BDO Stoy Hayward joins trend to open the books

BDO Stoy Hayward has joined the trend towards openness in the industry by publishing its maiden annual statement.

“In broad terms this reflects the way the profession is changing. Being more open with clients is only going to be more beneficial,” said Adrian Martin, managing partner at BDO Stoy Hayward. “Many people don’t understand how partnerships are funded. In tenders people are asking about the financial security of the business – as buyers become more sophisticated they want more information on which to base a purchase decision.”

The firm saw its UK fees grow by 4.8 per cent to #100.3m during the year to 31 March 1996. In East Anglia and Northern Ireland fee-income growth was over 15 per cent. Consultancy fee income in the UK dropped by 1.6 per cent to #6.6m at the end of the year.

“The drop is just a reflection of the competitive environment,” said Martin. “Hotel, leisure and tourism, the public sector and franchising are quite strong areas for us. But we were building up a Business Performance Improvement unit, along the lines of BPR and that’s been the weakest unit.”

Corporate finance grew from #4.1m in 1995 to #5.4m in 1996; taxation was up from #20.1m to #22.5m and audit and accountancy grew by 1.4 per cent to #50.4m. At the end of March 1996 equity partners’ average earnings grew by 6 per cent to #92,000.

“We are forecasting a modest growth for the next year. With the election looming tax services are much in demand,” said Martin. “Growth will depend on the economy. That’s quite buoyant, particularly in the South East, which has taken a while to catch up.”