PwC boosted by new reporting rules
Accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers made the most of new financial reporting rules to post a jump in annual turnover and profits today.
The strong performance generated another rise in the level of profits shared by the UK company’s 755 partners, up 17% to £468m (€694.8m) – at an average £620,000 (€920,400). Staff bonuses also increased during the year to June 30, up by 42% on a year earlier to £52m (€77.2m).
The driving force behind the 12% hike in turnover to £1.78bn (€2.6bn) came from its assurance business, where growth of 18% was generated in preparing firms for new accounting regulations – the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) – and Sarbanes-Oxley corporate governance rules in the United States.
The tax arm also returned to growth of 8% due to a greater focus on its chosen markets, an improved economy and a more settled regulatory environment.
PwC chairman Kieran Poynter said it had been a year of “great achievement and of real progress in all aspects of our business”.
He added: “In a buoyant marketplace we performed strongly across the board. IFRS and Sarbanes-Oxley dominated the reporting and regulatory landscape for many of our clients and gave rise to a surge of growth for our assurance business, though this is unlikely to be repeated.”
During the year PwC said it maintained its share of audit work for FTSE 100 Index companies at 42% while it also audited 33% of the top 100 largest privately-owned firms in the UK.
Among other areas of the business, PwC said performance improvement consulting achieved a 28% rise in turnover, but this was offset by a 6% decline in business recovery services – reflecting in part the benign UK economy.
The annual report also hailed the popularity of PwC as a place to work, with 95% of employees saying they were proud to work for the firm. It was also named the UK’s number-one graduate employer for the second year running.
