Professional services firm Deloitte UK increased revenue by 6.4 per cent in its latest financial year, as double-digit gains at its consulting division helped offset a stagnant performance from audit.
The contrasting rates of growth illustrate the changing nature of the big four accounting firms, which are trying to expand areas such as consulting and advisory as their core audit markets mature.
Deloitte reported revenue of £2.7 billion (€3.7 billion) for the year ending May 31st. Across its four main business lines, audit rose 0.3 per cent to £708 million, while consulting revenue grew 10.5 per cent to £687 million. Revenue from its financial advisory and tax service divisions also outpaced audit, with 9 per cent and 5 per cent growth respectively.
David Sproul, senior partner and chief executive of Deloitte, said: “Audit is a harder market to grow in, mainly because of continued fee pressure and less special work. The audit business won’t grow at the same rate as our consulting and advisory divisions.”
Profit distributable to partners for 2015 was £593 million. The average profit earned by each partner in the year was £822,000. (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2015)