EY break £2bn fee income barrier with strong tax growth
Tax services around transactions proves lucrative for Big Four firm EY
THE £2BN REVENUE BARRIER has been broken by EY.
The Big Four firm has seen 8% growth in its fee income for the y/e 3 July 2015, up from £1.9bn. More than 4,500 people were recruited by the firm in 2014/15, with 95 new equity partners joining – of which more than a third were women.
Distributable profits climbed 6% to £437m, from £412m. Average distributable profit per partner fell to £7000,000, from £727,000.
Steve Varley, EY UK chairman, said: “I am very proud of the jobs that we have created this year, especially as we continue to provide more opportunities for school leavers as well as experienced hires and new graduates.”
The firm has refurbished most of its 21 offices, including the opening of a new site in Canary Wharf.
Assurance revenues grew 6.4% to £585m, which included new audit clients such as the BBC, Co-operative Bank, Sainsbury’s and Royal Dutch Shell. Financial accounting and forensic services also drove growth in the division.
Advisory grew 4.5% to £584m, while there was double-digit growth in transaction advisory services (to £324m). Tax climbed 10% to £517m, with private equity and corporate transactions aiding its improved performance.
Strong sectors included financial services, insurance, and wealth and asset management. Digital services are predicted to be a big growth area for the firm in 2016.
Varley said: “We had several fantastic audit wins in FY15, which not only reflect our continued investment in improving quality but also the significant investment we have made into digital analytics and real-time assurance. We continue to invest in the same areas as last year – fraud investigation technology, corporate integrity and cyber security.”
He added that he was “very positive” about the UK economy’s health, which he believed would help drive the business forward.
“We are seeing an increased demand from our clients for our services to help them drive growth and trade in both the UK and internationally.”
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The firm currently sits fourth in the Accountancy Age Top 50+50 survey of firms, sponsored by Wolters Kluwer.