BrazilEY banks $36.4 billion for another year of record global revenues
Big Four professional services firm Ernst & Young has reported global revenues of $36.4 billion for its past financial year – up by 8 percent.
Professional services firm Ernst & Young has registered its ninth consecutive year of strong growth to record $36.4 billion in combined global revenues for its financial year to June, up by 8.0 percent on the previous haul of $34.8 billion. The first among the Big Four to report, the $36.4 billion figure falls short of Deloitte and PwC’s takings in excess of $40 billion last year, but sees EY open a wider gap on fellow competitor KPMG, which won’t report until the end of 2019.
While EY’s EMEIA (Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa) practice recorded the slowest growth of its regional divisions, at 7.1 percent behind the Americas (up 8.5 percent) and Asia Pacific (a standout at 9.1 percent), the firm’s emerging markets managed a collective rise of 10.7 percent. Altogether, the EMEIA contributed $14.1 billion in revenues, behind the Americas, which brought in $16.7 billion, but still well ahead of the Asia Pacific ($4.3 billion).
Assurance continues to be the biggest income generator in terms of service lines, bringing in $12.6 billion (up 4.4 percent) of the total, although Advisory is still on track to eclipse the firm’s traditional money-spinner, having now expanded to a worth of over $10 billion on the back of compound annual growth rate of 12.3 percent over the past six years. EY’s Transaction Advisory Services practice (TAS) is also flying, recording 15.5 percent growth last year.
Meanwhile, the firm’s headcount was boosted by 8.4 percent last year to now stand in excess of 284,000 (7,500-plus of those in MENA), while 1,160 professionals were admitted to EY’s partnership ranks over course of the year – including its first ever female nationals in Saudi Arabia, the Emirates and Egypt. Close to a third of the firm’s newest partners worldwide are women, and the EMEIA also elected Julie Teigland as its first female regional managing partner.
“While the past year has seen a number of strains in the global economy – from trade tensions, protectionism and recession fears – we have achieved strong growth from our continued focus on long-term value creation using technology to transform traditional EY services and to launch new, innovative solutions,” said EY’s new Global Chairman and CEO Carmine Di Sibio, who assumed the helm from former head Mark Weinberger at the end of the financial year.
In line with Di Sibio’s comments, the firm on the eve of the financial report announced two new digital solutions for the energy industry – both of which will be demonstrated at this week’s 24th World Energy Congress in Abu Dhabi from the 9th to 12th of September, with EY serving as the event’s platinum sponsor. Built on Microsoft Azure, EY DEEP and EY UtilityWave are designed to help energy and utility entities improve performance and efficiency.
“As technological disruption reshapes economies, businesses and the future of work, the demand for the tech-driven compliance and consulting services we provide is changing,” concluded Andy Baldwin, EY Global Managing Partner, Client Service. “We are fully focused on using leading-edge technology, delivering high-quality services, and making greater use of our strong portfolio of alliances to be the world’s most trusted, distinctive professional services organisation.”
