AEO Rankings · Finance

AEO for accounting advisory firms: AI search visibility ranking

By monitoraeo Last updated August 01, 2026 Refreshed every 30 days

How AI search engines rank accounting advisory firms by visibility and citations. 20 brands measured monthly across Google AI Mode: which brands the AI names in answers, which domains it cites as sources, and how the leaders compare. Accounting advisory firms helping companies with technical accounting, transaction support, IPO readiness, finance transformation, and complex reporting matters. Composite score: 70% visibility (% of AI answers naming the brand) + 30% citation rate (% citing the brand's domain). Full methodology →

Avg visibility across category

Avg citation rate

20/20

Brands successfully audited

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When buyers inquire about Accounting advisory firms, AI engines commonly point to RSM as the leader, with a visibility of 12.5 percent. KPMG and PwC rank prominently as well, offering stiff competition. These brands consistently emerge due to their strong presence in authoritative answers provided by AI engines.

The rankings are influenced by the sources heavily cited by AI engines. Websites like vault.com and aoneoutsourcing.com lead the way, serving as aggregators and review platforms. Their comprehensive data collection and expert validation shape the visibility of these brands, making them principal reference points for AI logic.

For buyers evaluating this list, it's crucial to consider brands that AI engines frequently reference based on recent reviews and third-party validation. The focus on authoritative sources and topical expertise can guide buyers toward firms like RSM, which excel in specific subcategories of Accounting advisory services.

At a glance

Category leader RSM 12% visibility · named in 1 of 8 AI answers

Most cited brand RSM 12% citation rate · the AI's most-trusted source brand in accounting advisory firms

Top cited domain vault.com Referenced by AI across the accounting advisory firms query set — the highest-leverage PR target in this category

Visibility spread 12pp Gap between top and bottom of the ranking · 13 brands at 0% (invisible to the AI)

What we observed in this category

RSM leads the accounting advisory firms category with a composite score of 12.5, the only brand to combine full visibility (12.5%) with an actual citation rate (12.5%). Every other brand with visibility sits at a composite of 8.8, meaning RSM's citation advantage creates a measurable separation at the top. The category average visibility is just 4.4%, so the seven brands clustered at 12.5% visibility are each performing nearly three times the average, while the bottom half of the 20 tracked brands register zero.

A sharp divergence exists between being named and being cited. KPMG, PwC, Deloitte, Baker Tilly, BDO, and Grant Thornton all appear in AI responses at 12.5% visibility but carry a 0.0% citation rate. RSM is the sole brand Google AI Mode treats as a trusted source worth linking, not just mentioning. The category average citation rate is only 0.6%, confirming that AI naming a firm and AI directing users to a firm's content are almost entirely disconnected behaviors in this space.

The top cited sources in this category are dominated by third-party and aggregator domains: vault.com, clutch.co, linkedin.com, and youtube.com, alongside niche sites like aoneoutsourcing.com and casebasix.com. Google AI Mode is anchoring its citations on external rankings and review platforms rather than on the advisory firms' own domains. RSM is the only brand whose own domain earns citation credit, suggesting its content strategy is closer to what the AI engine treats as authoritative than its peers.

Movers & shakers since last refresh

Biggest visibility risers

RSM 0% → 12% · rank #19 → #1
+12pp
Baker Tilly 0% → 12% · rank #8 → #5
+12pp
BDO 0% → 12% · rank #18 → #6
+12pp

The AEO ranking

#	Brand	Visibility	Citation	Top engine
1	RSM rsmus.com	12%	12%	Google AI Mode
RSM is the only brand matching visibility (12.5%) with citation (12.5%), giving it a composite score of 12.5 versus 8.8 for all other visible peers.
2	KPMG kpmg.com	12%	0%	Google AI Mode
KPMG shares the 12.5% visibility mark with six other brands but holds a 0.0% citation rate, leaving its composite at 8.8 and below RSM.
3	PwC pwc.com	12%	0%	Google AI Mode
PwC matches KPMG exactly with 12.5% visibility and 0.0% citations, producing an identical 8.8 composite and no differentiation from mid-tier competitors.
4	Deloitte deloitte.com	12%	0%	Google AI Mode
Deloitte, despite its global scale, scores 8.8 composite with zero citations, identical to Baker Tilly and BDO, showing no AI citation advantage over smaller rivals.
5	Baker Tilly bakertilly.com	12%	0%	Google AI Mode
Baker Tilly rose from rank 8 to rank 5 with a visibility delta of 12.5%, but its 0.0% citation rate keeps its composite at 8.8, the same as larger Big Four firms.
6	BDO bdo.com	12%	0%	Google AI Mode
7	Grant Thornton grantthornton.com	12%	0%	Google AI Mode
8	CohnReznick cohnreznick.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
9	Armanino armanino.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
10	Plante Moran plantemoran.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
11	Forvis Mazars forvismazars.us	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
12	Marcum marcumllp.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
13	EisnerAmper eisneramper.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
14	Crowe crowe.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
15	CFGI cfgi.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
16	CrossCountry Consulting crosscountry-consulting.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
17	Connor Group connorgp.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
18	Riveron riveron.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
19	Accordion accordion.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode
20	Moss Adams mossadams.com	0%	0%	Google AI Mode

Sources AI engines trust in this category

Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on accounting advisory firms, these are the domains Google AI Mode cited most often. If you're not on this list — or if your competitors are — that's a concrete PR / linkbuilding target.

vault.comaoneoutsourcing.comcloudvara.comyoutube.comcasebasix.comlinkedin.commiamiherald.comclutch.co

How to read this AEO ranking

Four things worth knowing before you act on the numbers above. These are the same definitions across every industry page — for category-specific observations, see the What we observed section above (where available) and the per-brand insights inline in the ranking.

Visibility = being named

A brand's visibility % is the share of AI answers that mention it by name in the response prose. This is who AI engines actively recommend to the buyer. More on visibility →

Citation rate = being trusted

Citation rate is the share of AI answers that include the brand's domain as a clickable source link. This is what the AI treats as authoritative evidence, different from being named. More on citation rate →

Top engine differs by brand

The "top engine" column shows which AI surface each brand performs best on. Big gaps between a brand's score across engines usually points to specific content or schema gaps. How AI engines pick sources →

AEO rankings move month to month

AI engines re-crawl and re-rank on shorter cycles than classical search. We re-audit every brand on this list at least every 30 days and refresh this page automatically. How AI search ranking works →

Run an AEO audit on your own accounting advisory firms brand

The brands above were curated from public market-leader lists. Want the same answer engine optimisation measurement against your own brand — including the queries you appear on, which competitors get named instead, and a prioritised fix list? Run a free preview.

Audit your accounting advisory firms brand → Browse all AEO rankings Methodology →

Frequently asked about AEO for accounting advisory firms

Who leads AI visibility in accounting advisory firms?

RSM leads with a composite score of 12.5, the only brand combining 12.5% visibility with a 12.5% citation rate. All other visible brands score 8.8 due to zero citations.

What sources does Google AI Mode cite most for accounting advisory research?

Google AI Mode anchors citations on third-party sites including vault.com, clutch.co, linkedin.com, and youtube.com rather than the advisory firms' own domains.

Which accounting advisory brands have zero AI visibility?

CohnReznick, Armanino, and Plante Moran each show 0.0% visibility and 0.0% citation rate, placing them among the brands with no presence in AI-generated responses.

How does citation rate compare to visibility rate across this category?

The category average visibility is 4.4% but the average citation rate is only 0.6%, confirming that AI regularly names firms without citing their content as a source.

Which brands saw the biggest AI visibility gains recently?

RSM jumped from rank 19 to rank 1 with a visibility delta of 12.5%, while BDO rose 12 places and Baker Tilly rose 3 places, both also gaining 12.5% in visibility.

Do the Big Four accounting firms dominate AI citation in this category?

No. KPMG, PwC, and Deloitte all carry 0.0% citation rates, the same as mid-market firms like Baker Tilly and BDO, and all rank below RSM on composite score.