The Des Moines Accounting Landscape
Few metros of comparable size support as much accounting talent as Des Moines. The reason is structural. Iowa is home to major insurance carriers, a dense network of community banks, large agricultural cooperatives and a growing base of privately held manufacturers. Each of those sectors carries complex audit, tax and regulatory requirements, which sustains both national firm offices and a strong tier of regional and local practices.
For business owners, that depth is good news. It means genuine choice between global capability and hands-on partner attention, often at rates below what comparable service costs in larger cities.
Understanding What You Actually Need
Before evaluating firms, it helps to define the engagement. A company preparing for a first-time audit needs assurance expertise and industry familiarity. A family business planning ownership transition needs estate, valuation and succession planning. A fast-growing company may need outsourced controller services more than tax compliance. Matching the firm to the need prevents both overpaying for unnecessary scale and outgrowing a practice mid-engagement.
The Ten Best Accounting Firms in Des Moines
1. RSM US
RSM maintains a significant Des Moines presence and focuses squarely on the middle market. Its strength lies in serving companies large enough to need audit, international tax and transaction advisory support but not large enough to want a Big Four relationship. Insurance, financial services and manufacturing are core industry verticals, and the firm brings technology consulting alongside traditional assurance and tax work.
2. Eide Bailly
Eide Bailly combines regional roots with a broad service platform spanning audit, tax, wealth management, technology consulting and specialty areas such as research credits and cost segregation. In Des Moines it serves banks, dealerships, healthcare organizations, nonprofits and construction companies. Clients frequently cite responsiveness and industry-specific teams as differentiators.
3. BerganKDV
BerganKDV built its reputation in Iowa and Minnesota as a firm that pairs accounting with adjacent business services including payroll, technology support and wealth management. That integration appeals to closely held businesses that would rather consolidate vendors than coordinate several specialist providers. Its Des Moines office serves a wide cross-section of the local economy.
4. McGowen Hurst Clark and Smith
One of the largest locally owned firms in central Iowa, McGowen Hurst Clark and Smith has served the metro for decades. The practice covers audit, tax, business valuation, litigation support and consulting for privately held companies, nonprofits and employee benefit plans. Its scale allows technical depth while retaining direct partner involvement on most engagements.
5. LWBJ
LWBJ is known in the Des Moines market for advisory work that goes beyond compliance, including transaction support, valuation and outsourced financial leadership. Entrepreneurial companies and investor-backed businesses often engage the firm when they need CFO-level thinking without a full-time hire. The team is comfortable in deal environments, which is not true of every local practice.
6. Denman and Company
Denman and Company has served West Des Moines and the broader metro with a focus on closely held businesses, professional practices and individual tax planning. Clients value continuity of relationships and a practical, plain-language approach to tax strategy. For owner-operated businesses, that accessibility often matters more than a broad service menu.
7. Honkamp
Honkamp is one of the larger independent firms in the region, with strong service lines in tax planning, audit, outsourced accounting and industry specialties including construction, hospitality and dental practices. Its outsourced accounting group is a common choice for businesses that want monthly close discipline without building an internal team.
8. Schnurr and Company
Schnurr and Company serves small and midsize Des Moines businesses with tax, accounting and consulting services. The firm has built a durable reputation among local trades, retailers and professional service providers who want a long-term relationship with a partner who knows their history and understands seasonal cash flow realities.
9. Deloitte and the National Firm Offices
National firms including Deloitte and KPMG maintain Des Moines operations largely driven by the insurance and financial services concentration. For public companies, large carriers and organizations with complex regulatory reporting, these offices provide actuarial, statutory reporting and technical accounting resources that regional firms cannot match. The tradeoff is cost and less partner-level informality.
10. Specialty Agricultural and Cooperative Accounting Practices
Central Iowa supports a set of practices specializing in farm, cooperative and agribusiness accounting. These firms handle deferred grain contracts, patronage allocations, equipment depreciation strategy, farmland transitions and government program accounting. For producers and cooperatives, this specialization is worth far more than a larger general-practice firm.
How to Select the Right Firm
Start with industry experience and ask for specifics: how many clients in your sector, and who would actually staff the engagement. Confirm partner accessibility, since turnover in staff-level roles is common industry-wide and continuity typically lives at the partner and manager level. Clarify fee structure, particularly whether advisory conversations during the year are billed separately. And evaluate technology, since firms with modern document portals and cloud accounting expertise reduce administrative friction considerably.
Trends Reshaping Accounting Services
The profession is changing quickly. Automation has moved routine bookkeeping and reconciliation into software, shifting firm value toward interpretation and planning. Advisory services such as cash flow forecasting, pricing analysis and transaction readiness now grow faster than compliance work. Staffing shortages across the profession have pushed firms toward selective client acceptance, which means engaging a firm early in a growth cycle is easier than switching mid-crisis. And heightened attention to data security has made a firm technology posture a legitimate evaluation criterion.
Final Thoughts
Des Moines offers a strong accounting market with credible options at every scale. The best outcome usually comes from choosing based on industry fit and relationship quality rather than firm size alone. A partner who understands your sector, returns calls promptly and raises issues before deadlines is worth considerably more than a marginally lower hourly rate.