One in five EY, PwC partners earns more than $1.3m

afr.com:

The top-earning 20 per cent of partners at big four consulting firms EY and PwC took home more than $1.3 million annually, well above the top managing directors at Accenture who earned more than $875,000, the latest, available figures show.

EY’s partner pay data, which was controversially published by the ongoing Senate inquiry into consultants last week, showed that more junior partners at EY tended to have higher income ranges than the equivalent groups at PwC, but the maximum pay at PwC was much higher.

Partner and MD pay data supplied to the ongoing Senate inquiry into consultants. 

New responses by Deloitte to questions on notice from Greens senator Barbara Pocock, also published last week, showed that Deloitte’s 537 equity partners earn an average $810,000 a year, compared with the $370,000 average earned by the firm’s 521 non-equity partners.

The pay figures of EY and Deloitte were published despite both firms repeatedly asking the committee in their respective letters to redact the material before publishing the documents.

The income data provided by Accenture and the big four firms – Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC – is difficult to directly compare because of differences in detail and timing.

Accenture managing directors (MD) are salaried employees, compared with partners at the big four firms who, as part-owners, are paid a share of each year’s profits. Accenture MD data also does not include the potential value of equity in the company granted.

However, the information indicates that EY and PwC partners have tended to earn a much higher income than their peers (more than $930,000 on average), with Deloitte equity partners earning the next highest average pay ($810,000 on average), followed by KPMG partners