe Adams, managing partner and CEO with RSM US LLP. “Still, the accounting industry, like others, faces certain challenges and opportunities. As with many other firms, recruiting and retention remain at the top of the list of priorities for RSM. Another ongoing opportunity for our firm and our clients is adopting new technologies to enable growth, productivity and client service.”

“[At RSM], our firm’s talent development culture is focused on year-round, real-time fast feedback to help people perform their best,” said National Public Relations Director Terri Andrews. “We will also continue to provide unique training programs and leadership development opportunities to enable our professionals to achieve their career objectives, and we will be honing our new coaching program as well.”

Andrews also noted that it’s not just about attracting and retaining accountants anymore. “Firms of our size are also augmenting our recruiting processes to attract new groups of talent – from cybersecurity experts to data scientists to computer programmers, our future workforce will encompass new skill sets in addition to our traditional CPA hires.”  

This approach echoes what other firms identified as a key to their future path to growth: offering a growing number of technology services, most commonly involving cybersecurity.