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What Academic Research Says About Hours, Pay and Satisfaction with Dr. Ryan Dunn
Ep. 109August 13, 2026· 52 min

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

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.com Get in touch with me: Website: https://www.big4transparency.com/ Newsletter: https://big4transparency.beehiiv.com/ Email: dom@big4transparency.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/B4Transparency LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dopiscopo/ Book A Demo: https://calendly.com/dom-zgw/big-4-transparency-demo-referral