BDO Seidman prospers as $521m suit lingers

BDO Seidman, the US firm appealing against a $521m (£261m) damage claim, has posted a 12% increase in its revenues.

The firm said its had made $659m for the year ended 30 June, compared with $589m in the previous year, citing more activity in the areas of forensic services and anti-money laundering.

The revenue increase will come as a boost for the firm after Portuguese company Banco Espirito Santo successfully argued that BDO Seidman was negligent in its audits of factoring company Bankest, leading to the massive penalty.

BDO Seidman is currently in efforts to have the ruling overturned.

'BDO Consulting experienced especially strong growth driven by increased demand for the group’s anti-money laundering, e-discovery and other forensic services,' BDO Seidman chief executive Jack Weisbaum said.

Assurance and tax services also showed continued growth, at 7% and 11.2%, respectively. Assurance represents 62% of BDO Seidman’s business, the tax practice 23% and consulting 11% of revenue. The remaining 4% reflected other services such as real estate, wealth management and software sales, the company said.

'BDO Seidman’s positive operating results in the intervening time period is powerful evidence that the firm’s partners and clients believe the firm will ultimately prevail in reversing this verdict,' a spokesman added.

Further reading:

BDO International distances itself from $521m claim