The Big 4 Transparency Podcast

What Academic Research Says About Hours, Pay and Satisfaction with Dr. Ryan Dunn

August 13, 2026·52 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

Episode Description: In Episode 109 of the Big 4 Transparency Podcast, I'm joined by Dr. Ryan Dunn, a professor at the William H. Carr School of Accountancy, to break down the first peer-reviewed academic study built on Big 4 Transparency data. Published in Accounting Horizons, the study pulled 14,652 individual-year observations from 2021-2024 to look at hours, compensation, and job satisfaction across the profession. We dig into the good news (weekly hours down nearly 5%, tied to a real bump in job satisfaction), the more complicated news (real wages down 3.7%, with partners and directors absorbing the biggest hit), and why KPMG was the only Big 4 firm to post real comp growth over the period. Check out our sponsor: getcanopy.comGet in touch with me:Website: https://www.big4transparency.com/Newsletter: https://big4transparency.beehiiv.com/Email: dom@big4transparency.comTwitter: https://twitter.com/B4TransparencyLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dopiscopo/Book A Demo: https://calendly.com/dom-zgw/big-4-transparency-demo-referral

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