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The accounting profession runs on data — and two of the most relied-upon benchmarking surveys in the industry are the INSIDE Public Accounting Survey and the Rosenberg Survey.

In this episode, IPA’s Executive Director, Chelsea Summers, is joined by Kennedy Backer, Director of the Rosenberg Survey, to discuss:

• How the Rosenberg Survey began and what makes it unique
• The differences and complements between Rosenberg and IPA’s benchmarking data
• How firms are using data to make smarter strategic decisions
• Key findings from the 2025 report: growth rates, turnover trends, demographics and partner structures
• What defines an “elite firm” and how others can follow their example

Whether you lead a top 100 firm or a regional practice, this conversation shows how benchmarking can guide better leadership, smarter management and more sustainable growth.

Hi, and welcome back to the Inside Public Accounting podcast, where we bring you the numbers and the narratives inside the accounting profession. I'm your host, Chelsea Summers, Executive Director of Inside Public Accounting, where we've been benchmarking the accounting profession for more than three decades. Today, I'm so excited to be joined by someone who also lives in Breeze firm data, Kennedy Backer. She's the director of the Rosenberg survey. And the Rosenberg survey has become a widely used benchmarking resource for CPA firms.

And today we're gonna dig into how it complements what IPA does and why it's so valuable for firm leaders. Kennedy, welcome to the podcast today.

Hey, thanks, Chelsea. I'm so excited to be here.

So let's start with the basics on the Rosenberg survey. For those who may not be familiar, can you a quick overview of the survey and how it got started?

Yeah, sure. So the Rosenberg survey has been around for over 25 years. It was founded with the idea of helping firms benchmark themselves in a way that was practical and useful. Each year we collect data from hundreds of firms across the US and compile it into a report that looks at more than 80 metrics, things like partner compensation, leverage, turnover, billable hours, and profitability. What makes it unique is that we don't just

publish the raw numbers, we interpret them and provide context.

So our listeners will know the IP benchmarking survey well as we've been talking about the results of the 2025 surveys this fall in our various other podcasts. So let's talk about how the Rosenberg survey compares. Where are the differences between the two?

So the IPA

survey is unmatched in scope. You capture data from more than 600 firms and produce the annual IPA 500 rankings that are really the who's who of the profession. It's the best place to see the big picture landscape, who the largest firms are, where the profession is headed, and how the profession is evolving year by year. Well, the Rosenberg survey, on the other hand, is a narrower focus. We tend to work with the small to mid-size firms.

Generally in that 2 million to 20 million revenue range, though we also have firms that are larger than the 20 million who participate. Our emphasis is on analysis and application. We designed the report to be used as a management tool, something firms can take into their partner or chief staff planning meetings or strategic discussions and say, okay, how do we stack up and what should we do differently?

Hmm.

So seems like IPA is really the wide angle lens on the profession where Rosenberg is the zoom in tool.

Exactly. They're very complimentary. A lot of firms actually do use both IPA to understand their place in the larger profession and Rosenberg to kind of like dig into the operational side of managing the firm.

Makes sense. So in the Rosenberg report, you get perspectives from outside your group, correct? Consulting from the profession?

Yes. Yes, we do.

While the survey itself is based on hard data from practicing participating firms, one of the things that sets the Rosenberg survey apart is that we also include commentary and interpretation from consultants and thought leaders in the profession. These are the people who spend their days working with firms of all sizes. So they bring that outside perspective of

Here's what the numbers mean and here's how the firms are responding in practice. It adds another layer of context beyond just the averages because you get insight into why firms are performing the way they are and what strategies are driving success. So in addition to the benchmarks, firms get a bit of consultant's view right in the report, which makes it more practical for decision-making.

So give our listeners a little sneak peek. What consultants did you have that gave you information and context for the 2025 report?

Yeah, so we have Alan Colton, Jen Wilson, Tamara Lorzell, and Mark Rosenberg, who actually founded the Rosenberg Survey, and many, many more.

you

it. So let's talk about the audience for this report. Who is the Rosenberg survey designed for?

So the core audience is managing partners, firm administrators, and practice leaders at small to mid-size firms. Those firms often don't have a lot of internal data resources, so benchmarking against peers is especially valuable to them. But honestly, any firm that asks questions like, what's a fair partner buy-in right now? How are firms structuring comp models? What is a healthy staff to partner ratio? Those firms will definitely benefit.

So what I'm hearing is that it's not just getting data for curiosity or just wanting to say, I'm better than all of you guys. It's really tied directionally to the decisions that firms are wrestling with every day.

Exactly.

In firms, our size turnover is 11%. What are they doing differently that we're not? That sparks the conversation about things like career paths, compensation structures, and culture. And the same time is true for any other metric that we have, partner comp models, leverage, buy-ins, or even billing rates. It's not trivia. It's a tool leaders can use in their cheats and planning sessions or in conversation with their partners to say,

No.

Here's where we stand and here's where we need to move if we want to stay competitive. The data becomes the catalyst for action, not just information to skim through.

Interesting. So you mentioned the elite firms. Tell me more about what an elite firm is and what makes them unique. How do they get the elite moniker?

Yeah, so when we're talking about elite firms, we're talking about firms with income per partner over 800,000. While the average, yeah, while the average income per partner across all firms in the survey is around 608,000, but what makes them stand out is how they run. They've got the right leverage in the right places, they're strategic about growth, and they do a better job at keeping their people.

my gosh.

So yes, they are very profitable, but it's not just growth driving it, it's smart management and culture. And also these firms aren't necessarily the biggest firms either. Over half of these firms are under 20 million in revenue. Yeah.

So as

you're digging in the data for this year and you are completing the Rosenberg report, what are some of the top trends that you saw in the data?

Yeah.

So one of the big takeaways this year is that firms are still growing, but just not quite at the pace as we've seen in previous years. Revenue growth came in at 7.9%, which is still solid, but it is down from 10 % the year before. And the largest firms, those that are over 20 million, were leading the pack with close to 10 % growth, while smaller firms were still in that 6 to 8 % range. And mergers

played a role in this, representing almost 14 % of total growth, which is the highest we've seen in a while, actually. On the people side, turnover has really cooled off. It dropped to 11.1%, which is the lowest we've seen in years. But the flip side of that is billable hours keep kind of trending down. More than half the staff logged under 1,400 hours last year, compared to 30 % a few years ago.

Part of that is offshoring, but it's also firms being more intentional about keeping workloads sustainable.

Talk to me a little bit about what trends you're also seeing in demographics and partnerships. What does that look like there?

So we're also seeing some interesting shifts in partner structures and demographics. Buying amounts have dropped again, now averaging around 133,000, which honestly, it makes equity more attainable to those younger partners. Yeah, the average partner age is down a little bit to 52 and female partner representation continues to grow.

It's getting heavy in those smaller firms at 36%, but the larger firms are seeing 27 % right now. And then strategy really shows up in the numbers. Firms with those written strategic plans earned about 4.5 % more income per partner than those with a written marketing plan earning about 9 % more.

Great.

And firms that are leaning into advisory, especially investment advisory, are consistently outpacing those that are still heavily focused on assurance. So the profession is healthy, but the profitability is definitely evolving.

great insights there and a lot of parallels to the data that we were seeing in the IPA survey as well. So Kennedy, this has been a really helpful conversation to dig into the Rosenberg survey. Where can our listeners go if they want to learn more?

Definitely.

And what if the firms didn't participate this year but want to get their data in next year? Maybe they think, ⁓ we could be an elite firm or we want to use the zoom in tool to really see how our firm is doing. How do they get involved next year?

Yeah, so the best way to make sure you're included is to reach out to info at Rosenbergsurvey.com and ask to be added to our launch list. That way your firm will get all the information you need as soon as the new survey cycle begins. We open the data collection period in early February and keep it open through mid-June. Firms will receive an email from me with a secure link to complete the survey.

That's really helpful. What about firms that are new to benchmarking? Maybe they've never participated in a survey like this before. What advice would you give them in their participation?

Yeah, so start with curiosity. You don't need to have every metric figured out. Just gathering the data for the survey often reveals insights. Then once you see the results, use them as a springboard for conversation. Where are we strong? Where are we behind? And what can we learn from other firms like us?

Thanks so much for joining me today. And thank you to everyone that's tuning in to the Inside Public Accounting podcast. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss future conversations on benchmarking and building stronger, smarter firms. Make sure you like, give us a review. If you have any thoughts for other topics you'd like to see, please reach out. You can connect with me on LinkedIn or visit our website. And until next time, thanks so much.

Yeah, thank you, Chelsea. It's been great.