Asian growth drives revenue rise at Deloitte
BIG Four accounting firm Deloitte said it generated record global revenues of $31.3bn (£19.3bn) last year, as it enjoyed its fastest growth since 2008.
The firm said turnover grew 8.6 per cent in dollar terms in the 12 months to 31 May, compared to 8.4 per cent growth a year ago.
Deloitte credited this to nervous firms asking for more of its advice.
“Complexity, disruption, and speed of change are the new reality for our member firm clients, and for Deloitte’s own business,” said global chief executive Barry Salzberg.
Asia Pacific performed particularly strongly, with revenues growth accelerating to 16.3 per cent, while the pace of growth in the US slowed slightly to 9.1 per cent, from 9.9 per cent a year ago.
Deloitte said it continued to expand, hiring 51,400 people worldwide to lift its workforce to more than 193,000 and putting it on track to reach 250,000 by the 2015 fiscal year. The firm also made 30 acquisitions during the period.
“[I]t is of utmost importance that we stay ahead of the curve and develop our professionals so they are well equipped to serve clients,” said UK chief executive David Sproul.
Last month Deloitte’s UK arm posted an 11 per cent rise in revenue for the year to 31 May, bringing in a total of £2.3bn.
Profits distributable to the UK firm’s partners edged up to £569m, a 6.3 per cent increase on last year.
The strong results mirror those of rival PwC, which on Monday unveiled a 6.5 per cent rise in UK revenues.
The Big Four professional services firms have come under scrutiny from the Competition Commission for their dominance of the audit market, with the watchdog due to report its provisional findings next month. Deloitte audits 20 of the FTSE 100, and advises three quarters of the Fortune 500 in the States.