PwC Reducing Entry-Level Hiring, Changing Processes

A tough-to-get-into Big Four firm is completely changing its hiring process — by making it more difficult for recent graduates to land entry-level positions.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one of the Big Four accounting and auditing firms offering services in tax, audit, and consulting, told Business Insider on Thursday that it was “decreasing” its campus hiring targets.

BI saw an internal slideshow stating that the firm wanted to cut entry-level hiring by one-third in the U.S. over the next three years. PwC’s hiring goals for junior-level associates dropped from 3,242 employees in the fiscal year ending in June to a projected 2,197 associates in the 2028 fiscal year, a 32% decrease across three years, according to the slideshow.

Related: ‘Completely Blindsided’: Accounting Giant PwC Is Laying Off 1,500 U.S. Workers. Here’s Why.

PwC did not confirm the numbers, but told BI that “technological change” and low attrition rates contributed to decreased campus-level hiring.

It’s notoriously difficult to land a position at PwC. According to The Times, the firm received 304,000 applications in 2022 for 7,500 roles, a 2.5% acceptance rate. Meanwhile, Management Consulted places the company’s internship acceptance rate a little bit higher, at around 5%.

Landing a position can be lucrative; the salary ranges for junior employees at PwC can extend into the six figures. According to Glassdoor, which included data points from 4,300 salaries, pay ranges from $81,000 to $120,000 per year for PwC associates based in the U.S. The median total compensation was $98,000, including $93,000 in base pay and a $5,000 bonus.

Related: Meet the Leaders of the Big 4, Who Jointly Employ 1.5 Million Staff

PwC is using AI to take over functions usually performed by junior employees, like gathering data and processing it. The company’s AI Assurance Leader, Jennifer Kosar, told Business Insider earlier this month that, in the next three years, new hires at PwC will take on responsibilities currently attributed to managers.

“People are going to walk in the door, almost instantaneously becoming reviewers and supervisors,” Kosar told the outlet.

PwC laid off 1,500 U.S. workers, or about 2% of its 75,000-person U.S. workforce, earlier this year due to low attrition or turnover. The other Big Four accounting firms, including EY, KPMG, and Deloitte, also laid off employees within the past year.

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