PwC reports double digit growth for second consecutive year

PWC has posted an 11% rise in fees to £3.44bn for the year ended 30 June 2016.

Profits at the UK’s biggest accountancy firm increased to £829m while average distributable profit per partner before tax was £706,000, down 5% from £740,000 last year as the overall number of equity partners increased to 926, from 885 last year.

All of PwC’s core businesses – assurance, tax, deals and consulting – delivered strong growth. Consulting fees increased 26% to £720m – enhanced by the integration of Strategy& – while assurance revenues grew by 8% to £1.24bn.

Kevin Ellis, chairman and senior partner, said: “We’ve had a strong year across all of our business areas. We’re seeing particularly high demand for our technology services, largely as a result of investment in targeted acquisitions.

“We have prioritised building market-leading teams to help our clients capitalise on market disrupters such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and cloud technology.”

PwC now employs over 21,000 people across its 64 offices in the UK, Channel Islands and Middle East and this year promoted a record 61 equity partners, taking the total number of equity partners to 926.

PwC has published its gender pay gap for the third year in a row, after becoming the first professional services firm to publicly publish its data in 2014. PwC’s gender pay gap for 2016 is 15.2%; 2.6% when adjusted by grade.

Last year PwC became the first major employer to drop UCAS points as graduate recruitment entry criteria, as a way to widen access to the firm. This has led to increased diversity amongst student applicants and recruits. In the firm’s latest student intake, 38% were first generation graduates, 73% attended state school, 14% came from homes eligible for income support and 9% were eligible for school meals.

More than 96,000 people applied for a job with PwC this year. The firm now employs more than 21,000 people and 926 partners across 64 offices in the UK, Channel Islands, and Middle East. This includes recruiting more than 1,600 graduates and school leavers, and more than 2,000 experienced professionals in the year.

Ellis continued: “We want to be the employer where people can reach their full potential, regardless of background, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation. We’ve made great progress but recognise that to create a truly diverse organisation we need to set ourselves stretching targets and hold ourselves accountable to drive real change.”