Financial information provider Sageworks recently released a list of the most profitable industries over the past year, and accounting and tax preparation came out near the top.
The company analyzed the financial statements of thousands of privately held companies to discover which ones generated the most profit over the last 12 months. The company noted that private companies account for up to 70 percent of gross domestic profit and approximately 80 percent of new jobs.
The company found that on a pre-tax business, the most profitable industries were primarily service-based businesses. Those classified as providing “accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services” ranked fourth on the list, with an average pre-tax profit margin of 13.61 percent.
The only industries classified as more profitable were, in first place, those classified as providing “other financial investment activity,” which boasted a pre-tax profit margin of 16.26 percent on average. Dentists’ offices came in at second place, with a pre-tax profit margin of 13.84 percent, and “depository credit intermediation” businesses in third place, with a pre-tax profit margin of 13.63 percent. For the full list, check out the table below:
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