Investment of $1bn in automation and blockchain projects helped EY achieve record global revenues of $36.4bn in their 2019 report, showing the growing importance of technology in the profession.
These new projects have seen EY transform traditional services and launch new offerings of intelligent technologies and digital solutions, while also increasing the number of blockchain activities threefold.
Carmine Di Sibio, EY global chairman and CEO, says: “While the past year has seen a number of strains in the global economy – from trade tensions, protectionism and recession fears – we have achieved strong growth from our continued focus on long-term value creation using technology to transform traditional EY services and to launch new, innovative solutions.
“As a result, more EY clients are turning to us for both traditional and a newer range of services. EY clients see us as a strategic part of their wider ecosystem enabling their success in today’s marketplace.”
Technology investment paying off
In its report, the global accounting firm cited its use of artificial intelligence, specifically EY document intelligence, as a system that has allowed its teams to analyse business documents and contracts more efficiently.
Its document solution has also been moved to the cloud, reportedly reducing processing time by up to 90% while increasing accuracy by 25%. The firm plans to roll these technologies out on a wider scale.
Multi-million dollar investments in EY Blockchain Analyser, upgrading blockchain and cryptocurrency audit and tax services offered by the firm, is also being introduced to a selection of EY Assurance clients that hold or trade cryptocurrencies or operate in the blockchain market.
In addition, EY and Microsoft’s blockchain solution to manage content rights and royalties now processes 25,000 daily transactions and supports complex daily agreements, streaming rights and royalties management.
More than 120,000 EY employees and 250,000 of the firm’s clients use its audit platform, EY Canvas, are also being moved to the cloud to enable more efficient and effective working.
Changing demand for tech-driven services
Andy Baldwin, EY global managing Partner of client service, says: “As technological disruption reshapes economies, businesses and the future of work, the demand for the tech-driven compliance and consulting services we provide is changing.
“We are fully focused on using leading-edge technology, delivering high-quality services, making greater use of our strong portfolio of alliances and on developing our talented EY people to be the world’s most trusted, distinctive professional services organization.
“Over the coming financial year, we will continue to extract maximum value from our US$1b technology investment plan, ultimately delivering our purpose of building a better working world in this digital economy.”