American Accounting Professionals directory of resources. American Accounting Professionals Official Resource Directory, the source of research for accounting information for accountants, CPA's and financial managers. The US Commerce Department estimates there are about 626,000 people working in the accounting business. At the core of practice is the maintenance of financial data files, analysis and interpretation of such data, and the preparation of reports based on this data. Today, the so-called Big Five firms dominate the business, with all other competitors far behind them in revenues.
Most firms increasingly do more than just accounting.
In recent years, they have beefed up their work in related areas, such as management consulting, tax services and strategic planning. In fact, the Big Five firms all make the greatest portion of their money now from management advisory services rather than accounting and auditing or tax services. Some of the earliest known writing discovered by archaeologists has, when translated, been found to be records of tax accounting. 3300 B.C. The fortunes have always been tied to the general fortunes of the business climate, and the US has experienced remarkable growth in the accounting field over the last couple decades. The largest firms today position themselves as global operations offering consulting and advisory services in addition to narrowly defined functions.