Insider Files

Three accounting firms appear on Fortune's 2006 list of the nation's 100 best companies to work. Plante & Moran, based in Southfield, Mich., ranked No. 12 on the list, up from No. 41 last year, and reports voluntary turnover of 14%. Women make up 56% of its work force, and minorities make up 5%.

T^e firm received 6,000 applicants last year and added 102 jobs, a 9% increase in job growth. The most common job is auditor, with average annual pay of $65,000. Ernst & Young ranked No. 67, up from No. 80 last year. Its work force is 49% female and 24% minorities. Voluntary turnover is 24%. The firm receives 298,870 applicants per year and opened 1,059 new jobs, an increase of 5%. The most common job is senior, and the job's average annual pay is $61,905. Pricewaterhouse-Coopers ranked No. 71, up from No. 82 last year. Voluntary turn-over is 13%. Its work force is 48% women and 24% minorities. PwC had 283,374 job applicants last year, and 2,583 new jobs were created, an increase of 11%. The most common job is manager/ supervisor, with average annual pay at $83,334.

Good news for firms that recruit at DePaul University: The Chicago school reports a 37% increase in undergraduate accounting majors for 2005-06 over last year. Accountancy is now the third mostpopular major, running behind psychology and communications. Ray Whittington, interim dean of DePaul's College of Commerce, attributes the increase to corporate scandals of recent years and additional job and salary opportunities created by the SarbanesOxley Act of 2002. The increase in accounting majors is part of a three-year trend, he added. DePaul enrolled 619 undergraduate accountancy students in fall of 2005, 451 in 2004, and 361 in 2003. Nationally, enrollments in accounting bachelors degree programs increased 19% between 2000 and 2004, according to the AICPA. The number of students earning bachelors degrees in accountancy grew to 40,400 in 2004, a 9% increase over the year before. Accountancy graduate hiring increased 17%percent in 2004, according to AICPA. Twenty-one of the 25 largest firms in Chicago recruit at DePaul.