Seventy-four of the IPA Top 100 firms report double-digit growth and 23 of those firms report growth over 20 percent.

The cut-off point to be included in the list also is growing quickly. Revenue at the 100th-largest firm in the 2007 IPA Top 100 was $25.5 million, compared to $19.9 million for the 100th-largest firm just two years ago (2005).

The list is ranked by U.S. net revenue. The Big Four firms take the top four spots on the list -- Deloitte & Touche settled at number one with a 12 percent increase, followed by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, and KPMG.

"The fundamentals for the profession are strong – client demand for services is at an all-time high, and value for CPA services is being recognized now more than ever," said Michael Platt, consultant and publisher of IPA. "Whether these changes represent a seismic shift in the basic infrastructure of the profession or just a cyclical ‘good run' still remains to be seen."

Seven of the top 10 fastest-growing firms are located in California and Colorado, with growth rates above 30 percent. Net income for these firms is up an average of 38 percent, more than twice the growth rate of their peers in the IPA Top 100, with average partner compensation of partners in these seven firms 45 percent higher than their peers on the list.

Other findings:

• During the past seven years, IPA Top 100 Partner Charge Hours have dropped almost 8 percent, from an average of 1,187 per year in the beginning of the decade to 1,094 in 2006-2007.
• During that same period, IPA Top 100 average partner compensation has risen more than 50 percent, from $305,000 in 2001 to $461,272 in 2006-2007.
• Net fees per charge hour (realized average billing rate) have risen over 35 percent in those same seven years, with an average $161.31 per hour for IPA 100 firms this year.

The complete list is available at http://www.plattgroupllc.com/top100_2007.pdf