Baker Tilly
A top ten firm with network presence in 93 countries, despite controversy surrounding its audit of Sanctuary
Baker Tilly is the key member of Baker Tilly International, a network of
independent accountancy and business services firms, which ranks at number eight
among the global accountancy networks by fee income.
Internationally, it has presence through its 126 firms in 93 countries, with
a global aggregate fee income of US$2.3 billion and more than 21,900 staff.
The firm markets itself as one which is able to call upon member firms around
the world when needed to provide clients with local expertise in any overseas
marketplace, in an attempt to compete with the large well-known networks.
The UK’s seventh largest firm, with a fee income of £200m, has an active
programme of staff secondment and promotes the sharing of ideas across various
sectors ranging from healthcare and tax to IT and marketing.
The network runs several internal conferences where member firms meet and
share common experiences and ideas of best practice.
After being embroiled last year in an investigation relating to former client
Sanctuary, the firm was eventually vindicated after the probe by the regulator’s
Financial Reporting Review Panel found that prior-year adjustments to
Sanctuary’s 2005 accounts should have been presented ‘as a correction of
fundamental errors and not as changes in accounting policy’ – a point raised by
Baker Tilly when it qualified Sanctuary’s accounts.
In March, the firm sold its financial services arm and advisory to wealth
management company Towry for an undisclosed sum.
In April it became the last of the top ten firms to convert to LLP status,
often used as a means to protect against massive liability claims.
The firm opted for separate LLPs for its business divisions, with an LLP
above that for the firm as a whole and then a holding company above that. The
holding company could be used for either European mergers or for raising equity
capital.