Top 60 Survey 2013

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It was quite a ride for the UK’s top 60 accountancy fi rms in 2012. Mergers, collapses and redundancies fi gured large in the headlines, but so did revenue growth, rising profi tability and the

enticing prospect of increased competition.The headline fi gure is straightforward – in

2012, the 60 largest accountancy fi rms by fee income saw their combined revenue almost push through the £11bn barrier after growing 7.9% compared to their 2011 revenues.

Of course, the lion’s share of fee income resides in the four largest fi rms – PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and Ernst & Young. Between them they earned £8.35bn in fees during 2012, an increase of 9.6% on the previous year. Contrast this with the next six in the league table, the largest mid-tier fi rms – Grant Thornton, BDO, RSM Tenon, Smith & Williamson, Baker Tilly and Moore Stephens. Collectively, they saw barely any increase to reach a combined fee income of £1.39bn.

The next 10 fi rms, ranked 11 to 20, fared marginally better – taken together, these fi rms saw their revenue increase by 3.8% to hit £608m. In this pack that completes the UK’s top 20 fi rms, there were however, some standout performances – Crowe Clark Whitehill experienced 14% growth while Saffery Champness witnessed a near 10% jump in fee income, helped by 15% growth in its tax business.

But, against the backdrop of continuing competition investigations, the year will perhaps be best remembered by two events

– the troubles at RSM Tenon at the beginning of the year, and the merger between BDO and PKF confi rmed in December 2012.

RSM Tenon lost both its chairman Bob Morton and chief executive Andy Raynor in January after the fi rm said it would need to restate its accounts, an adjustment that ultimately reduced the previous year’s pre-tax profi t by £12.1m. Chris Merry came on board last February as the fi rm’s new chief executive to steady the ship – he set about cutting £20m in annual costs and sold the fi rm’s personal insolvency division to Grant Thornton.

At the time, new chairman Tim Ingram said, somewhat understatedly: ‘The last year has been a really tough one for everyone at RSM Tenon.’ By the end of 2012, Merry was able to say that the fi rm continued to make progress in returning to profi tability, but there can be little doubt that the troubles of the past year have been a humbling experience for the only accountancy fi rm listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONSBut while RSM Tenon was going through its very public traumas, two other fi rms were privately looking to come together. Rumours surfaced in the summer that BDO and PKF were set to tie the knot, a move confi rmed by both sides in November. The merger of the two fi rms effectively creates a near £400m turnover fi rm under the banner of the larger partner BDO. The PKF name will go as a result in the UK.

BOOM AND BUSTDespite a troubled year for

clients, total fee income is up and a number of M&As are

beginning to reshape the mid-tier. By Philip Smith


Just bulking up with smaller audit clients doesn’t feel particularly attractive to us

Scott Barnes, managing partner, Grant Thornton

We are not in the position where we need to merge to survive; we are looking for opportunities to grow our business through hires, mergers, acquisitions

Nick Bennett, managing partner, Scott-Moncrief

There are undoubtedly a lot of unsettled, talented people who are uncertain of their fi rms’ strategies

Peter Gillman, managing partner, Price Bailey

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BDO managing partner Simon Michaels boldly claims this will be the start of a long-overdue period of consolidation in the mid-tier market. ‘We were both keen to lead the way,’ he says, ‘and do it from a position of strength. This will give us fi rst mover advantage and a degree of momentum that other mid-tier fi rms won’t be able to achieve other than by acquisition.’

The move has prompted speculation that other fi rms will get together. Scott Barnes, managing partner for Grant Thornton, says there could be other mergers, ‘but we are not looking at anything right now, though if something attractive presented itself we would look at it’. However, Barnes adds that his fi rm would probably be looking for smaller boutique advisory fi rms. ‘Just bulking up with smaller audit clients doesn’t feel particularly attractive to us,’ he says.

That is not to say there have not been some

tentative conversations taking place among the fi rms. As Andrew Pianca, managing partner for Crowe Clark Whitehill says: ‘Partners and chief executives do talk to each other from time to time, but I certainly have no fi rms of any size that I’m having any discussion with at the moment, nor any plans to do so.’

However, Pianca does believe there will be two or three more mergers in the not-too-distant future, stressing that while his fi rm continues to maintain double-digit growth, there is no need to seek a merger partner, though he accepts that such growth does make the fi rm attractive to others. ‘I’ve certainly had a few phone calls,’ he says, ‘but nothing I’m following up.’

Certainly, there has been some merger activity further down the table – for instance, Scotland-based Johnston Carmichael (ranked 21st, £29.6m) recently combined with Aberdeen-based Ritson Smith to signifi cantly bolster

Fee income:

Audit and assurance

Tax

Consulting and corporate finance

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

£m

PwC Deloitte KPMG Ernst & Young

2,3312,461

2,621

1,5981,703

2,118

1,2051,329

1,774

1,072 1,186

1,631

2010 2011 2012 2010 2011 2012 2010 2011 2012 2010 2011 2012


This will give us fi rst mover advantage and a degree of momentum that other mid-tier fi rms won’t be able to achieve other than by acquisition

Simon Michaels, managing partner, BDO

This is the highest [growth] rate for six years, and we are really pleased about that, especially in these tough economic times

Steve Varley, UK managing partner, Ernst & Young

We have emphasised the importance of doing more than just being a tax accountant to our clients. This has supported a growth in our retention fi gures

Simon Dolan, managing director, SJD Accountancy

I certainly have no fi rms of any size that I’m having any discussion with at the moment, nor any plans to do so

Andrew Pianca, managing partner, Crowe Clark Whitehill

BIG FOUR

FEES BY SERVICE LINE

10

Total fee income for the

Top 60 in 2011/12 was £10.9bn; recording

7% annual growth

£10.97bn

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10claiming that there was not a great degree of overlap between the two organisations.

And indeed, across the sector, it would appear that despite the current economic diffi culties faced by many clients, the Top 60 has actually grown the number of staff employed. More than 38,000 people are now employed by these 60 fi rms, up from last year’s 36,300, with 3,820 partners, up from last year’s 3,687.

The number of trainees is also on the up – now more than 13,000 individuals are being trained by the fi rms, compared to around 12,300 last year. In this respect, the sector is looking remarkably healthy.

UNDERLYING GROWTHSo what is driving this underlying growth in fees and people? Steve Varley, UK managing partner at E&Y, has seen the fi rm’s fee income grow more than 11% over the past year, with

its presence in the north east of Scotland. The move will almost certainly see Johnston Carmichael move into the top 20 in 2013, with more than 500 staff in 12 locations.

Peter Gillman, managing partner at Price Bailey (29th, £19.3m) puts about 50% of his fi rm’s recent growth down to acquisition, the most recent of which was a practice in Mayfair, London, which furthered the reach of the East Anglian practice. But Gillman also sees opportunities to attract disaffected partners and staff from other fi rms. ‘There are undoubtedly a lot of unsettled, talented people in other fi rms and I am constantly having informal meetings with people… who are uncertain of their fi rms’ strategies.’

It is a similar story at Edinburgh and Glasgow-based Scott-Moncrief (47th, £11.3m) – managing partner Nick Bennett believes there will be more consolidation in the sector, but notes that often such mergers are driven from London.

‘People in the smaller offi ces could feel disgruntled, and there could well be some disgruntled clients as well,’ Bennett says. ‘We are not in the position where we need to merge to survive; we are looking for opportunities to grow our business through hires, mergers [and] acquisitions of good quality smaller practices, but we will only do it if the opportunity is going to be benefi cial to all parties.’

EMPLOYMENT PROSPECTSJob losses are a constant fear in the sector – RSM Tenon cut staff numbers as a result of its diffi culties during the year, but other fi rms such as KPMG and Mazars have also appeared in the redundancy spotlight. KPMG reduced its non-partner headcount by 3% in 2012, with 275 individuals losing their jobs across the fi rm, while Mazars made around 5% of its workforce redundant, including a limited number of partners, towards the end of 2012.

In the case of the BDO/PKF merger, both Michaels and Martin Goodchild, managing partner at PKF, maintained that there would be no redundancies as a result of their merger,

INCOME BY SERVICE LINE

AUDIT AND ACCOUNTINGTOP 60

TOTAL INCOME OF TOP 60 FIRMS

6

7

8

9

10

11

£bn

2007 2011201020092008

10.33

8.809.36

9.92 9.82

10.97

2012


top 60 survey BRIEFING january 2013 accountancy

The majority of fee income is

earnt by the Big Four, with £8.35bn in revenues,

accounting for 76% of annual earnings across

the Top 60 fi rms

£8.35bn

-12

-9

-6

-3

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6

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5

6

7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Rank2012 (2011)

Firm £m2012

£m2011

%change

1 (1) PwC 963.0 909.0 5.94

2 (2) Deloitte1 663.0 652.0 1.69

3 (4) Ernst & Young 478.0 444.0 7.66

4 (3) KPMG2 469.0 456.0 2.85

5 (5) Grant Thornton3 120.0 134.4 -10.71

6 (6) BDO4 96.0 91.1 5.38

7 (7) Baker Tilly 77.2 84.0 -8.10

8 (8=) Mazars7 68.8 70.0 -1.71

9 (8=) RSM Tenon5 62.0 70.0 -11.43

10 (10) Moore Stephens UK 57.0 60.6 -5.94

11 (11) PKF (UK)8 45.7 45.6 0.22

12 (12) Crowe Clark Whitehill10 33.1 30.6 8.17

13 (13) Haines Watts Group9 31.5 29.2 7.88

14 (15) UHY Hacker Young11 25.7 22.4 14.51

15 (14) Kingston Smith 23.5 22.7 3.52

16 (16) Smith & Williamson6 22.2 21.9 1.37

17 (17) Saffery Champness 17.4 17.2 1.22

18 (18) Wilkins Kennedy 16.7 15.9 5.03

19 (19) Chantrey Vellacott DFK 12.0 11.7 2.56

20 (20) MHA MacIntyre Hudson 11.0 10.1 8.91

Total 3,292.8 3,198.4 2.95

Footnotes: see page 14

% change

11


11

11

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11growth across the board. ‘This is the highest rate for six years, and we are really pleased about that, especially in these tough economic times.’ He puts a large amount of it down to the fi rm’s international work, recounting how, in the space of two weeks he travelled to New York, back to London and then on to several cities in China with his top management team for meetings with clients and the government.

‘In the UK, we are making sure that our clients don’t view us as a domestic fi rm,’ Varley adds. ‘We spend a good deal of time thinking through how we can help, for instance, British companies wanting to break into India, and we will provide workshops on culture, tax issues, employment law.’

At a sector level, Varley points to fi nancial services, oil and gas, and consumer products as particularly vibrant areas for the fi rm, the latter again in part

driven by the need for the fi rm’s clients to do business with emerging markets.

The 8% growth in the fi rm’s audit and accounting services covers the increasing workload in fraud investigation and disputes work, but Varley maintains that the core audit service is still going well. ‘We are seeing a fl ight to quality,’ he says. This has come despite questions raised over the quality of the Big Four’s work, with the ever-present spectre of litigation and regulatory intervention by UK competition authorities and the EU.

Grant Thornton, which has seen its fee income grow nearly 11% as well over the last year, experienced a dip in its audit fee income, but saw signifi cant growth in corporate restructuring and corporate fi nance.

‘The core audit and tax business was broadly the same as last year, which in this market is a good result, but the growth has really come from certain elements of the corporate recovery practice, especially the IVA [Individual Voluntary Arrangement] business as well as the complex insolvency business which also had a good year,’ Barnes says. The fi rm’s corporate fi nance business has also grown, in part helped by a few big deals and it has also invested heavily in its fi nancial services advisory business. ‘It can be quite a volatile part of the business.’

Barnes expects this growth to continue into the new fi nancial year, saying that the fi rm’s fi rst quarter fi gures suggest a good result for the top line.

The bottom line is looking healthy for many fi rms as well, though some have seen a notable dip in profi ts. RSM Tenon is the obvious example of the latter, which saw its profi t fi gures fall into negative territory, while fellow listed accountancy fi rm Begbies Traynor, also saw a dip in profi ts.

During 2012, Begbies disposed of its tax, offshore and ‘red fl ag’ corporate warning businesses while attacking its cost base. In a trading statement in October, Ric Traynor, executive chairman of Begbies, said: ‘Having successfully reshaped the group over 12

INCOME BY SERVICE LINE

TAXBIG FOUR

PRE-TAX PROFIT AND PARTNERS

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

Pre-tax profit £m Partners

3,029

2,231

1,948

2,717

+4.8% +0.9%

2,598

2,010

+4.6%-3.0%

201020112012


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-30

-25

-20

-15

-10

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20

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18 19 20

Rank2012 (2011)

Firm £m2012

£m2011

% change

1 (1) PwC 659.0 645.0 2.17

2 (2) Deloitte1 529.0 534.0 -0.94

3 (4) Ernst & Young 431.0 372.0 15.86

4 (3) KPMG2 380.0 392.0 -3.06

5 (5) Grant Thornton3 91.9 91.7 0.22

6 (6) BDO4 80.0 80.5 -0.62

7 (8) Baker Tilly 46.0 51.0 -9.80

8 (7) RSM Tenon5 35.0 57.0 -38.60

9 (10) Smith & Williamson6 34.0 31.8 6.92

10 (9) PKF (UK)8 21.7 22.4 -3.13

11 (13) Haines Watts Group9 21.0 18.9 11.11

12 (12) Moore Stephens UK 20.5 24.2 -15.29

13 (11) Mazars7 19.5 25.1 -22.31

14 (15) Saffery Champness 14.2 12.4 14.68

15 (14) Crowe Clark Whitehill10 14.0 13.2 6.06

16 (18) UHY Hacker Young11 10.2 9.4 7.98

17 (17) MHA MacIntyre Hudson 9.6 10.1 -4.65

18 (19) Chantrey Vellacott DFK 7.8 7.8 0.00

19 (-) Wilkins Kennedy12 5.9 5.6 5.36

20 (-) Kingston Smith 5.4 5.0 8.00

Total 2435.7 2409.1 1.10


% change

12


12

12

12

12

the last year, we remain committed to growing our cash-generative and profi table business, both organically and through carefully targeted acquisitions which enhance this core business.’

But for every fi rm that saw a fall in profi ts there were others that experienced a rise. SJD Accountancy, a fi rm that specialises in advising contractors and freelance professionals, continues to report increasing profi ts, perhaps benefi ting from the ever-increasing number of self-employed people in the UK economy.

Managing director Simon Dolan puts the success down to growing the number of clients while retaining existing ones. ‘We’ve refocused our efforts on what our clients want,’ he says, adding that research suggested their clients wanted someone they could not only talk to about their tax situation but also someone who could review business plans and objectives.

‘We’ve always provided dedicated accountants but for the last year and a half we have emphasised internally within SJD the importance of doing more than just being a tax accountant to our clients,’ Dolan says. ‘This has worked well and hopefully supported a growth in our retention fi gures.’

Gillman echoes this view. ‘You need to keep

the clients you have got,’ he says, adding: ‘Client care is at the top of the agenda.’

Of course, the elephant in the room that has cast a shadow over the sector during 2012, especially at the top end, has been the Competition Commission’s review of the audit market, together with the legislative battle taking place in Brussels. This issue is set to rumble on in 2013, and the fi rms, outwardly at least, are starting to sound sanguine on the debate.

‘We are looking forward to getting back to client focus,’ says Varley, while Barnes says he continues to watch with interest. ‘There is mood music around change,’ says Barnes, predicting a particular shift in advisory work in the direction of the mid-tier fi rms. ‘In that capacity, we are now working for 39 of the FTSE 100 companies,’ he says.

Barnes has seen an increase in the number of audits coming up for tender, particularly among FTSE 250 companies. ‘Once there is a tipping point, then we may see some real change,’ he says.

Watch out for the Top 60 fi rms trainees survey in Accountancy, February 2013


PARTNER VALUE

INCOME AND PROFIT 2012 (2011)

Rank Firm Fees (£m) Pre-tax profi t (£m)

Partners Fee/partner ratio (£000s)

1 (1) PwC 2,621.0 (2,461.0) 727.0 (667.0) 872 (905) 3,006 (2,719)

2 (2) Deloitte1 2,329.0 (2,098.0) 560.0 (535.0) 991 (953) 2,350 (2,972)

3 (3) KPMG2 1,774.0 (1,707.0) 349.0 (396.0) 617 (579) 2,888 (2,950)

4 (4) Ernst & Young 1,631.0 (1,465.0) 358.0 (350.0) 549 (527) 2,971 (2,780)

5 (5) Grant Thornton3 417.1 (377.0) 76.0 (75.2) 202 (211) 2,065 (1,787)

6 (6) BDO4 283.0 (284.7) 51.2 (62.2) 196 (198) 1,444 (1,437)

7 (7) RSM Tenon5 208.0 (228.0) -9.0 (27.0) 225 (279) 924 (892)

8 (9) Smith & Williamson6 179.1 (170.4) 27.9 (21.6) 254 (227) 705 (755)

14 (15) Crowe Clark Whitehill10 59.3 (52.1) 15.1 (14.0) 72 (80) 824 (651)

15 (13) Begbies Traynor Group 57.7 (60.6) 6.9 (8.5) 81 (87) 713 (707)

19 (19) MHA MacIntyre Hudson 35.2 (32.4) 9.8 (10.0) 42 (42) 838 (771)

23 (20) Menzies 28.5 (28.6) 8.5 (7.7) 34 (35) 839 (820)

25 (29) Francis Clark 22.1 (17.20 7.5 (5.3) 44 (33) 502 (512)

28 (25) Reeves & Co 20.3 (20.1) 5.9 (6.2) 39 (41) 521 (595)

29 (30) Price Bailey 19.3 (16.4) 4.2 (3.8) 22 (22) 877 (754)

30 (27) Frank Hirth 19.0 (17.1) n/a (1.3) 17 (16) 1,116 (1,069)

32 (37) SJD Accountancy 17.6 (14.0) 7.6 (6.5) 1 (1) n/a (n/a)

38 (36) Cooper Parry 15.8 (14.5) 5.2 (4.1) 22 (24) 716 (596)

41 (39) Shipleys 13.6 (13.6) 5.2 (5.3) 16 (23) 850 (591)

46 (46) Barnes Roffe 12.3 (11.4) 5.4 (5.0) 19 (18) 647 (633)

49 (55) James Cowper 10.9 (10.2) 2.2 (2.1) 14 (14) 801 (728)

51 (55) Hillier Hopkins 10.8 (10.2) 3.6 (3.4) 22 (22) 489 (463)

53 (49) Simmons Gainsford 10.1 (10.7) 2.2 (2.3) 14 (14) 718 (764)

56 (58) Rothmans 9.7 (9.4) 1.9 (2.6) 20 (20) 483 (470)

Total 9,804.4 (9,129.5) 2,231.3 (2,222.1) 4,385 (4,371)

Average 1,186 1,148



Male partners Female partners Other staff

66,035

57,868

69,639

73,768

4,906736

4,913

5,098

5,408

2009

2010

2011

2012

756

862

892

TOP 60

STAFFING LEVELS

HOW THE TOP 60 IS COMPILED Information is collected through a questionnaire sent out by Accountancy and completed by fi rms. Wherever possible, we adhere to fi rms’ description of service lines and structure, and rely on the integrity of the information provided. The aim is to produce consistent information as far as possible and for this reason we have not excluded fi rms or groups with an unusual structure, although the question of whether some in the list are ‘fi rms’ in the traditional sense remains open to debate.

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13

13

Rank Firm Fees 2012 (£m)Fees 2011 (£m) Fee

Fee/ partner

ratio (£000s)

Staff LLP? Auditor Year end

1 (1) PwC 2,621.0 2,461.0 6.5 3,006 34 872 16,700 LLP Yes Crowe Clark Whitehill 30/06/12

2 (2) Deloitte1 2,329.0 2,098.0 11.0 2,350 27 991 13,754 LLP Yes Grant Thornton 31/05/12

3 (3) KPMG2 1,774.0 1,707.0 3.9 2,888 22 617 11,612 LLP Yes Grant Thornton 30/09/12

4 (4) Ernst & Young 1,631.0 1,465.0 11.3 2,971 19 549 10,500 LLP Yes BDO 30/06/12

5 (5) Grant Thornton3 417.1 377.0 10.6 2,065 26 202 3,665 LLP Yes PKF 30/06/12

6 (6) BDO4 283.0 284.7 -0.6 1,444 14 196 2,337 LLP Yes PwC 29/06/12

7 (7) RSM Tenon5 208.0 228.0 -8.8 924 36 225 2,574 Listed PLC Yes PwC 30/06/12

8 (9) Smith & Williamson6 179.1 170.4 5.1 705 11 254 1,227 Ltd Yes Grant Thornton 30/04/12

9 (8) Baker Tilly 170.5 182.0 -6.3 745 28 229 1,831 LLP/Ltd Yes Kingston Smith 31/03/12

10 (11) Moore Stephens UK 135.9 138.3 -1.7 894 35 152 1,348 Network/Ltd No n/a 31/12/12

11 (12) Mazars7 115.3 109.0 5.8 1,003 17 115 1,200 LLP Yes Crowe Clark Whitehill 31/08/12

12 (10) PKF (UK)8 103.3 108.4 -4.7 1,476 23 70 1,209 LLP Yes Kingston Smith 31/03/12

13 (14) Haines Watts Group9 61.7 57.8 6.7 527 51 117 789 See note No n/a 31/03/12

14 (15) Crowe Clark Whitehill 10 59.3 52.1 13.8 824 9 72 564 LLP Yes Grant Thornton 31/03/12

15 (13) Begbies Traynor Group plc 57.7 60.6 -4.6 713 34 81 462 Listed PLC Yes Deloitte 30/04/12

16 (16) Saffery Champness 56.1 51.3 9.2 951 10 59 470 Partnership No n/a 31/03/12

17 (17) UHY Hacker Young11 48.8 45.0 8.5 588 23 83 649 - - See note 30/04/12

18 (18) Kingston Smith 40.5 41.0 -1.2 653 6 62 407 LLP Yes Price Bailey 30/04/12

19 (19) MHA MacIntyre Hudson 35.2 32.4 8.5 838 10 42 496 LLP Yes Hillier Hopkins 31/03/12

20 (22) Wilkins Kennedy12 30.2 28.1 7.5 512 11 59 414 LLP - n/a 30/04/12

21 (23) Johnston Carmichael13 29.6 27.9 6.2 658 11 45 440 LLP Yes Price Bailey 31/05/12

22 (21) Chantrey Vellacott DFK 29.0 28.6 1.6 659 10 44 303 LLP Yes Grant Thornton 30/06/12

23 (20) Menzies 28.5 28.6 -0.2 839 6 34 314 LLP Yes Princecroft Willis 30/06/12

24 (24) Buzzacott 25.4 23.6 7.2 1,014 1 25 233 LLP Yes Hillier Hopkins 30/09/12

25 (29) Francis Clark 22.1 17.2 28.5 502 7 44 384 LLP Yes Price Bailey 31/03/12

26 (26) TaxAssist Accountants14 21.8 18.9 15.4 119 225 183 676 Partnership - n/a 31/12/11

27 (-) FRP Advisory15 21.3 17.2 23.8 761 9 28 149 LLP Yes BDO 30/04/12

28 (25) Reeves & Co 20.3 20.1 1.0 521 4 39 260 LLP Yes Clive Owen & Co 31/05/12

29 (30) Price Bailey 19.3 16.4 17.7 877 8 22 280 LLP Yes Crowe Clark Whitehill 31/03/12

30 (27) Frank Hirth 19.0 17.1 11.2 1,116 2 17 172 Unlisted PLC Yes Manningtons 30/06/12

31 (28) Armstrong Watson 18.1 17.0 6.5 670 8 27 342 Partnership No n/a 31/03/12

32 (37) SJD Accountancy 17.6 14.0 25.7 17,600 8 1 170 Ltd Yes Kingston Smith 31/10/11

33 (32) Haysmacintyre 17.4 16.4 6.1 696 1 25 160 Partnership No n/a 31/03/12

34 (35) Hazlewoods 17.1 15.2 12.6 901 5 19 198 LLP Yes Princecroft Willis 30/04/12

35 (30) Duncan & Toplis16 17.1 16.6 3.0 633 10 27 292 Partnership No n/a 31/03/12

36 (34) Streets17 16.9 15.9 6.3 845 10 20 109 - - n/a 30/06/12

37 (32) Littlejohn 16.3 16.4 -0.6 526 1 31 127 LLP Yes Price Bailey 31/05/12

38 (36) Cooper Parry 15.8 14.5 8.8 716 4 22 170 LLP Yes Buzzacott 30/04/12

39 (38) Lovewell Blake18 15.5 13.9 11.5 596 6 26 230 LLP Yes Crowe Clark Whitehill 30/09/12

40 (40) Anderson Anderson & Brown 14.3 13.5 5.9 1,192 1 12 168 LLP Yes Gregor Clark 31/03/12

41 (39) Shipleys 13.6 13.6 0.0 850 2 16 94 LLP Yes Steele Robertson Goddard 30/04/12

42 (43) Larking Gowen 13.5 13.3 1.5 675 9 20 245 Partnership No n/a 31/03/12

43 (53) Bishop Fleming19 13.2 10.5 25.7 528 7 25 267 Partnership No n/a 31/05/12

44 (44) AIMS 13.0 12.5 4.0 55 233 238 n/a Partnership No n/a 30/04/12

45 (45) Mercer & Hole 12.5 11.7 7.0 658 3 19 130 Partnership No n/a 30/09/12

46 (46) Barnes Roffe 12.3 11.4 7.9 647 3 19 109 LLP Yes HW Leicester 30/06/12

47 (42) Scott-Moncrieff20 11.3 13.4 -15.7 753 3 15 165 Partnership No n/a 30/04/12

48 (47) Henderson Loggie 11.3 11.2 0.4 489 4 23 189 No No n/a 30/11/11

49 (55) James Cowper 10.9 10.2 6.9 801 6 14 144 LLP Yes Monahans 30/04/12

50 (49) Silver Levene 10.9 10.7 1.9 727 1 15 90 LLP No n/a 31/05/12

51 (55) Hillier Hopkins 10.8 10.2 5.7 489 4 22 105 LLP No Price Bailey 31/03/12

52 (52) Beever & Struthers 10.3 10.6 -2.8 448 3 23 139 Partnership No n/a 30/09/12

53 (49) Simmons Gainsford 10.1 10.7 -6.1 718 2 14 81 LLP Yes Sopher & Co 31/03/12

54 (57) Barber Harrison & Platt 10.0 9.9 1.0 667 4 15 186 Partnership No n/a 31/12/11

55 (60) Forrester Boyd 9.7 9.1 6.6 746 5 13 164 Partnership No n/a 31/03/12

56 (58) Rothmans 9.7 9.4 2.4 483 13 20 151 LLP Yes Mazars 31/03/12

57 (-) SRLV 9.2 8.4 9.5 1,022 1 9 90 Partnership No n/a 30/06/12

58 (-) Thomas Westcott 8.7 8.7 -0.9 541 12 16 156 Partnership No n/a 30/04/12

59 (-) Dains21 8.3 6.5 27.7 415 6 20 127 LLP Yes Price Bailey 31/03/12

60 (-) RGL Forensics 8.2 7.8 5.1 1,367 2 6 51 LLP Yes CBHC 31/03/12

Total 10,976.4 10,275.9 1,106 6,330 79,61814

Rank Firm

Fee income

2012 £m

Partners

Annual accounts *

UK offi ces

Year end

Auditor

StatusStaff

Fee/partner ratio

£000s

Fee income

% change

Fee income

2011 £m

TOP 60 FIRMS

SURVEY: UK ACCOUNTANCY FIRMS LEAGUE TABLE

BRIEFING top 60 survey accountancy january 2013


14

14

14

14

14

Rank Firm Staff Staff (2011)

Fees 2012 (£m)

Fees 2011 (£m)

Ratio of fees per partner

Ratio of fees per partner (£000s) 2011

1 (1) PwC 872 905 127 125 16,700 14,973 2,621.0 2,461.0 3,006 2,719

2 (2) Deloitte1 991 953 140 133 13,754 13,075 2,329.0 2,098.0 2,350 2,972

3 (3) KPMG2 617 579 91 86 11,612 10,150 1,774.0 1,707.0 2,888 2,950

4 (4) Ernst & Young 549 527 93 95 10,500 9,239 1,631.0 1,465.0 2,971 2,780

5 (5) Grant Thornton3 202 211 26 35 3,665 3,685 417.1 377.0 2,065 1,787

6 (6) BDO4 196 198 23 21 2,337 2,419 283.0 284.7 1,444 1,437

7 (7) RSM Tenon5 225 279 30 36 2,574 2,858 208.0 228.0 924 892

8 (9) Smith & Williamson6 254 227 48 43 1,227 1,250 179.1 170.4 705 755

9 (8) Baker Tilly 229 117 36 36 1,831 1,935 170.5 182.0 745 1,555

10 (11) Moore Stephens UK 152 156 22 22 1,348 1,324 135.9 138.3 894 886

11 (12) Mazars7 115 117 11 13 1,200 1,100 115.3 109.0 1,003 932

12 (10) PKF (UK)8 70 97 7 7 1,209 1,537 103.3 108.4 1,476 1,443

13 (14) Haines Watts Group9 117 111 12 12 789 764 61.7 57.8 527 521

14 (15) Crowe Clark Whitehill 10 72 80 12 15 564 549 59.3 52.1 824 651

15 (13) Begbies Traynor Group plc 81 87 11 10 462 524 57.7 60.6 713 707

16 (16) Saffery Champness 59 61 14 14 470 468 56.1 51.3 951 841

17 (17) UHY Hacker Young11 83 94 13 11 649 566 48.8 45.0 588 479

18 (18) Kingston Smith 62 64 13 12 407 413 40.5 41.0 653 642

19 (19) MHA MacIntyre Hudson 42 42 9 5 496 400 35.2 32.4 838 771

20 (22) Wilkins Kennedy12 59 56 8 7 414 388 30.2 28.1 512 502

21 (23) Johnston Carmichael13 45 46 3 3 440 412 29.6 27.9 658 606

22 (21) Chantrey Vellacott DFK 44 48 7 6 303 299 29.0 28.6 659 595

23 (20) Menzies 34 35 2 5 314 308 28.5 28.6 839 820

24 (24) Buzzacott 25 23 3 3 233 214 25.4 23.6 1,014 1,030

25 (29) Francis Clark 44 33 5 4 384 342 22.1 17.2 502 512

26 (26) TaxAssist Accountants14 183 175 39 24 676 555 21.8 18.9 119 n/a

27 (-) FRP Advisory15 28 - 0 - 149 - 21.3 17.2 761 n/a

28 (25) Reeves & Co 39 41 8 5 260 243 20.3 20.1 521 490

29 (30) Price Bailey 22 22 0 0 280 250 19.3 16.4 877 754

30 (27) Frank Hirth 17 16 6 6 172 164 19.0 17.1 1,116 1,069

31 (28) Armstrong Watson 27 26 4 4 342 328 18.1 17.0 670 654

32 (37) SJD Accountancy 1 1 0 0 170 153 17.6 14.0 17,600 n/a

33 (32) Haysmacintyre 25 23 6 5 160 153 17.4 16.4 696 713

34 (35) Hazlewoods 19 18 2 2 198 195 17.1 15.2 901 844

35 (30) Duncan & Toplis16 27 28 1 1 292 301 17.1 16.6 633 593

36 (34) Streets17 20 25 3 3 109 125 16.9 15.9 845 636

37 (32) Littlejohn 31 28 5 5 127 136 16.3 16.4 526 586

38 (36) Cooper Parry 22 24 1 1 170 173 15.8 14.5 716 596

39 (38) Lovewell Blake18 26 21 2 1 230 213 15.5 13.9 596 662

40 (40) Anderson Anderson & Brown 12 12 3 3 168 166 14.3 13.5 1,192 1,125

41 (39) Shipleys 16 23 2 3 94 104 13.6 13.6 850 591

42 (43) Larking Gowen 20 19 2 2 245 247 13.5 13.3 675 700

43 (53) Bishop Fleming19 25 19 3 3 267 180 13.2 10.5 528 552

44 (44) AIMS 238 243 n/a 20 n/a 13.0 12.5 55 n/a

45 (45) Mercer & Hole 19 19 6 6 130 130 12.5 11.7 658 616

46 (46) Barnes Roffe 19 18 1 1 109 105 12.3 11.4 647 633

47 (42) Scott-Moncrieff20 15 17 2 2 165 175 11.3 13.4 753 788

48 (47) Henderson Loggie 23 23 6 5 189 184 11.3 11.2 489 487

49 (55) James Cowper 14 14 3 3 144 125 10.9 10.2 801 728

50 (49) Silver Levene 15 17 1 1 90 100 10.9 10.7 727 629

51 (55) Hillier Hopkins 22 22 2 2 105 107 10.8 10.2 489 463

52 (52) Beever & Struthers 23 24 5 5 139 155 10.3 10.6 448 442

53 (49) Simmons Gainsford 14 14 1 1 81 92 10.1 10.7 718 764

54 (57) Barber Harrison & Platt 15 13 3 2 186 171 10.0 9.9 667 761

55 (60) Forrester Boyd 13 13 0 0 164 162 9.7 9.1 746 700

56 (58) Rothmans 20 20 2 2 151 146 9.7 9.4 483 470

57 (-) SRLV 9 - 0 - 90 - 9.2 8.4 1,022 -

58 (-) Thomas Westcott 16 - 3 - 156 - 8.7 8.7 541 -

59 (-) Dains21 20 - 3 - 127 - 8.3 6.5 415 -

60 (-) RGL Forensics 6 - 1 - 51 - 8.2 7.8 1,367 -

Total 6,300 6,124 892 877 80,068 74,530 10,909 10,276

Rank Firm

Partners

Fee income

£mFemale

partners

Total staff

Fee/partner

ratio £000s

2012 2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012 2011 2012 2011

TOP 60 FIRMS

TALENT: PARTNERS AND STAFF LEVELS 2012 (2011)

1 Fee income includes £211m from Switzerland.

2 Corporate fi nance inc transactions and restructuring.

3 Consulting inc corporate recovery £112.9m, forensic investigations £17.9m, other £31.5m.

4 UK fee income (Q2 to 6) subject to fi nal audit for year end 29 June 2012. Restated last year’s profi t to £58.3m

5 Fee income for 2012 and 2011 represents continuing operations.

6 Offi ces inc Ireland. Smith & Williamson Holdings Ltd overall holding business.

7 Audit & accounting inc some corporate fi nance and consulting fees. Consulting fees inc £18m in insolvency and forensic accounting fees.

8 2010/11 fi gures are restated on the same basis as 2011/12. Both years based on accounts of PKF (UK) LLP only.

9 Some practices are LLPs.

10 Inc consultancy £1.1m, insolvency £1m, personal fi nance £3.1m, forensics £4.1m, pensions £0.3m.

11 Group of independent fi rms, produce accounts individually.

12 Converted to LLP May 2012.

13 Merged with Ritson Smith October 2012.

14 Franchisees operate as sole trader, part of partnership or limited company. Franchisees report management information monthly.

15 All income relates to business recovery, restructuring, interim management and asset fi nance. 2011 fi gures 10 months to 30/04/11.

16 LLP status under review.

17 Firm made up of legal entities, limited and unlimited companies, some but not all accounts published.

18 Consulting income included.

19 LLP status under review.

20 Fee income inc £2.1m turnover for Scott- Moncrieff Wealth Management which was sold in 2011.

21 Inc revenue attributable to ongoing activities (Stoke-on-Trent business acquired from RSM Tenon).



Notes

Documents

Top 60 Survey 2013