EY Tops Big Four During 5th Annual Mason Accounting Firms Giving Competition
Keiter Leads Regional Firms in Annual Challenge Among William & Mary Alumni
For the fifth-year consecutive year, EY led the Big Four Accounting Firms with the highest rate of alumni participation among current employees during the Raymond A. Mason School of Business Accounting Firms Giving Competition. Despite a global pandemic and economic uncertainty, the 2020 initiative raised $400,000 for the university, with $260,000 in gifts specifically for the business school.
EY has won the annual competition since its inception in 2016, with the exception of a tie with PwC in 2017. The firm had the highest combined contribution rate among alumni from both the Mason School and William & Mary at large with 59.6%, and for the first time represented the highest total number of employees from William & Mary among the Big Four and Regional Accounting Firms.
Keiter topped the list of Regional Accounting firms with 64.3%, nearly doubling its efforts among alumni since 2016. The firm also marked the highest participation rate among Mason School alumni and had the highest overall percentage of employees participate in the competition.
The Mason Accounting Firms Giving Competition is supported by the Mason Accounting Programs Board (MAPB) as an annual initiative to encourage alumni to give back to the university. The 2020 challenge marked the first year that the event shifted to a calendar-year cycle compared to a fiscal year competition during previous years.
“The Mason School and William & Mary overall have provided such a great foundation – both for career purposes and for life – how could you not want to give back?” said Jen Flinchum ’93, Partner at Keiter and Mason Accounting Programs Board member. “We all want to make sure those coming behind us have the same opportunities.”
Of the gifts allocated to the Mason School, over $80,000 was raised in unrestricted private support and will go towards the Mason School Annual Fund which provides flexibility to address budgetary needs during times of uncertainty. Over $17,000 of donations gifted to the business school from the competition were for scholarship support.
The MAPB is comprised of alumni and accounting professionals who are dedicated to helping William & Mary sustain a nationally recognized accounting program. The 2021 challenge kicked off on January 1, 2021 will run through December 31st.
2020 Accounting Firms Challenge Results
| Firm |
W&M Employees |
Mason School Participation |
Other W&M Participation |
Total Participation & Donors |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deloitte | 263 | 90.5% | 17.1% | 26.6% | 70 |
| EY | 292 | 43.0% | 16.8% | 59.6% | 174 |
| PwC | 169 | 14.2% | 16.6% | 30.8% | 52 |
| KPMG | 174 | 13.8% | 14.4% | 28.2% | 49 |
| Grant Thornton | 66 | 10.6% | 9.1% | 19.7% | 13 |
| BDO | 40 | 10.0% | 7.5% | 17.5% | 7 |
| RSM US | 14 | 28.6% | 14.3% | 42.9% | 6 |
| Cherry Bekaert | 14 | 0.0% | 21.4% | 21.4% | 3 |
| Keiter | 14 | 57.1% | 7.1% | 64.3% | 9 |
| Johnson Lambert | 11 | 45.5% | 9.1% | 54.5% | 6 |
| Average Participation | 16.7% | 10.9% | 36.8% | ||
Results include gifts and pledges as of 12/31/2020
