Political uncertainty in Britain is a concern for large accounting firms as the possibility of a referendum on EU membership looms. The Big Four firms have called for reason and argue Britain should remain in the EU single market due to the number of international clients and Britain's role as a major employer. However, increased Euroscepticism across EU countries means politicians feel pressure to address public sentiment, potentially impacting business interests and Europe's global competitiveness. British accounting firms face political uncertainty in 2015 as they seek to build on success in 2014.
Solveigh on Chinese Outbound Mergers & AcquisitionsErnst Jan Kruis
Solveigh is specialized in cross border M&A with China. We recently made an analysis on Outbound M&A with China. If you want to discuss or would like to have some more info, please contact us.
Annual Deloite Central Europe Technology Top 50 program, the most prominent and respected ranking of the region's fastest growing technology companies.
It is clear the banking landscape is changing. Explore what open banking means and the impact it could have on the market. Find out more in our report at Deloitte.co.uk/Flourish. You can also discover further analysis on open banking and the future of banking generally at Deloitte.co.uk/FutureBank.
Registering for Growth: Tax and the Informal Sector in Developing CountriesDr Lendy Spires
Roughly half of all non-agricultural workers in developing countries work in very small enterprises with fewer than five employees. Indeed, between one-quarter and one-third of the non-agricultural workforce in most low- and lower-middle-income countries is self-employed (Gollin 2002).
Most of these micro-enterprises operate without registering as legal entities and, as a result, are a part of what is commonly referred to as the informal sector. Informal activity is estimated to comprise a much larger share of the economies of low-income countries – on average around 42% of GDP in a sample of 31 low-and lower-middle-income countries – than a comparable sample of 32 higher-income countries (22% of GDP) in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).1 Why is such a high proportion of the labour force in lower-income countries employed in the informal sector? De Soto (1989) famously proposed that governments – and Peru’s specifically – push firms into the informal sector by raising the barriers and costs of formalization.
By excluding firms from the formal sector, these barriers stifle entrepreneurship and reduce the dynamism of the private sector. Others (Levy 2008) have claimed that the high levels of informality represent an escape by small firms. This ‘exit’ view leads to a vicious cycle: firms escape because the state does not make formal status appealing. For example, financial markets and courts may be dysfunctional, and public procurement processes may be corrupt.
But by being in the informal sector, firms avoid paying taxes that would provide resources the state might use to improve the provision of these goods, or to force firms to become formal. In this view, informality may still stifle entrepreneurship, as firms sometimes remain small deliberately to avoid attracting the attention of regulators and tax collectors. If high rates of taxation push economic activity out of the formal economy, one would expect to see more informal activity in countries with higher tax collections.
However, just the opposite is the case. Across countries, there is a strong negative correlation between state revenue and informal activity. Indeed, another characteristic of low-income countries is that tax collec-tion by governments is very low. Government revenue 1 Estimates from Schneider, Buehn and Montenegro (2010). Taxes as a % of GDP 0 Shadow economy as a % of GDP Australia Austria Belgium Canada Chile Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Israel Japan Korea, Republic of Netherlands New Zealand Norway Slovenia Spain Sweden Turkey United Kingdom United States Italy Figure 1: Taxes and informality, OECD countries Source: World Bank (2013)
Solveigh on Chinese Outbound Mergers & AcquisitionsErnst Jan Kruis
Solveigh is specialized in cross border M&A with China. We recently made an analysis on Outbound M&A with China. If you want to discuss or would like to have some more info, please contact us.
Annual Deloite Central Europe Technology Top 50 program, the most prominent and respected ranking of the region's fastest growing technology companies.
It is clear the banking landscape is changing. Explore what open banking means and the impact it could have on the market. Find out more in our report at Deloitte.co.uk/Flourish. You can also discover further analysis on open banking and the future of banking generally at Deloitte.co.uk/FutureBank.
Registering for Growth: Tax and the Informal Sector in Developing CountriesDr Lendy Spires
Roughly half of all non-agricultural workers in developing countries work in very small enterprises with fewer than five employees. Indeed, between one-quarter and one-third of the non-agricultural workforce in most low- and lower-middle-income countries is self-employed (Gollin 2002).
Most of these micro-enterprises operate without registering as legal entities and, as a result, are a part of what is commonly referred to as the informal sector. Informal activity is estimated to comprise a much larger share of the economies of low-income countries – on average around 42% of GDP in a sample of 31 low-and lower-middle-income countries – than a comparable sample of 32 higher-income countries (22% of GDP) in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).1 Why is such a high proportion of the labour force in lower-income countries employed in the informal sector? De Soto (1989) famously proposed that governments – and Peru’s specifically – push firms into the informal sector by raising the barriers and costs of formalization.
By excluding firms from the formal sector, these barriers stifle entrepreneurship and reduce the dynamism of the private sector. Others (Levy 2008) have claimed that the high levels of informality represent an escape by small firms. This ‘exit’ view leads to a vicious cycle: firms escape because the state does not make formal status appealing. For example, financial markets and courts may be dysfunctional, and public procurement processes may be corrupt.
But by being in the informal sector, firms avoid paying taxes that would provide resources the state might use to improve the provision of these goods, or to force firms to become formal. In this view, informality may still stifle entrepreneurship, as firms sometimes remain small deliberately to avoid attracting the attention of regulators and tax collectors. If high rates of taxation push economic activity out of the formal economy, one would expect to see more informal activity in countries with higher tax collections.
However, just the opposite is the case. Across countries, there is a strong negative correlation between state revenue and informal activity. Indeed, another characteristic of low-income countries is that tax collec-tion by governments is very low. Government revenue 1 Estimates from Schneider, Buehn and Montenegro (2010). Taxes as a % of GDP 0 Shadow economy as a % of GDP Australia Austria Belgium Canada Chile Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Israel Japan Korea, Republic of Netherlands New Zealand Norway Slovenia Spain Sweden Turkey United Kingdom United States Italy Figure 1: Taxes and informality, OECD countries Source: World Bank (2013)
The number of law firms and the total headcount of lawyers both have failed to keep pace with the growth observed in other professional and business service sectors, the majority of which have sharply rebounded in the wake of the recession. We suggest several reasons why the headcount of lawyers has stagnated over the past several years, and submit that the square footage currently occupied by law firms is likely to continue to decline over the next several years, though perhaps at a slower pace than has been the case recently.
Based on our review of financial data, our discussions with law firm leaders, and other economic data available to us, we project that 2015 revenue for the law firm industry will likely rise in the six percent range, and PPEP in the five percent range. We also project expenses to rise in 2015 more so than in 2014, due to lawyer, staff and technology-related expenses. We believe transactional work will continue to drive growth, and litigation demand is likely to remain flat, placing continued pressure on firms with a strong dependence on litigation.
We expect that behind the 2015 industry profit growth
noted above, there will be firms significantly outperforming and lagging the industry average, based on their practice
mix, brand, focus on client service delivery, and approach
to innovation.
Do you have questions in relation to the M&A transactional requirements and procedures governing Irish publicly listed companies? Do you want to keep updated on current trends and proposals for reform in this space? Madeline McDonnell (Corporate Partner) and Susan Carroll (Corporate Senior Associate) answer these questions and more in the 2019 Ireland Chapter of Getting the Deal Through: Public M&A.
Employment tax compliance across the states in 2018Debera Salam, CPP
Ernst & Young LLP aired a webcast on June 5, 2018 that explored state and local trends in payroll tax. Here you can download the slides from that webcast and view and webcast polling results.
There are many issues facing the provinces including fiscal and economic challenges. The provinces will want the next government to be partner with them.
Way back in 2010 I prepared this ppt for one of the legal webinar events imagining what Legal Process Outsourcing would be in the coming years, I was going through it and realized most of what I thought has come true, especially the emergence and a strong emphasis on data protection laws and consolidation....
FICCI Report on combating counterfeiting & grey market challenge for indian c...Neetu Bhatia
As Indian corporates today scale to new achieve heights
globally, the issue of counterfeit and pirated products sourced from India remains a threat not only to Made in India brand but revenue losses for the companies too.
This detailed report by FICCI in partnership with KPMG highlights the challenges faced by Indian corporates owing to counterfeiting and recommends measures.
Cost optimization problem where a manufacturing firm has entered into the contract to supply 50 refrigerators at the end of the first month, 50 at the end of the second month and 50 at the end of third. The cost of producing x refrigerators in any month is given by $ (x2 + 1000). The firm can produce more number of refrigerators and can carry them to subsequent month. It cost $20 per unit for any refrigerator to be carried from one month to the next one
The number of law firms and the total headcount of lawyers both have failed to keep pace with the growth observed in other professional and business service sectors, the majority of which have sharply rebounded in the wake of the recession. We suggest several reasons why the headcount of lawyers has stagnated over the past several years, and submit that the square footage currently occupied by law firms is likely to continue to decline over the next several years, though perhaps at a slower pace than has been the case recently.
Based on our review of financial data, our discussions with law firm leaders, and other economic data available to us, we project that 2015 revenue for the law firm industry will likely rise in the six percent range, and PPEP in the five percent range. We also project expenses to rise in 2015 more so than in 2014, due to lawyer, staff and technology-related expenses. We believe transactional work will continue to drive growth, and litigation demand is likely to remain flat, placing continued pressure on firms with a strong dependence on litigation.
We expect that behind the 2015 industry profit growth
noted above, there will be firms significantly outperforming and lagging the industry average, based on their practice
mix, brand, focus on client service delivery, and approach
to innovation.
Do you have questions in relation to the M&A transactional requirements and procedures governing Irish publicly listed companies? Do you want to keep updated on current trends and proposals for reform in this space? Madeline McDonnell (Corporate Partner) and Susan Carroll (Corporate Senior Associate) answer these questions and more in the 2019 Ireland Chapter of Getting the Deal Through: Public M&A.
Employment tax compliance across the states in 2018Debera Salam, CPP
Ernst & Young LLP aired a webcast on June 5, 2018 that explored state and local trends in payroll tax. Here you can download the slides from that webcast and view and webcast polling results.
There are many issues facing the provinces including fiscal and economic challenges. The provinces will want the next government to be partner with them.
Way back in 2010 I prepared this ppt for one of the legal webinar events imagining what Legal Process Outsourcing would be in the coming years, I was going through it and realized most of what I thought has come true, especially the emergence and a strong emphasis on data protection laws and consolidation....
FICCI Report on combating counterfeiting & grey market challenge for indian c...Neetu Bhatia
As Indian corporates today scale to new achieve heights
globally, the issue of counterfeit and pirated products sourced from India remains a threat not only to Made in India brand but revenue losses for the companies too.
This detailed report by FICCI in partnership with KPMG highlights the challenges faced by Indian corporates owing to counterfeiting and recommends measures.
Cost optimization problem where a manufacturing firm has entered into the contract to supply 50 refrigerators at the end of the first month, 50 at the end of the second month and 50 at the end of third. The cost of producing x refrigerators in any month is given by $ (x2 + 1000). The firm can produce more number of refrigerators and can carry them to subsequent month. It cost $20 per unit for any refrigerator to be carried from one month to the next one
The professional recruitment market as a whole has continued the trend from the back end of last year by growing steadily in terms of absolute job numbers by between 5% and 12% so far this year; a good indicator of market sentiment.
We have also found in Q1 2015 versus the same period last year that firms are committed to hiring when they go to market, not just scoping out the possibilities. As you will see in our market breakdown of the legal sector, firms are now moving quickly to secure talent and are offering competitive packages up front to secure the best people.
http://bit.ly/PwCRA2014
PwC publie son rapport annuel mondial pour l'année fiscale 2014 : chiffres, performances, implantations… et l'interview du président Dennis Nally. A lire ici !
The past five years proved to be a fantastic period for us. We have...
increased revenue by almost two-thirds
moved our head office in Nottingham, opened in Manchester and acquired a personal injury team and an office in Exeter
increased overall headcount by more than 50% since 2009
successfully re-tendered to many of our biggest clients
won strategically important clients for our core sectors including Morrisons, The Independent Parliamentary Standards Association, NHS England, and The Crown Commercial Service
put a dedicated academies team in place to support schools through the conversion process and beyond
became a founding member of an international network of firms
gained Lexcel and ISO 27001 accreditation
achieved a 3-star exceptional rating for our client service under the Investor in Customers accreditation
achieved the Plain English standard for our terms and conditions
enrolled 194 people into our pension scheme on the staging date for auto-enrolment, with only 20 people then opting out
recorded/released 168 training videos, webinars and talking heads - generating over 2,500 hours of viewing time by our clients and contacts
set up our internal risk and compliance department
Take a look at our annual review to find out more about our journey so far.
This report will give you an insight into how these, and much more local factors, have affected salaries and prospects for the future across all the specialisms Badenoch & Clark supports recruitment in. We’ve highlighted some of the most important trends and findings and there’s a wealth of richer and deeper insight into each of the areas in which we operate across our regional bases.
Hong Kong, la ciudad con mejor capacidad de innovación según el informe International Business Compass, índice
anual interactivo que analiza la capacidad, características y condiciones para la innovación de 174 países de todo el mundo.
Following the triggering of Article 50 on 29 March 2017 starting the negotiating process for the UK to leave the EU, this publication provides an overview of implications facing accountants, including corporate governance, audit, accounting, tax, VAT and employment. The publication also contains the articles I wrote on FX implications (3.2 and 3.3).
The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) has published its 2020 Annual Report, reflecting on a year like no other; shaped by the global pandemic, focused on supporting the profession and, ultimately, showing the resilience of the public relations community.
global Venture funding and start up data : top 10 chartsSumit Roy
2015 VC FUNDING HITS ALL-TIME HIGH. ENDS WITH PULLBACK.
Multi-year highs in funding: Globally, funding to VC-backed companies in 2015 hit an all-time high of $128.5B, up 44 percent versus 2014’s total of $89.4B.
Deals see steep decline: Large deals were the headline of 2015, largely driving the funding trends and leaving deal activity to fall for the final 2 quarters, including Q4’15, which saw just 1742 deals, the lowest quarterly total since Q1’13.
global Venture funding and start up data : top 10 charts
IAB544 UK
1. www.InternationalAccountingBulletin.comDecember 2014 Issue 544
Political uncertainty a concern for
British businesses
●● Global Accounting 2014 Power 50
●● BDO on M&A spree as it seeks to rival Big Four
●● World Congress of Accountants debate SME audits
●● EY secures ABS licence
In or out?
IAB 544.indd 1 17/12/2014 11:34:02
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alex.aubrey@uk.timetric.com
IAB 544.indd 2 17/12/2014 11:34:04
3. December 2014 y 1www.InternationalAccountingBulletin.com
Editorial Advisory Board
Kevin McGrath, Crowe Horwath
International CEO
Kevin Arnold, Nexia International CEO
Geoff Barnes, Baker Tilly International
president and CEO
Graeme Gordon, Praxity executive director
Stephen Jacobs, INPACT International president
Jon Lisby, Kreston International
executive director
James Mendelssohn, MSI
Global Alliance, chairman
Christian Mouillon, EY global vice-
chair, assurance
Ed Nusbaum, Grant Thornton International CEO
Michael Reiss von Filski, Geneva Group
International CEO
Liza Robbins, Morison International CEO
Martin van Roekel, BDO International CEO
Jean Stephens, RSM International CEO
Robert Tautges, HLB International CEO
Despite a year of solid performance by
international accounting networks and
associations in the UK throughout 2014,
the pending political uncertainty is cause
for concern for larger firms. To think that
the political rhetoric of the UK Prime Min-
ister David Cameron, promising a yes/no
referendum on UK membership of the EU
if he wins the May 2015 general election
is going to go unnoticed by the profession
is highly unlikely. With numerous interna-
tional clients investing in the country and as
one of the country’s largest employers the
Big Four leaders speaking to the Interna-
tional Accounting Bulletin called for reason
and for the UK to remain in the single EU
market. Political point scoring has also
led firm leaders to single out political risk
as their biggest reason for concern for the
future as the UK finally starts showing signs
of recovery. EY UK chairman and manag-
ing partner UK and Ireland Steve Varley
emphasised the need and obligation to help
Europe to .be more competitive especially
against global competitors such as India
and China.
With the old continent already facing
many challenges linked to demographics,
economics and productivity there’s little
room for emotive political rhetoric simplify-
ing important political and economic issues.
However, it seems most EU countries find
themselves dealing with increased euroscep-
ticism and while politicians try to tune in
to that sentiment perhaps it’s time for busi-
nesses to be more vocal about the impact
on business and global competitiveness of
Europe in the light of shifting global forces.
Nevertheless, 2015 is likely to be an impor-
tant year for UK accounting firms as they
attempt to replicate and build on the success
of 2014 against the backdrop of political
uncertainty.
Top influencers of the profession
It’s become traditional for our December
issue of the International Accounting Bul-
letin to include the annual Power 50 list.
The eagerly anticipated Power 50 has
a slight twist this year as once again with
sister title The Accountant we tried to find
a fair way of compiling the list. We settled
on leaving it to our subscribers who were all
able to vote online. However due to the vot-
ing link being shared with non-subscribers
and repeat voting we were obliged to dis-
qualify many votes received. In the end we
took into consideration legitimate subscrib-
ers’ votes, but we also recognised a few joint
entries and some organisations/initiatives
that we felt overcame challenges in 2014 or
have the power to make a real difference in
their environment in the future. We don’t
wish for the list just to include people with
the biggest job within a large organisation,
but also to include people making a real dif-
ference to the profession in their region.
Congratulations to all who made it onto
the list. There were many we would have
wished to have mentioned, but we’re sure
that they will make the cut in future as they
continue to influence the global profession.
Ana Gyorkos
ana.gyorkos@timetric.com
Testing time ahead for the UK
EDITOR’S LETTERInternational Accounting Bulletin
NEWS 02-04
CONTENTS
■■ EY UK joins PwC and KPMG by
securing ABS licence.
■■ EU audit implementation: Key
consultation expected in the UK.
■■ BDO on M&A spree as it seeks to
rival Big Four.
FEATURES 04-14
COUNTRY SURVEY 14-20
O4-05: WCOA
With audit thresholds rising all over the
world, audit and assurance services for
SMEs seem to be less and less in demand.
Vincent Huck reports on the challenges
for accounting firms and the alternative
services that are developed.
O6-13: GLOBAL ACCOUNING POWER 50
International Accounting Bulletin and its
sister title The Accountant bring you the
list of the 50 most powerful people in the
profession as chosen by subscribers and
the team at the IAB and TA. See who’s
made it on the list in 2014.
14-20: UK
With the possibility of a vote on EU
membership seeming more likely, and the
first signs of economic recovery taking
hold, this year has seen the UK buffeted
by political and economic change. As the
country prepares to enter another, highly
uncertain year, its accounting industry
is braced for change. Ana Gyorkos and
Isabella Grotto report.
IAB 544.indd 1 17/12/2014 11:34:05
4. 2 y December 2014 www.InternationalAccountingBulletin.com
NEWS International Accounting BulletinROUND-UP
GLOBAL
KPMG global revenues up 6%
KPMG global has reported revenues
of $24.82bn in the year to 30
September 2014, up 6.3% in local
currency terms and up by just under
5.9% in US dollar terms.
The latest annual performance
breaks KPMG’s sluggish global
growth experienced in the previous
two years where the firm grew 2%
in 2013 and 1% in 2012.
Audit revenues were up 3.8%
with the firm earning $10.46bn in
fee income, up from 1.2% growth in
the previous year.
Tax revenues grew 6.1% to
$5.27bn, up from 4.2% growth
in fiscal year 2013, driven by
an increased demand for tax
compliance and tax advisory
services according to the firm.
Advisory brought in $9.09bn
in fee income, up 10.4% on
the previous year. The advisory
growth was driven by demand
and strengthened capabilities
in management consulting,
risk consulting services and
transactions and restructuring.
Regionally, Americas revenue
was up by 10% to $8.51bn, Asia-
Pacific 3.8% to $3.86bn and EMA
(including India) was up 4.7% to
$12.45bn earned in fees.
This year marked a change in
leadership for KPMG as in February
global chairman Michael Andrew
retired after being diagnosed with
“a serious medical condition”. He
was succeeded by John Veihmeyer,
the chairman and chief executive of
KPMG US.
INDIA
Satyam ex-chairman jailed in
final chapter of accounting
scandal
Indian software group Satyam
Computer Services’s former
chairman and founder Ramalinga
Raju has been sentenced to six
months in prison for his role in the
$1.5bn international accounting
fraud case that engulfed the
company in 2009.
The decision marked the final
chapter in the close to six-year
fraud case which, in terms of scale
and damage caused, echoed the
2001 Enron scandal in the US.
Raju was sentenced alongside
four other former Satyam senior
executives, including his brother
B. Rama Raju, who held the post of
managing director at the time of
the scandal.
UK
EY UK joins PwC and KPMG by
securing ABS licence
EY UK is the latest Big Four firm to
be granted an alternative business
structure (ABS) licence by the
Solicitors Regulation Authority,
enabling it to provide legal services
in England and Wales.
EY UK’s move echoes the global
strategy of the network to make the
multidisciplinary approach a global
selling point
According to the network, EY’s
global law practice already has
more than 1,100 people in 60
locations. In the past 12 months,
EY has also created legal teams
in Mexico, Costa Rica, Singapore,
China, Vietnam, Australia and New
Zealand, and will have a presence in
more than 80 jurisdictions by 2017.
EY UK now joins PwC and KPMG
which have already secured the
licence earlier in the year.
EUROPE
EU audit implementation: Key
consultation expected in the
UK
The UK government’s Department
for Business, Innovation
and Skills (BIS) has plans to
launch a consultation on the
implementation of EU audit reform
before the end of the year, IAB has
learned.
A spokesperson for BIS told IAB
that this consultation will include
consideration of whether and
how the UK might implement the
various options that member states
have under the EU rules.
Both the Directive 2014/56/
EU on Statutory Audits and the
Regulation 537/2014/EU on
Statutory Audit of Public Interest
Entities left 51 and 32 options,
respectively, available for member
states to decide on, according
to the Federation of European
Accountants.
For example, the EU regulation
established that the maximum
period a firm can audit a company
is 10 years.
However, it introduced two
options whereby member states
could extend the audit engagement
for another 10 years by tendering
the contract, or another 14 years if
a joint audit firm is appointed.
NEWS ROUND-UP
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Crowe Horwath International has
appointed Crowe Horwath US chief
executive officer Charles Allen
and Ruihua principal partner Yang
Jiantao as co-chairmen of the
network, effective 1 January 2015.
BDO International has extended
Martin van Roekel’s tenure as
chief executive officer of the mid-
tier international network for
another three years.
Van Roekel first took the role in
September 2011 and since then
has led BDO’s growth mainly
through a dynamic external
growth strategy, with the network
acquiring a significant number
of firms worldwide, most notably
PKF International’s member
firms in Australia and the UK.
In Van Roekel’s first three years’
tenure as CEO, BDO International
revenues grew from $5,672.3m
in fiscal year 2011 to more than
$7bn in fiscal year 2014.
Alliott Group has appointed long-
standing association member
Selim Ozutez to its EMEA advisory
board. Ozutez is currently audit and
accounting partner of Alliott Group
member firm ICS Bagimsiz Denetim
in Turkey.
LinkedIn Group
World Accounting
Intelligence
Twitter
WAI_News
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World Accounting
Intelligence
Scan our QR code for quick
smartphone access to IAB
Join our online community
IAB ONLINE – DECEMBER
Top 5 articles
Merger spree boosts BDO revenue
EY UK joins PwC and KPMG by
securing ABS licence
Satyam ex-chairman jailed in final
chapter of accounting scandal
KPMG global revenues up 6% after
two years of sluggish growth
RMS adds correspondent firm in
Myanmar
WCOA Rome: The Olympics of
accountancy
Most retweeted article
KPMG global revenues up 6% after
two years of sluggish growth
Read in 137 countries
UK 25%
US 12%
India 5%
Malaysia 5%
Canada 4%
Rest of the world 46%
Germany 4%
IAB 544.indd 2 17/12/2014 11:34:09
5. December 2014 y 3www.InternationalAccountingBulletin.com
NEWSInternational Accounting Bulletin ANALYSIS
M&A
BDO on M&A spree as it seeks to rival Big Four
BDO registered an annual total fee income
increase of 8.81% to $7.02bn in the year
ending 30 September 2014, growth it attrib-
uted in part to the 28 mergers it completed
over the past 12 months.
Audit and accounting made up 57.5% of
total fees at $4,036.5m, up from $3,824.9m
in the past financial year. Meanwhile, advi-
sory contributed 21.9% at $1,537.38m and
the tax service line totalled $1,446.12m at
20.6% of total revenue, up from $1,328.7m
and $1,294.45m respectively in 2013.
BDO chief executive officer Martin van
Roekel told International Accounting Bul-
letin: “We’re very proud to see that for the
first time in our history we have exceeded
the $7bn mark, an increase of 8.8%.
Reflecting on the network’s growth, Van
Roekel explained: “It comes partly from
M&A and partly from organic growth.
“It’s interesting to see that firms that have
been able to do M&A have also realised an
organic growth,” he added.
With acquisitions across Fiji, Réunion
Island, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea and
Sierra Leone, and existing offices’ expan-
sions in Laos, Afghanistan and the Maldives,
the network brought the total of countries in
which it is present to 151.
In terms of staff, the series of mergers
increased BDO’s global headcount by 5.4%
to just under 60,000 total partners and staff,
working across the 1,328 offices of the net-
work’s 110 member firms.
Van Roekel told IAB: “We’re very pleased
with the 28 mergers realised in the past 12
months as it confirms what we’ve been say-
ing in the past two years that we foresee a
consolidation in the mid-tier networks. Say-
ing something is one thing; when it’s realised
of course it confirms that our expectation
was the right one.”
Two areas leading organic growth for the
network are the US and China.
In the US, the network reported revenues
of $833m in the financial year ended 30
June 2014 and completed four acquisitions
throughout the past 12 months, including
Pittsburgh-based accounting firm Alpern
Rosenthal and Hartman Leito & Bolt in
Forth Worth.
“If I look at the M&A that have been
realised until end of September it’s pleasing
to see that recently we have seen two very
interesting M&A in the US,” commented
van Roekel. “Taking into account the dis-
cussions going on in a number of countries
by our member firms we expect that trend to
continue in the current year.”
Indeed, on 1 December BDO US acquired
UHY Texas. The network also added firm
SS&G and subsidiary SS&G Parkland to
its network, expanding its operation in the
Midwest.
It is also in light of these developments
that van Roekel told IAB: “We expect that
in some years from now there will only be
two or three truly global mid-tier networks
in the market.”
In China, meanwhile, BDO revenues wit-
nessed 16% growth and took advantage of
favourable economic conditions in the Peo-
ple’s Republic to complete four mergers.
At the same time, BDO International and
BDO China recently invested in a share-
holding in BDO Hong Kong, the first step
towards integrating the network’s Hong
Kong and China firms, effective 1 January
2015.
According to Van Roekel, the network’s
performance in China is indicative of a wider,
successful trend across emerging economies.
“China is a prime example,” he explained.
“The switch to a service-led economy pro-
vides real opportunity and we are already
bigger here than EY and KPMG. This is part
of the reason for the network’s sustained
growth and in turn gives us the momen-
tum and power to lead the consolidation of
the mid-tier and continue our cycle of
expansion.”
Looking to the coming years, BDO is
gearing up both to fight its corner in a con-
solidating mid-market and grow its clout to
rival that of the Big Four.
“At BDO, we’re actively increasing our
presence in the US, a ‘re-emerging’ economy,
and also in the emerging markets that we
know are central to our clients’ growth strat-
egies,” he explained.
“This is part of the reason for the net-
work’s sustained growth and in turn gives
us the momentum and power to lead the
consolidation of the mid-tier and continue
our cycle of expansion.
“By 2018 we predict only two or three
substantial mid-tier networks with a global
presence will be left standing."<
RSM International has added
correspondent firm MAT Audit and
Professional Services in Myanmar to
its network. Based in the country’s
commercial centre Yangon, MAT Audit
and Professional Services marks RSM
International’s latest addition in the
region.
DFK International has added
Johannesburg firm Levitt Kirson to
its association, marking a return
to South Africa after losing its only
member in the country in 2010.
Previously a member of Nexia
International, Levitt Kirson had
offices in Johannesburg, Durban
and Cape Town. In August of this
year the Johannesburg office split
and rescinded its membership with
the network, unlike the other two
offices which chose to stay with
Nexia.
PKF Littlejohn, a UK member firm of
PKF International, has added its first
business recovery, turnaround and
insolvency specialist firm Geoffrey
Martin & Co.
Led by three partners and with 15
members of staff, Geoffrey Martin
& Co serves clients across multiple
industries through its offices in
London and Leeds.
As a result of the deal, the employees
of the London office will relocate
to share PKF Littlejohn’s quarters in
Canary Wharf, while the Leeds office
is to remain at its current location.
Kreston International has added
Kazakh firm Eurasian Financial
Services to its network.
BKR International has added
G. Kibria & Co from Bangladesh to
its association.
Headquartered in Dhaka, G. Kibria &
Co has three partners and 61 staff.
Geneva Group International
has added sister businesses
BFP Steuerberatungs and BFP
Wirtschaftsprüfungs to its
association in Austria.
Headquartered in Graz and with
offices in Burgenland, Carinthia and
Vienna, BFP firms offer a range of
services in tax, audit and consulting.
FirmMovements
IAB 544.indd 3 17/12/2014 11:34:09
6. 4 y December 2014 www.InternationalAccountingBulletin.com
FEATURE International Accounting BulletinWORLD CONGRESS OF ACCOUNTANTS
www.InternationalAccountingBulletin.com
S
mall and medium enterprises rep-
resent more than 95% of the busi-
nesses in the OECD countries and
they generate over half of the jobs in
those countries.
In the EU alone, more than 99% of the
businesses are, in fact, SMEs, according to
the European Commission. They provide
two out of three private sector jobs and con-
tribute to more than half of the total value-
added created by businesses in the EU.
Furthermore, nine out of 10 European
SMEs are actually micro enterprises with
fewer than 10 employees, making micro
businesses with an average of two employees
the backbone of Europe’s economy.
While SMEs have suffered from the finan-
cial crisis, they have shown more resilience
than larger businesses and in many coun-
tries, like Germany and the UK, are leading
the national economic recovery.
Nevertheless one of the major challenges
faced by SMEs remains access to finance,
which is linked to the necessity to provide
assurance on businesses’ financial health.
Against this backdrop, regulators around
the world are increasingly raising audit
thresholds and exempting many SMEs from
audit requirements.
Grant Thornton International global
leader of assurance services Ken Sharp says
this has not really impacted accounting
firms in general and his firm in particular.
“At this point I don’t think there has been an
impact and the reason I say that is because
some companies might opt out of the audit
because they are no longer legally required
to have one, but they find themselves having
audit being required by other stakeholders
whether it’s lenders, investors or other par-
ties.”
Asked if SME clients still value the audit
product, and are willing to pay for one,
Sharp says there are different scenarios. In
the case of a small business owner who is
very much involved in his business, working
on the financials every months, and signing
the cheques, Sharp says the owner would
be reluctant to pay for an audit: “Because
it doesn’t do anything for him, he already
knows everything that’s going on. In fact he
probably controls most of what’s going on
so he would see no need when in other situa-
tions small business owners might.”
Other situation includes business owners
who are not directly involved in the business
and leave it to other to manage and run the
operations. “They might want an audit or at
least a review to have an independent set of
eyes to provide them some degree of comfort
that their investments and company is being
well managed and the financial reports they
are getting are fairly presented,” Sharp says.
An audit does not add value but it gives a
level of assurance or comfort for the stake-
holder who has money on the line, he con-
tinues. “But generally speaking it’s fair to
say most SMEs without outside influences
would not have an audit and therefore it
makes it challenging to sell or convince peo-
ple that they need an audit service.”
As audit products have usually been devel-
oped for larger listed companies, one of the
challenges of selling an audit to a SME has
to do with the product’s relevance. Ameri-
can Institute of Certified Public Accountants
vice-president, firm services and global alli-
ances, Mark Koziel says that in the discus-
sion around audit relevance and financial
reporting relevance for SMEs, both are chal-
lenged if one applies the same standards as
the large entities.
“In the US we have an estimated 14,000
listed entities in the US exchange and an
estimated 29 million small businesses. And
for the longest time we’ve mandated the US
GAAP to be the same for both of those types
of businesses, and that just doesn’t make a
lot of sense,” he says.
In the US, SMEs are not required to
appoint an auditor, but when looking for
funding, a bank or a lender can ask for the
financial statement to be audited, reviewed
or compiled by an independent professional
accountant.
“In the SME market in the US, there are
a variety of things that you can do,” Koziel
says. “Depending on why the SME would
need the financial statement, other than just
good financial management for themselves,
the question is: what do the banks require?”
A bank can require an audit but can also
be satisfied with a review or a compilation,
according to Koziel. It all depends on the
relations the bank enjoys with the client and
the level of the loan.
Asked whether US firms would like to
see audit thresholds being implemented,
Koziel says it’s not even on the discussion
table. “Maybe they would like to see that as
it would increase the number of audit
To audit or not to audit
With audit thresholds rising all over the world, audit and assurance services for SMEs seem to be less and
less in demand. Vincent Huck reports on the challenges for accounting firms and the alternative services
that are developed.
IAB 544.indd 4 17/12/2014 11:34:13
7. December 2014 y 5www.InternationalAccountingBulletin.com
FEATUREInternational Accounting Bulletin WORLD CONGRESS OF ACCOUNTANTS
December 2014 y 5www.InternationalAccountingBulletin.com
engagements out there, but do they see it as
necessary? I’m not sure,” he says. “I don’t
think it would be a possibility.”
At the other end of the spectrum, in Nor-
way for almost 100 years, all limited liabili-
ties companies have had statutory audit
requirement, until 2011 when the regulator
introduced audit thresholds.
Speaking at the World Congress of
Accountants (WCOA), the Norwegian
Institute of Public Accountants (Den Norske
Revisorforening) chief executive officer Per
Hanstad says that as the result of the change
in regulation 192,000 out of the 265,000
Norwegian limited liability companies could
decide not to have an audit. He says around
100,000, or 56% of those opted out.
“I’m very disappointed that so many cli-
ents chose to get rid of the auditors imme-
diately,” Hanstad says. “That tells me the
audit product we are developing is seen as
not having the value and SMEs are not will-
ing to pay for it.”
Hanstad spoke as part of an international
panel chaired by ACCA external affairs
director Sue Almond which looked at differ-
ences between countries in how regulators,
professionals and businesses approached
assurance services.
Also part of the panel was IFAC Small and
Medium Practices (SMPs) committee mem-
ber Stuart Black, an Australian. He remem-
bers that the Australian profession also felt
uneasy when the government introduced
thresholds. “We were a very cosy profes-
sion; we didn’t have to think about the com-
ing years; we were lazy,” he says. “But the
thresholds came in and we though ‘oh what
we going to do?’”
The Australian government started to
deregulate SME reporting in 1995 with the
Corporation Act which abolished the need
to produce financial statement for SMEs.
“But life went on and it didn’t cause us
[the profession] any impact at all,” he says.
“Then in 2007, thresholds were lifted, but
when the changes went through I don’t think
anyone noticed it happened; it was a bit of
a non-event.”
He believes there is life after audit for
accounting firms, and he says Australian
practices are now heavily involved in other
assurance services such as reviews and
agreed-upon-procedures.
Today he says the legislation is quite com-
plicated in Australia as there are different
thresholds under the four different federal
Acts of Parliament and the eight different
State Acts. “So the question about which
thresholds you fall under depends on what
sort of entity you are and which state or
which Act you are operating under,” he says.
Canada went through a similar evolution
to Australia. Up until 1986 all private com-
panies had to undergo an audit. IFAC SMP
committee member Phil Cowperthwaite,
also a panel member in Rome, explains that
the legislative changes in 1986 introduced
the possibility for companies to choose
not to have an audit if all the shareholders
agreed against it. “For example, General
Motors in Canada decided it didn’t need an
audit,” he says.
Cowperthwaite also believes there is life
after audit and he says many Canadian pro-
fessionals moved to reviews and compilation
services. Since then the Canadian profession
has tripled, he says. “I haven’t met too many
accountants at the traffic lights washing
windscreens for money in Canada.”
The fourth and final panel member was
Conseil Superieur de l’Ordre des Experts-
Comptables (CSOEC) vice-president
Philippe Arraou who explains that assur-
ance services for SMEs are still heavily regu-
lated in France.
“So we have a vast number of SMEs which
are audited, but we have two kind of profes-
sions providing services to SMEs in France:
the chartered accountant who advices and
the auditor who audits,” Arraou says.
Indeed, the French regulation is made in a
way that even for SMEs both aspects – advis-
ing and comparing financial statements, and
auditing and delivering an opinion – need to
be regulated, he continues. “But we consider
them as two different assignments: the finan-
cial statement is prepared by a professional
according to accounting standards, and then
the role of the auditor is limited to deliver-
ing an opinion on this financial statement.
There are different roles, but complemen-
tary of course.”
For Black, the French system makes sense
for providing independence, but only if there
is a regulation requiring an audit. “But to
be frank, in my view, it ignores the question
of why do you need an audit for an SME,”
he asks. “To my mind there’s no evidence
that I’ve seen anywhere in the world that
shows that countries which don’t have audit
for SMEs have greater failure than countries
that do have audit.”
However small the clients, Cowperth-
waite counters, an audit does make a
difference to a business. “They actually
know where they are and not where they
wish they were,” he says. “That is also use-
ful, although most of my clients would rath-
er have where they wish they were!”
Referring to the French system, which
by law requires two sets of accountants for
SMEs, Cowperthwaite says that regardless
of the number of accountants SMEs have
to help them grow, the main issue is those
accountants’ level of experience.
He says firms tend to send their junior
auditor, or the least qualified person, to
micro entities clients which themselves have
no experience in accounting. “If there was
ever a formula for disaster it is sending a jun-
ior auditor to a non-accountant and expect
to get something of value,” he says. “I don’t
really know if you need one, two, three or
four accountants, but for the really small
clients you have to send out senior people to
the job, on site, talking to your clients and
having direct communication.”
In addition, Hanstad at the Norwegian
Institute of Public Accountants adds, firms
need to rethink the product they sell to
SMEs. “One of the problems today is that
we try to sell products to small companies
which are absolutely not fit for purpose at
all,” he says. “As long as we try to sell an
audit to SMEs the same way as we sell to
the biggest companies or multinationals, we
will lose.”
Conversely for Arraou at CSOEC, while
creating added-value from services rendered
to businesses is important, this can’t impact
the independence and public interest role of
the auditor.
“When you’re performing an audit you
are not responding to the demand of the
client – that would be like asking a turkey
what he thinks about Christmas dinner,” he
says. “You’re working for the public inter-
est; you’re developing an opinion useful for
the company, but not directly provided to
the company.”
The trend of rising audit thresholds is
expected to continue in the coming years
and as more SMEs escape the net of statuto-
ry audit requirements, audit firms will have
to adapt their offerings and find new argu-
ments to convince businesses of the necessity
of providing assurance. However Sharp of
Grant Thornton International is not worried
by the state of play. “Those are challenges,
but certainly not threats,” he says. <
IAB 544.indd 5 17/12/2014 11:34:16
8. 6 y December 2014 www.InternationalAccountingBulletin.com
Global Accounting Power 50 2014
International Accounting Bulletin and its sister title The Accountant bring you the list of the 50 most
powerful people in the profession as chosen by subscribers and the team at the IAB and TA. See who’s made
it on the list in 2014
T
his year we thought long and hard
about how to produce the best
unbiased snapshot of this year’s top
influencers in the profession. We
agreed to give the power to our loyal sup-
porters, our subscribers, but also incorporate
our editorial views on the profession and
include some of the key initiatives and events
that have taken place throughout the year.
At the IAB and TA we have spoken to
many inspiring individuals from across the
globe, who might not head up one of the big
firms or large professional bodies, but still in
their own environment excel and influence
the profession.
Congratulations to all the individuals,
joint entries and initiatives which made it to
the list this year and thanks to all the sub-
scribers who voted.
The list is in alphabetical order and is not
a ranking.
African Women Chartered Accountants Forum (AWCA)
Created in 2002 by four South African women AWCA aimed to encourage, support and accelerate the advancement of black women CAs, qualified
and aspiring. In 2002, there were only 407 black female CAs in South Africa. In 2014, there were 3,445 registered out of South Africa’s 35,657
SAICA-registered CAs. In 2014 alone, more than 1,000 black CAs qualified. Of these, 665 were black women CAs. That means more black women
CAs qualified in one year than the total number of black women CAs in South Africa in 2002.
Albert Ng
Organisation: EY China
Position: Greater China managing partner
Albert Ng is EY’s Greater China regional managing partner
and also represents the emerging markets on the global
executive. Ng has 30 years’ experience of accounting in
China.
He has been active in helping numerous Chinese organisa-
tions list both domestically and overseas and is considered a
pioneerintheinvestmentadvisoryconsultingspaceinChina.
Ng has been a member of EY’s global executive team since
2010 and an advisor to the advisory council of the Mayor of
Shanghai since 1995. He was presented with a Magnolia Gold
Award for his contribution to the development of the city of
Shanghai.
Alex Malley
Organisation: CPA Australia
Position: Chief executive
Fresh from launching his book
The Naked CEO, Alex Malley
continues to be a strong advo-
cate of sustainability and inte-
grated reporting. A member of
the International Integrated
Reporting Council, he is also
a business commentator in
broadcast media and hosts the
television show The Bottom Line
screened nationally on Austral-
ia’s Channel 7 Digital.
IAB 544.indd 6 17/12/2014 11:34:23
9. December 2014 y 7www.InternationalAccountingBulletin.com
FEATUREInternational Accounting Bulletin POWER 50
Andreas Bergmann
Organisation: IPSASB
Position: Chair
At the helm of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards
Board (IPSASB) since 2010, Bergmann and the board he chairs have a
herculeantasktoundertake:totwistthearmsofgovernmentstoadopt
accrual-basedIPSAS.Publicfinancehavehistoricallybeenneglectedby
the accountancy world, which has focused more on the private sector,
but the global financial crisis strengthened support for holding gov-
ernments to account and encouraging them to manage public finances
with the same diligence required for private sector corporations.
Anton Colella and Don Peebles
Organisation: ICAS and CIPFA
Position: Chief executive and head of CIPFA Scotland
The Scottish independence referendum has unleashed passion-
ate feelings in the UK over the past year and its repercussions
were felt beyond the UK’s borders as the rest of the world took
a strong interest in the Scots’ vote. CIPFA and ICAS played an
important role in informing the debate in a non-partisan way.
Peebles led CIPFA’s work on the issue with the publica-
tion of the informative report Scotland’s future in the balance.
At ICAS, Colella led the institute through numerous debates and the
publication of various papers tackling the question of tax and pen-
sions. As the UK continues to work out the details of devolution in
the coming months both Colella and Peebles’s work on the matter is
far from over.
Antoni Gomez
Organisation: Antea and Auren
Position: Chairman and President
Antoni Gomez is the leader of the Spanish association Antea and the
president of the network Auren, which is an entity of Antea. Under
Gomez’s leadership both organisations have gained traction in the
market with Antea recently announcing it is entering the Colombian
market.
Arnold Schilder
Organisation: IAASB
Position: Chairman
Arnold Schilder trained and started
his career at PwC and during this time
finished his PhD, while serving as the
presidentoftheDutchprofessionalbody
NIVRA.
Since his appointment as chairman of
the International Auditing and Assur-
ance Standards Board (IAASB), Schil-
der has played a key role in guiding the
IAASB as it strives to enhance the qual-
ity and consistency of practice through-
outtheworld.InSeptember2014,Schil-
der’s long-standing contribution to the
professionalwasrecognisedthroughthe
awardingofIAB’s2014LifetimeAchieve-
ment Award.
Barry Melancon
Organisation: AICPA
Position: President and chief executive
Melancon has led AICPA since 1995, mak-
ing him the longest-running chief executive
officer in the institute’s 125-year history.
Under his leadership, AICPA has voted to offer
credits internationally, potentially allowing
non-US-based accountants to gain access to
AICPA credentials.
During 2014 Melancon has petitioned the US’s Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission to halt investigations into accounting part-
nerships regarding the mandatory age provisions of partners.
Barry Salzberg
Organisation: Deloitte global
Position: Chief executive
Salzberg has overseen the fifth consecutive year
of growth for Deloitte Global as chief executive.
This year the firm cemented its position as the leading professional
services firm and has for the second consecutive year earned the high-
est fee income globally, yet again overtaking PwC. Under his govern-
ance, Deloitte saw its revenues increase 5.7% during the year ending
31 May 2014, with consultancy a determining driver of the network’s
performance. Salzberg is also a trustee of the IFRS Foundation.
Anders Heede
Organisation: BDO
Position: EMEA chief executive officer and global head of network
development and advisory
After a successful career in advisory Anders Heede joined BDO in 2008
as the chief executive of BDO Denmark. In a short space of time Heede
has achieved a leadership role within the global network. His views on
mid-tier market consolidation and future accounting market trends
made him one of the most influential speakers at this year’s Interna-
tional Accounting Bulletin Industry Forum.
IAB 544.indd 7 17/12/2014 11:34:27
10. 8 y December 2014 www.InternationalAccountingBulletin.com
FEATURE International Accounting BulletinPOWER 50
Charles Tilley
Organisation: CIMA
Position: Chief executive
Tilley’s tenure this year was
characterised by the develop-
ment of CIMA’s joint venture
with its US partners, the AICPA.
The management accounting
profession is at the forefront
with the global designation
CGMA created by the pair. Tilley
was also appointed to serve as chairman of IFAC’s Public Accountants
in Business Committee. Tilley is an advocate of the disclosure of better
financial information as a member of the IIRC. However, CIMA is the
only global professional body that hasn’t participated in The Account-
ant World Survey disclosing members and student figures country-by-
country. This magazine, as a legitimate stakeholder of the profession,
encourages Tilley to lead by example and facilitate an integrated par-
ticipation in our survey next year.
David Sproul
Organisation: Deloitte UK
Position: Chief executive and member of
the Deloitte global executive
David Sproul has been chief executive
of the UK firm for the past three years
and has led the businesses through the
firm’s role in the London 2012 Olympic
Games, as well as through a testing time
for the audit business, hit by regulatory
changess,and navigating the business
towards advisory and technology busi-
ness opportunities.
David Tweedie
Organisation: IVSC
Position: Chairman
Sir David Tweedie served as chairman of the
International Accounting Standards Board
for a decade, spreading the use of IFRS as a
single set of global standards in more than
100 countries. In late 2012 the IVSC recruit-
ed Tweedie to replicate the success story of
IFRS. Tweedie and the IVSC have embarked on a difficult mission: cre-
ating global valuation standards and a global profession from scratch.
Particularly worrying is the lack of standards to value financial instru-
ments, which according to Tweedie is a ticking time bomb for financial
stability.
Dennis Nally
Organisation: PwC
Position: Global chairman
PwCglobalchairmansince2009,DennisNallyisat
thehelmofmanyofPwC’scorporateresponsibility
projects,workingwithorganisationsrangingfrom
the World Business Council on Sustainable Devel-
opment, to the World Economic Forum’s Global
Citizenship Initiative and the United Nations
RefugeeAgency.Earlierthisyearheledthefirm’s
global acquisition of Booz & Co. and steered the
firm to its 6% growth in fee income to $34bn.
Edward Nusbaum
Organisation: Grant Thornton International
Position: Chief executive
Edward Nusbaum has been Grant Thornton International chief execu-
tive since 2010 with his term extended until the end of 2017 this year.
The past year saw Grant Thornton International continue its global
expansion under Nusbaum’s leadership, with the network carrying out
22 mergers and acquisitions across Canada, Taiwan, Switzerland and
Vietnam in the 10 months leading to 1 August 2014. In the US, the
firm’s revenue hit an all-time high of $1.354bn in the year to 31 July.
In2014,Nusbaum wasoneofthefewexecutivestocompletetheALS
ice bucket challenge, pledging a donation to the charity and challeng-
ing Grant Thornton’s leadership to join the challenge.
Fayezul Choudhury
Organisation: IFAC
Position: Chief executive officer
Appointed chief executive officer of the
IFAC in February 2013, Fayezul Choud-
hury’s first year of leadership has been
characterised by continued global
expansion.
Prior to his appointment at IFAC,
Choudhury held the position of vice-
president of corporate finance and risk
management at the World Bank, where
he was spokesperson on global account-
ing and auditing issues.
Choudhury cut his teeth working in
public accounting and management
consulting for PwC, during which time
he spent three years helping to develop
the firm’s consulting practice in Nigeria. In the past year, Choudhury
hascampaignedforgovernmentstomirrortheprivatesectortransition
from cash to accrual-based accounting.
IAB 544.indd 8 17/12/2014 11:34:31
11. December 2014 y 9www.InternationalAccountingBulletin.com
FEATUREInternational Accounting Bulletin POWER 50
Gerardo Longobardi
Organisation: Consiglio Nazionale dei Dottori Commercialisti e degli
Esperti Contabili (CNDCEC)
Position: President
Longobardi was elected president of the Italian profession in July. His
list of candidates stood in the election under the motto “Living the pro-
fession together” and gained the majority of votes. His election came
just months before Italy, the birthplace of modern accounting, hosted
theWorldCongressofAccountants.ThechallengeoftheCNDCECwillbe
now to keep alive the powerful legacy of the WCOA, and not just in Italy.
Hans Hoogervorst
Organisation: IASB
Position: Chairman
The IASB with Hoogervorst at the
helmhasmanagedtokeepupmomen-
tum in IFRS expansion as the only
global single set of standards availa-
ble. The significant addition of Japan
to the IFRS family, so far on a volun-
tary basis, doesn’t make up for the
perennial absence of the US. Further
challenges for Hoogervorst will be to
reactivatevigorouslytheconvergence
effort with IASB’s US counterpart the
FASB. With the notable exception of
the standard on revenue recogni-
tion, convergence projects on leases
and insurance contracts remain on
standby.
Ian Ball
Organisation: CIPFA
Position: Chairman
Following 10 years as CEO, Ball stepped down from IFAC in March 2013,
only to reappear as the chairman of CIPFA in September that year. Ball
took the role as an opportunity to promote reform in public sector
accounting following the sovereign debt crisis and applying New Zea-
land’s best practice public accounting practices. At this year’s WCOA he
was awarded the IFAC Gold Service Award.
James Doty
Organisation: PCAOB
Position: Chairman
Doty who has been at the helm of the US regulator since 2011 has been
instrumentalinbringingchangestoenhancetheauditreportforlisted
companiesintheUS.Dotyhimselfdescribedthesechangesasa“water-
shed moment for auditing in the US”. Doty’s challenges for the New
Year include firmly advocating for disclosing the lead audit partner in
US audit reports and continued efforts to make the first inspection of a
PCAOB-registered mainland Chinese audit firm happen.
Jean Stephens
Organisation: RSM International
Position: Chief executive
Stephens has been at the helm of RSM since 2006 and this year saw a
pick-up in the network’s fortune as, following the loss of RSM Tenon
in the UK in 2013, Baker Tilly UK decided to join the network because
of its strong presence in the US and emerging markets. RSM was also
presented with this year’s International Accounting Bulletin Network of
the Year award.
Helen Brand
Organisation: ACCA
Position: Chief executive
ACCA chief executive since 2008,
Helen Brand is among the UK’s most
prominent female leaders in finance.
Awarded an OBE in 2011 for services
to accountancy, Brand has led the
institute in its mission to offer busi-
ness-relevant qualifications for those
seeking a career in finance, account-
ancy and finance around the world.
This year ACCA entered into part-
nership with professional bodies in
Myanmar, Colombia and Greece as
well as providing thought leadership
on key challenges for the profession.
Geoff Barnes
Organisation: Baker Tilly International
Position: Chief executive
Responsible for the day-to-day leadership and management of the eighth-largest network, Barnes was
faced with the challenge of finding a replacement firm for Baker Tilly UK, which left the Baker Tilly
International network in April to join RSM. The network successfully recruited MHA MacIntyre Hudson
as its UK representative in October.
IAB 544.indd 9 17/12/2014 11:34:34
12. 10 y December 2014 www.InternationalAccountingBulletin.com
FEATURE International Accounting BulletinPOWER 50
Jennifer Thomson
Organisation: World Bank
Position: Chief financial management officer
Thomson, a CPA Australia member, co-chairs the steering committee of the Memorandum of Understanding to Strengthen Accountancy and Improve
Collaboration(MOSAIC).HerworkattheWorldBankandMOSAICfocusesonbuildingaccountingandauditingcapacity,crucialfordevelopingcountries
to build trustworthy markets and invigorate their economies through robust public financial management.
John Veihmeyer
Organisation: KPMG Global and US
Position: CEO
Following the early retirement of KPMG global chairman Michal Andrew
for medical reasons in February, Veihmeyerwas named as his successor.
Veihmeyer has been KPMG US chief executive officer since June 2010.
In 2014 KPMG US revamped its strategy offering through the establish-
mentofKPMGStrategy,amoveconsistentwiththisyear’strendtowards
strengtheningconsultingandadvisorycapabilitiesamongtheBigFour.
However, the past year has also seen KPMG come under heavy regu-
latory fire. An ongoing gender discrimination suit picked up pace in
October, a PCAOB review of 50 audits led to some audit quality concerns
and questioned the solidity of evidence used by the firm to approve
financial statements in almost half (23) of the cases.
Jos van Huut
Organisation: EGIAN
Position: Chairman
After a long-standing career at Mazars and Praxity, Van Huut now holds many roles including the chairmanship of the European Group of International
AccountingNetworksandAssociations(EGIAN),whichprovidesaforumformemberstodevelopcommonpositionsonspecifictechnicalandlegislative
issuesandtodebatetheseissueswithkeyprofessionalstakeholdersandregulators.InadditiontohisEGIANroleVanHuutisalsoaboardmemberofthe
Netherlands Institute of Chartered Accountants (NBA) and the Fédération des Experts Comptables Européens (FEE). He is also a Praxity board member.
Kevin Dancey
Organisation: CPA Canada
Position: Chief executive officer
Previously the president of the
Canadian Institute of Char-
tered Accountants, Dancey was
appointed CEO of CPA Canada in
January 2013 after having played
a vital role in bringing the Cana-
dian profession together in one
institute. Dancey is the former
CEO and senior partner of PwC
Canada and has also served for
two years in the Canadian Depart-
ment of Finance.
Kevin McGrath
Organisation: Crowe Horwath International
Position: Chief executive
McGrath has been running the global network of 150 firms in 10 countries since 2012. This year the network added firms in France, Germany,
Switzerland, Serbia and India. Crowe Horwath International is the ninth-largest network globally, according to the IAB World Survey 2014.
Jeff Thomson
Organisation: IMA
Position: President and CEO
Thomson’s leadership has been instrumental during Institute of Management Accountants’s ongoing process of globalisation, leaving behind the US
profession’s traditional navel-gazing. Under his tenure IMA has turned into an organisation with international aspirations; it partnered with ACCA and
returned to IFAC membership, where he is advocating greater recognition of the management accounting profession.
IAB 544.indd 10 17/12/2014 11:34:35
13. December 2014 y 11www.InternationalAccountingBulletin.com
FEATUREInternational Accounting Bulletin POWER 50
Mark Koziel
Organisation: AICPA
Position: Vice-president – firm services and global alliances
In the past year, Koziel has helped launch the AICPA’s Center for Plain
English Accounting, created the institute’s first-ever European Sum-
mit and been responsible for the AICPA’s firm strategy. He frequently
speaks on accountancy issues throughout the US and globally.
Mark Weinberger
Organisation: EY
Position: Chairman and CEO
EY global chairman and chief
executive officer since July
2013, Weinberger has overseen
a dynamic year for the busi-
ness. The network completed
the acquisition of consultancy
The Parthenon Group, a move
consistent with a Big Four-
wide trend of increased consul-
tancy and strategy capability
development.
This year also saw the largest-
ever partner promotion in the
network’s history, with 675 pro-
fessional staff promoted to the
role.
Martin van Roekel
Organisation: BDO International
Position: Chief executive
Under Van Roekel leadership BDO International
global revenue exceeded $7bn in the year to
30 September, following 28 mergers that the network completed dur-
ing the financial year. As the leader of the biggest mid-tier network
employing60,000peopleVanRoekelpredictsmoreconsolidationinthe
mid-tier market in the years to come.
Mary Jo White
Organisation: SEC
Position: Chair
Mary Jo White was sworn in as chair of the US SEC in April 2013. White’s
first year as SEC chair has seen the tug of war between the US and Chi-
nese intensify over Big Four audits and the accounting firms still facing
legal action by the SEC.
On the adoption of IFRS White continued to perform a balancing act.
She hinted at further discussions over the possibility of adoption, but
re-emphasised the authority of US standard-setting bodies and the
importance of the US’s role in international standard-setting.
Mervyn King
Organisation: IIRC
Position: Chairman
King, who is not an accountant himself, has
become a leading figure in the profession. After
spearheading <IR>, he has now taken this pro-
ject to new heights by introducing the concept
of integrated thinking as the basis of good gov-
ernance, part of which is integrated reporting. King has also embarked
on the revision of his code (the new King IV), which will see some new
innovations.
Michael Izza
Organisation: ICAEW
Position: Chief executive
ICAEWchiefexecutivesince2006,MichaelIzzahasledtheinstitutethroughseveralyearsofchange.Despitebeinganon-
legal body, this year the ICAEW gained the power to regulate non-contentious probate services and became a licensing
authority for Alternative Business Structures. In 2014, the institute also continued its commitment to the international
development agenda through capacity building projects in developing countries. Izza remains a firm and vocal critic of
tax avoidance schemes.
Kirsten Patterson and Lee White
Organisation: CAANZ
Position: Senior leaders
The merger between the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICCA) is an
unprecedented milestone in the almost inevitable consolidation trend between professional bodies around the world. What makes this union unique
is its cross-border nature. Pending the last legislative changes to finalise the merger, Patterson and White (both CEOs of the merging institutes) will
be under the spotlight. Not least because the CAANZ’s 100,000 membership could challenge CPA Australia’s top spot in the ‘down under’ profession.
IAB 544.indd 11 17/12/2014 11:34:38
14. 12 y December 2014 www.InternationalAccountingBulletin.com
FEATURE International Accounting BulletinPOWER 50
Olivia Kirtley
Organisation: IFAC
Position: President
Olivia Kirtley became president of
the IFAC board in November 2014
after serving as deputy president
for two years. She is the first presi-
dent to come from the management
accounting profession as well as
the first female to head the organi-
sation.
Outspoken Kirtley’s challenge
will be to keep the promises of the
WCOA 2014, for the profession to
pursue government transparency
and help businesses to grow.
Olivier Boutellis-Taft
Organisation: Fédération des Experts Comptables Européens (FEE)
Position: Chief executive
Boutellis-Taft,aformerequestrianprofessional,hasservedasFEEchief
executive officer since 2006. In the past year Boutellis-Taft led FEE in
playing a key role in informing the profession on the newly adopted
EU audit reform. As EU member states take the first implementation
steps, the profession will be looking out for Boutellis-Taft and the FEE
to continue their work.
Paul Druckman
Organisation: IIRC
Position: CEO
A year ago the IIRC issued its long-awaited
integrated reporting <IR> framework, fol-
lowing an intense consultation period in
which more than 350 stakeholders’ respons-
eswerereceivedglobally.Ayearlater,imple-
mentationbycompaniesisthekeymilestone
forIIRCandhowtoprovideassuranceonthe
informationprovidedbycompaniesusingthe
IRframework.There’salsoafurtherquestion
about whether to leave IR as a market-led initiative, or if there’s a need
for regulatory oversight. Druckman was also awarded the 2014 IAB Per-
sonality of the Year Award.
Shahied Daniels
Organisation: SAIPA
Position: Chief executive
Daniels’s expertise and extensive experience in accounting is orientat-
ed towards SMEs and micro enterprises and is increasingly recognised
nationally and internationally. He serves on the IFAC board and on the
Professional Accountancy Organisation Development Committee. He is
also a member of PAFA’s board and council.
Sue Almond
Organisation: ACCA
Position: External affairs director
At ACCA Almond influences and
drives debate and thinking on
technical issues affecting business
and accountancy around the world.
She is also a technical advisor at
the IAASB and her knowledge and
experience has established her as a
well-known expert in the audit sec-
tor, especially for her work on the
implementation of ISAs.
Stephen Haddrill
Organisation: UK FRC
Position: Chief executive
Theupdateofthecorporategovernancecode
and the proposals to align SMEs accounting
with the requirements of the EU Accounting
Directive are just two tasks which have kept
Haddrill busy in 2014. In the pipeline awaits
theimplementationoftheEU’sauditreform.
ButtheFRC,intandemwiththegovernment,
has very discreetly done its homework con-
vening a group including accounting firms and professional bodies,
companies and investors to inform a consultation.
Michael Prada
Organisation: IFRS Foundation
Position: Chairman
IFRS Foundation chairman since the beginning of 2012, Michael Prada is preparing to enter the final leg of his three-year term. This year, the Founda-
tion succeeded in securing the financial backing of the European Parliament, a move criticised by some as undermining the independence of the body.
The Foundation also reaffirmed its cooperation with the European Securities and Markets Authority. Looking to 2015, the IFRS Foundation is opening
its International Accounting Standards Board to a constitutional review, in order to face an evolving standard-setting scenario.
IAB 544.indd 12 17/12/2014 11:34:43
15. December 2014 y 13www.InternationalAccountingBulletin.com
FEATUREInternational Accounting Bulletin POWER 50
Uantchern Loh
Organisation: SAC
Position: Chief executive
Uantchern Loh leads the Singapore Accountancy Commission to trans-
form Singapore into a leading global accountancy hub for the Asia-
Pacific region. In the past year the SAC launched the Singapore quali-
fication programme providing access to the accountancy profession to
individuals of all background and disciplines.
Uschi Schreiber
Organisation: EY
Position: Global vice-chair and
markets leader
Uschi Schreiber, not an
accountant, makes our list for
advocacy of the role the pro-
fession and firms play to help
diversify businesses and busi-
ness thinking. Also for her work
in the Woman in Parliament
initiative and the role of busi-
ness in society. She joined EY
Oceaniain2008afterasuccess-
ful career as chief executive of
large government agencies.
Vickson Ncube
Organisation: PAFA
Position: chief executive
Ncube has been involved with the Pan-African Federation of Account-
ants since its inception in 2011, and is a leading voice in the growing
pan-African profession. As Africa’s economies continue to grow and
regional economic integration becomes a reality, PAFA will play a lead-
ing role in the continent’s development. Ncube is a fellow and former
chief executive of the Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants, a fel-
low of ACCA and an associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
Warren Allen
Organisation: IFAC
Position: Former president
In his two years of presidency, Allen led
IFAC to increase the profile of the pro-
fession globally by focusing on three
main themes: capacity building, pub-
lic financial management and the role
of accountants in fostering growth in
business. Allen retired after the World
Congress of Accountants and told The
Accountant earlier in the year he was
looking forward to his retirement to
focusonfishinginhishomecountryNew
Zealand.
Wilmar Franco
Organisation: Consejo Técnico de la Contaduría Pública
Position: President
Franco leads the standard-setting body that is advising the Colombian
government in its strategy to align the national profession with inter-
national standards. As such, Latin America’s fastest-growing economy
is to adopt IFRS fully, including for SMEs and micro entities. The chal-
lenges ahead for Franco and the government are to adopt international
auditing standards and unite Colombia’s divided profession.
Yang Jiantao
Organisation: Ruihua Certified Public Accountants
Position: Managing partner
Managing Partner of Ruihua Certified Public Accountants which has
beenrankednumberthreeamongall,andnumberoneamonglocalChi-
nese accountancy firms. He is also a chief accountant, a senior member
of CICPA and was recognised in the International Accounting Bulletin’s
Global Accountancy “Next 50” list in 2013.
The Cuban Profession
Organisation: Asociación Nacional de Economistas y Contadores
Position: Professional accountants
Cubahasbeendescribedas“thelastPepsicanleftinthestadium”byaglobalaccount-
ancyleaderandreaderofourmagazines. Sofaronlyanetwork,HLBInternational,has
a member firm on the island. But the last communist country in Latin America has put
inplaceambitiousplanstoattractforeigninvestment.Cuba’s33,450accountantshave
a power they might utilise to reform the economy and perhaps bring about democracy.
IAB 544.indd 13 17/12/2014 11:34:48
16. COUNTRY SURVEY International Accounting BulletinUK
14 y December 2014 www.InternationalAccountingBulletin.com
T
he slight economic recovery has had
a positive impact in accounting firms
as clients become more confident and
changes in audit tenders are becom-
ing daily routine for the larger firms. How-
ever all could be thrown off balance as politi-
cal risk linked to the potential UK exit from
the EU lingers
While globally Deloitte was able to retain
its position for the second year in a row as
the largest global accounting firm, in the UK
PwC is at the helm and £225m ahead of its
global rival.
PwC UK reported revenues of £2.5bn
($3.91bn) in the year to 30 June 2014, which
excludes £275m earned by the Middle East
practice bringing the total revenue of the
firm to £2.8bn.
The 5% increase in fee income overall
“reflects an improving economy, the grow-
ing confidence of our clients and the ongoing
investment we have made in the firm over
the past six years to create a responsible,
profitable and well diversified business,”
according to PwC UK chairman and senior
partner Ian Powell.
Deloitte UK, which reported revenues of
£2.3bn in the year to 31 May 2014 saw its
growth slow to the lowest level in four years
(1.4%), a sharp fall compared to the 8% rev-
enue increase witnessed in 2013 and 11%
growth in 2012, which was mainly on the
back of strategic investments.
Deloitte UK also earned £236m in fees by
its Swiss practice, which brings the total to
£2.55bn.
Among the firm’s service lines, audit fell
1.8%, from £719m in 2013 to £706m.
The decrease comes after last year’s 12%
increase in fee income in audit. Tax rev-
enues remained flat at £562m, compared
to £563m last year. Consulting increased
slightly (0.5%) from £619m last year to
£622m, while corporate finance bucked the
trend with a 4.7% increase to £424m from
£405m in 2013. Deloitte UK chief executive
and senior partner David Sproul tells the
International Accounting Bulletin that the
performance reflects the slowdown in activ-
ity across the advisory businesses.
“This has been the slowest in the past four
years, when we have grown 30%. Partly it
has also been affected by the audit tender
business. However we did continue to invest
and we’ve promoted 72 partners and this
year we’re seeing our performance pick up
again,” he says.
“Looking at our Q1, the growth is back
to over 6%.”
Third ranked KPMG reported revenues of
£1.9bn in the year to 30 September 2014,
up 5%.
EY UK was in close pursuit as the firm
reports revenues of just under £1.9bn,
£1,868.0m, in the year to 27 June 2014, up
by 8.6%, which exceeds the global firm’s
6% growth. The firm’s assurance service
line grew by 8.5% to £550m, tax by 3% and
advisory grew by 15% to £559m, slowing
slightly from the 17% increase witnessed in
2013.EY UK chairman and regional manag-
ing partner in the UK & Ireland Steve Varley
says “we are really pleased with our growth
and we seem to be leading our market in top
line growth once again”.
“We have had a very brave investment
strategy over the past six years, through the
worst part of the recession, and that cour-
age is starting to pay off now as those invest-
ments are giving us good growth,” he adds.
The mid-tier
A similarly mixed picture is evident from the
mid-tier’s figures. While some have seen their
performance hit record highs, others remain
slowed by varying levels of performance
across their service lines.
Grant Thornton UK chief executive offic-
er Scott Barnes says: “If you look at overall
growth in the business, our advisory busi-
ness continued to grow by 15%,” but while
audit grew by 4%, tax stagnated. As such,
explains Barnes: “If you put all that together
[growth] is slightly less than previous years.”
Indeed the network saw a slowdown from
the 13% increase registered in 2012/2013 to
9% in its latest fiscal year.
Such a slowdown could prove dangerous
in the UK’s enduringly competitive mid-tier,
however, and those competitors who have
been able to take advantage of the first signs
of recovery in the UK market are hot on
Grant Thornton UK’s tail.
Among them, BDO has distinguished itself
through a bullish 2013/2014 performance
which earned the firm a 26% increase. Man-
aging partner Simon Michaels acknowledg-
es: “The market has changed in a number of
ways, such that we are seeing an awful lot of
opportunity.”
Among these changes, he says, a signifi-
cant degree of consolidation within the mar-
ket over the past few years has allowed BDO
to complete its “strategic merger” with PKF
UK 18 months ago.
The firm is now reaping the profits,
explains Michaels: “The results that we’ve
got now reflects the first full-year of that
merger and show a very successful picture
as regards, first, the growth and increase in
profitability, but also the fact we’ve seen our
market share grow.”
Competitor Nexia International also has
reason to celebrate as it looks back on a
record year for its network in the UK. Net-
work member firm Smith & Williamson’s
group finance director Jeremy Boadle says
last year “showed a record set of results” for
the firm.
Customers have begun to rediscover their
belief in the UK market throughout 2014,
according to Boadle, who says: “Private cli-
ents are more resilient and corporate clients
are feeling more confident about investing
for growth. That pick-up in activity has
helped revenue growth and has enabled us
to increase our staff utilisation.”
Baker Tilly UK, now part of RSM’s net-
work, reported revenues of £246m in the
year to 31 March 2014, which according
to managing director Laurence Longe only
includes seven months’ worth of RSM Tenon
numbers, which the firm bought in a pre-
pack deal in August 2013.
EU membership issue creeps closer to centre stage
With the possibility of a vote on EU membership seeming more likely, and the first signs of economic
recovery taking hold, this year has seen the UK buffeted by political and economic change. As the country
prepares to enter another, highly uncertain year, its accounting industry is braced for change. Ana Gyorkos
and Isabella Grotto report
IAB 544.indd 14 18/12/2014 09:45:49
17. COUNTRY SURVEYInternational Accounting Bulletin UK
December 2014 y 15www.InternationalAccountingBulletin.com
“The full impact of that deal will come
through in our numbers by March 2014,”
Longe adds.
Looking back Longe describes the year for
Baker Tilly UK as “transformational”. While
he’s confident about the UK economy and
says the firm has enjoyed a positive impact
from economic growth, he also says the inte-
gration of the two firms has been smooth.
“We’ve rationalised the business and we
have brought people physically together over
a faster time scale than we were previously
been able to do with our past M&A,” he
says.
Asked about the “rationalisation” Longe
says it’s been “easier for us as it’s been done
against a backdrop of a growing economy.
“I think across the entire firm we have had
about 100 redundancies and we now have
2,500 people,” he adds.
It was back in April that the firm
announced it was leaving the Baker Tilly
International network to join RSM. It still
retains its name, Baker Tilly UK, and little is
known about a potential change.
Longe says: “We’ve had many multilat-
eral and bilateral meetings with member
firms within the network as we sit down to
see how we can join forces in certain mar-
kets. The large firms within the network are
very closely connected and work together to
improve our entire service offering.”
The departure of Baker Tilly UK left Baker
Tilly International without a UK member for
several months until, in October, Morison
International’s MHA MacIntyre Hudson
joined the network, leaving Morison Inter-
national without a UK member for the time
being. The IAB rankings reflect these latest
changes in membership.
Audit
In the past two years the Big Four firms have
seen an unprecedented change in audit, and
most importantly audit retendering as, in
light of the CMA rules and European audit
reform, many companies have started reten-
dering their audits.
While the EU audit reform was passed
in the EU parliament earlier in the year the
UK government’s Department for Business,
Innovation and Skills has plans to launch a
consultation on the implementation of the
audit reform before the end of the year. At
the time of publication the consultation
about whether or how the UK might imple-
ment the various options that member states
have under the EU’s rules was yet to be
released.
EY UK had an 8% increase in assurance
fee income and Varley says this was mainly
on the back of “winning audits such as the
audit of the BBC, London Stock Exchange,
Co-op Bank, and Sage Technology, and
we’ve just won the Royal Bank of Scotland.
“Even though assurance grew 8.5% we
managed to increase the headcount by 9%.
We’re investing in our assurance business
ahead of the curve, expecting to win more
audits.”
According to PwC UK data published in
August, by the end of the year as many as 56
FTSE 350 companies could have put their
audit out to tender in 2014, compared to 30
tenders in 2013 and 18 in 2012.
The number of tenders is unprecedented
and firms have to adjust from dealing with
just two or three tenders a year, to poten-
■■ UK
NETWORKS – FEE DATA
Rank Name
Fee income
(£m)
Growth
rate
Fee split (%)
Year-end
Audit &
Accounting
Tax
services
Management
consulting
Corporate
finance
Corporate
recovery/
Insolvency
Litigation
support Other
1 PwC* (1) 2,539.0 4% 36 25 18 21 - - - Jun-14
2 Deloitte* (2) 2,314.0 0% 28 22 24 17 - - 9 May-14
3 KPMG* 1,909.0 5% - - - - - - - Sep-14
4 EY* 1,868.0 9% 29 25 30 16 - - - Jun-14
5 Grant Thornton UK* 512.3 9% 26 18 - 7 23 3 23 Jun-14
6 BDO* (3) 392.0 26% 33 27 - - - - 40 Jun-14
7 Nexia International* 289.5 8% 30 19 3 1 5 - 42 Jun-14
8 RSM International* 246.0 - 44 26 6 7 13 - 4 Mar-14
10 Mazars* 130.0 8% 38 18 5 - 11 4 24 Aug-14
9 Moore Stephens International* 129.7 4% 51 14 7 2 6 1 19 Dec-14
11 Baker Tilly International* 119.0 -28% 58 23 2 2 7 - 8 n/a
12 Kreston International* 115.1 12% 46 23 6 5 4 - 16 Oct-14
13 HLB International* 95.9 16% 46 24 3 4 6 - 17 Sep-14
14 PKF UK* 76.0 7% 48 24 7 5 5 - 11 May-14
15 Crowe Horwath International* 61.1 1% 59 24 1 4 2 3 7 Mar-14
16 UHY International* 50.0 4% 53 21 5 3 11 — 7 Apr-14
17 ECOVIS International* (4) 4.6 10% 69 31 - - - - - Jun-14
Total revenue/growth 10,851.3 5%
Notes: (e) International Accounting Bulletin estimate. (1) PwC fee income figures include the UK firm only. The fee income figures including PwC’s Middle East practice are £2,814m for FY2013/2014 and £2,689m for FY2012/2013. (2) Deloitte fee income figures
include the UK firm only. The fee income figures including Deloitte’s Swiss practice are £2,550m for FY2013/2014 and £2,515m for FY2012/2013. (3) BDO provided unaudited figures as audited figures were not available at the time of publication. (4) ECOVIS
International does not include revenue of its full member law firm in the UK. If it were to, the total revenue would be £29.2. *Disclaimer = Only data from the named member firm or the exclusive member firms within a network/association is included. Data
relating to correspondent and non-exclusive member firms is not included. Source:International Accounting Bulletin
IAB 544.indd 15 18/12/2014 09:45:50
18. COUNTRY SURVEY International Accounting BulletinUK
16 y December 2014 www.InternationalAccountingBulletin.com
tially bidding for more than 10 FTSE 350
audits a year.
Sproul says Deloitte UK has spent a lot
more on the planning process and has devel-
oped, and globally rolled, out a new audit
tool called Deloitte Audit.
He says: “We have also worked hard on
pulling the right teams together, because the
pace of tender and the need to respond to
them is clear. You have to be far more disci-
plined than in the old days when we maybe
had one or two tenders a year. And you have
to be far more focused on the needs of the
clients. It’s been very intense and fiercely
competitive. There’s not been a lack of com-
petition in any of these tenders.”
Affect on fees
Sproul says that the increase in tenders has
not decreased fees and he says there’s been
instances of fees going up.
“Fee pressure is not as stark as it was
about two years ago and the fierce competi-
tion is more around innovation,” he adds.
He also says there has been competition
emerging from Grant Thornton UK and
BDO as companies are keen to hear from
them.
This increase in competitiveness has also
been fostered by changes in the market itself,
explains BDO UK’s Michaels. “What has
also supported our growth figures is that
the regulatory debate shone a light on the
audit marketplace and in particular three
areas: the market structure, independence
and audit quality.
As a result of these factors, he says: “What
we’re finding is we’re seeing more opportu-
nities to grow our business through, first,
diversifying our service offering and, sec-
ondly, stretching up to act for more listed
businesses at the top end of the market, for
instance the FTSE 350.”
BDO UK has been able to capitalise on
this opportunity, but Michaels believes there
is still some way to go before upcoming mid-
tier firms will be able to pose a serious threat
to the Big Four in the audit space.
“We act for more than a third of the FTSE
350 in an advisory capacity,” he says, add-
ing: “What we’re seeing on the audit side is
more opportunities with more audit com-
mittees looking to tender their audits, but
we’re not yet seeing a shift from those firms
using organisations outside the Big Four, like
BDO, to undertake their audits.
“That behavioural change is something
that’s going to take more time and you’re
probably looking at a five-year-plus strategy
there before you see any meaningful shift,”
he admits, but adds the regulation “will
continue to create more opportunity for
firms outside the Big Four, particularly BDO,
to build their position.”
Grant Thornton UK’s Barnes agrees an
“inevitable consequence of the regulation”
will be a rise in the willingness among busi-
nesses to use firms other than the Big Four,
but specifies: “I think larger corporates
started to put more work out to tender, even
before the regulation came out, once market
sentiment started to move in that direction.
I think the regulation almost lagged behind
what was happening in the market.”
Sceptics
However, regulatory changes have not been
universally welcomed within the UK indus-
try.
Longe at Baker Tilly UK is sceptical about
the changes coming in from EU audit reform
as he believes the continued commoditisa-
tion of the audit market remains the key
issue.
“This is not making audit an attractive
place for people to come and work in this
market,” he says. “And it’s not clear what
the reforms will do to that effect. I think one
important trend across the profession is that
audit has been hard to grow and it is easy to
■■ UK
ASSOCIATIONS – FEE DATA
Rank
Fee income
(£m)
Growth
rate
Fee split (%)
Year-end
Audit &
Accounting
Tax
services
Management
consulting
Corporate
finance
Corporate
recovery/
Insolvency
Litigation
support Other
1 IAPA* 372.6 19% - - - - - - - n/a
2 Praxity* 172.4 -1% 40 18 2 4 9 3 24 n/a
3 PrimeGlobal* 72.2 -35% 44 28 8 3 - - 17 May-14
4 DFK International* 66.9 1% 48 21 4 2 11 - 14 n/a
5 KS International* 40.1 -1% 58 15 10 2 7 2 6 Apr-13
6 MSI Global Alliance* 39.6 5% 32 18 2 2 36 - 10 Dec-13
7 MGI* 38.8 11% - - - - - - - Jun-14
8 BKR International* 33.4 12% 53 28 2 4 5 2 6 n/a
9 AGN International* 32.7 -2% 52 21 - - - - 27 Oct-13
10 INPACT* 8.6 -2% 88 4 5 1 - 2 - Dec-13
11 GMN International* 7.4 3% 42 17 11 - - - 30 Sep-13
12 EuraAudit International* 7.4 -7% 55 16 5 - - - 24 Jun-13
13 Abacus Worldwide* 5.7 - 25 10 20 5 - - 40 Dec-13
14 Integra International* 5.7 -9% 55 30 5 10 - - - Jun-14
Total revenue/growth 903.5 4%
Notes: *Disclaimer = Only data from the named member firm or the exclusive member firms within a network/association is included. Data relating to correspondent and non-exclusive member firms is not included.
Source:International Accounting Bulletin.
IAB 544.indd 16 18/12/2014 09:45:50
19. COUNTRY SURVEYInternational Accounting Bulletin UK
December 2014 y 17www.InternationalAccountingBulletin.com
see that audit as a proportion of total rev-
enues is decreasing and declining.”
The controversy and shift in public
opinion towards companies avoiding UK
corporation tax by employing complex tax
schemes hasn’t subsided in 2014 and govern-
ments, companies and tax services providers
have all faced intense public scrutiny.
The latest revelation unveiled by European
journalists has uncovered documents linking
more than 1,000 multinational corporations
to large-scale tax planning in Luxemburg.
Despite being legal, competitive tax plan-
ning practices are being increasingly criti-
cised by the international community. The
multilateral competent authority agreement
is among the latest example of the mount-
ing focus on harmful tax practices exem-
plified by initiatives such as the Base Ero-
sion and Profit Shifting programme by the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD). In October, 51
jurisdictions signed a multilateral competent
authority agreement enabling automatic tax
exchange, including Luxemburg.
Following the signing industry insiders
raised concerns over the implementation of
the agreement, which allows early adopters
to begin sharing data by September 2017.
At EY, Varley welcomes the OECD pro-
gress saying: “We’re now looking for the
government to continue to co-ordinate its
efforts. I think there’s also a real need to
restore public confidence in tax law and
in the system in the UK and globally. We
should continue to be concerned about how
the public views business tax, and not just
the letter of the law, but also the spirit of the
law.”
Changing expectations
Looking forward, like any service line, tax
needs to respond to client needs and, today,
public opinion and expectations around tax
planning are different. It will cause busi-
nesses to arrange their tax affairs not only in
accordance with the law, but also consistent
with broader expectations.
Reflecting of how things were when
Sproul took on the leadership role at Deloitte
UK three years ago, he says there’s been “a
shift in public perception of what we do as a
business and as a profession.
“Some would say that once the econo-
my starts growing some of these concerns
are going to go away, but I don’t think so.
There’s been a change in public expectations.
And it’s not just about having a CSR report.
It’s about what you stand for and your
licence to operate in the society,” he adds.
He has confidence in the OECD’s work
and calls for national governments to align
around it.
“We’re very clear that business needs to do
more to build public trust and these sort of
stories about tax arrangements don’t help,”
Sproul says.
Indeed, adverse public opinion has acceler-
ated regulatory action, both within the UK
and further afield, on tax planning.
Shortly after respondents spoke to IAB,
the UK government announced the introduc-
tion of the “diverted profits tax”, a 25% levy
on profits generated in the UK but artificial-
ly shifted abroad, in an attempt to address
aggressive fiscal planning in Europe.
Soon known as the Google tax, the excise
is part of the government’s plan to raise
over £1bn over the next five years through
tackling tax avoidance and is likely to affect
large multinationals ranging from tech giants
n UK
NETWORKS – STAFF DATA
Rank Name
Total staff Growth
rate
Partners Professional staff Administrative staff Offices
2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013
1 PwC* 18,950 17,420 9% 854 874 14,651 14,087 3,445 3,333 31 34
2 EY* 14,924 13,624 10% 692 565 10,409 9,350 3,823 3,709 22 22
3 Deloitte* 14,458 14,631 -1% 967 983 11,899 12,018 1,592 1,403 28 28
4 KPMG* 11,929 11,335 3% - 583 - - - - 24 23
5 Grant Thornton UK* 4,238 4,234 0% 191 206 3,113 3,012 934 1,016 26 27
6 RSM International* 3,820 - - 389 - 2,773 - 658 - 33 -
7 BDO* 3,604 3,893 -7% 255 259 2,655 2,778 694 856 23 25
8 Nexia International* 2,239 2,297 -3% 364 359 1,183 1,246 692 692 29 27
9 Kreston International* 1,904 1,737 10% 189 171 1,382 1,267 333 299 50 46
10 Baker Tilly International* 1,761 1,722 2% 177 224 1,229 1,183 355 315 45 25
12 Mazars* 1,593 1,417 12% 124 108 1238 1084 231 225 20 18
11 Moore Stephens International* 1,450 1,349 7% 142 149 1,051 886 257 314 33 34
13 HLB International* 1,107 965 15% 144 123 726 627 237 215 31 24
14 PKF UK* 1,029 924 11% 117 107 695 599 217 218 20 18
15 UHY International* 736 734 0% 82 80 507 509 147 145 23 23
16 Crowe Horwath International* 658 645 2% 69 72 459 454 130 119 9 9
17 ECOVIS International* (1) 63 63 0% 6 8 52 50 5 5 1 1
Totals 84,463 76,990 5% 4,762 4,871 54,022 49,150 13,750 12,864 448 384
Notes: (e) International Accounting Bulletin estimate. (1) ECOVIS International does not include staff of its full member law firm in the UK. If it were to, the total staff number would be 215. *Disclaimer = Only data from the named member firm or the exclusive
member firms within a network/association is included. Data relating to correspondent and non-exclusive member firms is not included. Source: International Accounting Bulletin
IAB 544.indd 17 18/12/2014 09:45:51
20. COUNTRY SURVEY International Accounting BulletinUK
18 y December 2014 www.InternationalAccountingBulletin.com
Google, Amazon and Apple, to high street
brands such as Starbucks.
The 25% rate to be charged under the
new law is higher than the UK’s prevailing
corporation tax at 21% and, as such, the
regulation removed the tax avoidance
advantage sought by the businesses divert-
ing profits.
Commenting on the new measure, KPMG
UK head of tax policy Chris Morgan
described the policy as “a very clever move”.
“This is a completely radical approach
we’ve never seen before,” he explained.
“The Chancellor has repeatedly offered
businesses operating in the UK a pledge to
provide the most competitive tax system in
the G20 provided they play by the rules,” he
added, “This ‘carrot’ is now balanced with
an enormous stick.”
This threat of higher tax rates for diverted
profits is likely to change dramatically the
way affected multinational companies do
business, according to Morgan. “The reality
is that this tax is unlikely to be paid since
we expect that companies affected will
restructure to ensure profits are not artifi-
cially diverted. They will then be taxed at
the standard rate of corporation tax in the
normal way,” he explained.
“The on-the-ground effect is therefore
likely to be that the kind of aggressive tax
planning through artificial structuring that
this measure targets will come to sudden and
abrupt halt.”
A determining fighting ground for the UK
mid-tier remains advisory.
“Advisory has always been an important
part of our business and it’s probably about
half of our business nowadays,” Grant
Thornton UK’s Barnes explains. “It is a trend
that will continue, not just within Grant
Thornton UK but across the industry. Most
businesses’ audit and tax practices are only
going to grow if there is an improvement in
the economy and more companies are being
formed. It’s a mature market whereas advi-
sory is still very fragmented; if you look at
the statistics worldwide even the smaller
firms have a small market share,” he says.
Despite its centrality however, areas of real
difficulty remain within the advisory space.
Describing PKF UK’s performance in the
n UK
ASSOCIATIONS – STAFF DATA
Rank Name
Total staff Growth
rate
Partners Professional staff Administrative staff Offices
2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013
1 IAPA* 4,978 5,043 -1% 558 573 4,075 4,119 345 351 154 163
2 Praxity* 2,351 2,120 11% 188 189 1,768 1,425 395 506 51 59
3 DFK International* 1,047 1,049 0% 119 128 718 718 210 203 38 38
4 PrimeGlobal* 939 1,503 -38% 129 187 627 1,005 183 311 29 42
5 MSI Global Alliance* 622 650 -4% 61 63 393 451 168 136 5 5
6 KS International* 488 490 0% 59 63 314 304 115 123 7 7
7 MGI* 469 428 10% 80 79 389 349 - - 23 24
8 BKR International* 390 375 4% 51 52 257 252 82 71 5 5
9 AGN International* 323 301 7% 36 30 217 199 70 72 5 5
10 INPACT* 130 119 9% 11 11 92 82 27 26 5 4
11 EuraAudit International* 95 108 -12% 10 15 58 68 27 25 6 6
12 Integra International* 82 90 -9% 15 14 50 57 17 19 4 4
13 GMN International* 78 69 13% 16 15 53 44 9 10 1 1
14 Abacus Worldwide* 54 - n/a 5 - 45 - 4 - 1 -
Totals 12,046 12,345 -2% 1,338 1,419 9,096 9,073 1,692 1,853 334 363
Notes: *Disclaimer = Only data from the named member firm or the exclusive member firms within a network/association is included. Data relating to correspondent and non-exclusive member firms is not included.
Source:International Accounting Bulletin
■■ UK
FIRM MOVEMENTS
NETWORK/ASSOCIATION FIRM ADDITIONS, MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Abacus Worldwide Added: Shelley Stock Hutter (London,)
Baker Tilly International Lost: Baker Tilly UK; Added: MHA MacIntyre Hudson (London)
BDO Acquired: Morgan Franklin Limited (London)
Grant Thornton International Acquired: Navigant Consulting (London), The Local Futures Group (London)
HLB International Added: French Duncan (Glasgow)
IAPA Added: Harwood Hutton (Beaconsfield)
Kreston International Added: Consilium (Glasgow); Lost: Simpson Forsyth (Aberdeen)
Mazars Acquired: Deloitte’s public sector internal audit business (London)
Morison International Lost: MHA MacIntyre Hudson (London)
PKF Added: PKF-FPM (Northern Ireland), KLSA (London)
PwC Acquired: Mokum Solutions (London), GeoTraceability (London)
RSM International Added: Baker Tilly UK (London)
IAB 544.indd 18 18/12/2014 09:45:51
21. COUNTRY SURVEYInternational Accounting Bulletin UK
December 2014 y 19www.InternationalAccountingBulletin.com
service line Jeremy Bowler, PKF Cooper
Parry and PKF UK and Ireland chairman
says: “To start with the negative, I think
the one area which has not been terribly
exciting for any of us, surprisingly, has been
the restructure market. I think that’s pretty
consistent with all firms in that the restruc-
turing market has been the quietest for many
years.”
Conversely, he says, other areas have per-
formed better, as “a lot of businesses are
well-resourced and prepared to invest in
looking at ways of improving the businesses
that they’re trying to drive forward.”
His analysis is echoed by Boadle at Nexia’s
Smith & Williamson. He describes the insol-
vency market as “still being very difficult
and challenging, both in terms of numbers
of administrations and liquidations, but also
in respect of pricing”.
Elsewhere in the market, industry players
are continuing to strengthen their advisory
arsenal.
As a blast from the not-so-distant past the
Big Four have yet again started investing in
their legal offering across the world. This
year saw PwC, KPMG and, most recently,
EY apply for an Alternative Business Struc-
ture (ABS) licence in the UK, granted by the
Solicitors Regulation Authority.
The licence enables firms to operate on
a multidisciplinary practice basis, but does
not constitute the creation of a separate legal
EU audit reform implementation and the controversial transitional provisions
The EU audit reform debate has exhausted
many in the profession and firm leaders say
they just want clarity at this stage, as imple-
mentation of the rules is still unclear across
most EU countries.
Both the EU Directive 2014/56/EU on Statu-
tory Audits (the Directive) and the Regulation
537/2014/EU on Statutory Audit of Public
Interest Entities (the Regulation) left 51 and
32 options, respectively, available for member
states to decide on.
IFAC’s warnings about getting a patchy audit
regulatory framework across countries might
emerge as a real threat, depending on how dif-
ferently member states interpret the Directive
and the Regulation during the ongoing imple-
mentation process.
For example, the EU Regulation established
that the maximum period a firm can audit a
companyis10years.However,itintroducedtwo
options whereby member states could extend
the audit engagement for another 10 years by
tendering the contract, or another 14 years if a
joint audit firm is appointed.
Equally, the Regulation sets a list of pro-
hibited non-audit services which firms cannot
render to audit clients in order to enhance the
independence of the auditor. However, there's
an option available for member states to allow
certain tax and valuation services, as long as
they don't disrupt the audited financial state-
ments, the audit committee is informed, and
independence is not jeopardised.
Aspokespersonforthegovernment’sDepart-
ment for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)
tells IAB that it plans to launch a consultation
on the implementation before the end of the
year, saying: “This [consultation] will include
considerationofwhetherandhowtheUKmight
implement the various options in the Directive
and Regulation. We have also worked with the
Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on
the issues around mandatory retendering and
rotation of audit firm appointments, which has
now made an order on mandatory retendering
of appointments for the FTSE 350."
The IAB further asked the spokesperson if
BIS is currently getting feedback from various
stakeholders (other than the CMA), and if so,
which stakeholders it is listening to in order to
inform the forthcoming consultation.
BIS wasn’t available for comment on that at
the time this magazine went to press.
Nonetheless, IAB has learned that BIS and
the Financial Reporting Council have convened
a number of stakeholders, forming an ad hoc
group for the implementation of the EU law.
ICAS, ICAEW and ACCA acknowledge being rep-
resented in such a non-binding stakeholder
group.
The CMA, a non-ministerial department of
theUKgovernment,publishedanorderinOcto-
ber that, among other measures, will require
FTSE350companiestoputtheirauditcontracts
out to tender every 10 years. The order comes
into force for financial years commencing on or
after 1 January 2015.
One of the most controversial parts of the
order are the transitional provisions for audit
engagements signed before June 2014, when
the regulation came into force, although the
new rules will apply as of 17 June 2016.
A key question is to know when the first rota-
tion of audit firms should take place, because
article 41 provides three types of transitional
arrangements depending on how long an audit
firm has been in place.
And an additional question would be to
know from what date the duration of the audit
engagement is calculated. According to a Sep-
tember interpretation by the European Com-
mission(EC),thatdateisthefirstfinancialyear
covered in the audit engagement letter when
the auditor was appointed for the first time.
As such, following the latest EC interpretation:
• Audit firms that have been appointed on
or before 16 June 1994 have to rotate by
16 June 2020. That's because the Regu-
lation granted six years to change audit
firms that have been in place for 20 or
more years (as of June 2014, when the
Regulation came into force).
• Audit firms that have been appointed
between 17 June 1994 and 16 June 2003
have to rotate by 16 June 2023. That’s
because the Regulation granted nine
years to change audit firms that have
been in place between 11 and 19 years.
• Audit firms that have been appointed
between 16 June 2003 and 16 June 2006
have to rotate by 16 June 2016.
According to this interpretation, auditors
appointed on or after 17 June 2006 would
rotate when their current engagement ends,
which can’t be more than 10 years. In the first
and second cases [articles 41(1) and 41(2)],
the Regulation specified that public interest
entities “shall not enter into” or “renew” those
long-term audit engagements.
In the third case, however, article 41(3) of
the Regulation features a different structure.
It reads that audit contracts signed before 16
June 2014 (before the regulation came into
force) which are still in place as of 17 June 2016
(deadline for implementation) “may remain
applicable until the end of the maximum dura-
tion referred to in article 17(1)(2) [i.e. 10
years] or in article 17(2)(b) [i.e. the option
for member states to rotate earlier than in 10
years]”
To make things more complicated it also
stated that “article 17(4) shall apply”, which
contains the options for member states to
prolong the maximum duration of audits by 10
or 14 years through tendering or joint audit,
respectively.
Is it possible to interpret a transitional
arrangement of up to June 2024? That would
reflect two years until 2016, when the rules
have to apply anyway, plus 10 years if article
17(4) [i.e. extension by tender] really “shall
apply”; or plus however many years are left of
the ongoing audit engagement.
The CMA sought to align its mandatory ten-
dering provisions rules with those transitional
provisions of the Regulation as interpreted
by the EC. Therefore the CMA sticks to those
arrangements when it comes to the mandatory
tendering of FTSE 350 auditors.
In light of such ambiguous rules, the CMA
stated it would review its order if substantial
guidance on the interpretation of article 41(3)
is provided, which differs from the current
interpretation.
IAB 544.indd 19 18/12/2014 09:45:52
22. COUNTRY SURVEY International Accounting BulletinUK
20 y December 2014 www.InternationalAccountingBulletin.com
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W
t
s
i
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AA
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T
A
practice.
Varley at EY says the move is in response to
client needs, as well as the global strategy of
the business. He says: “We’re not doing this
to compete with traditional law firms. This is
a part of a package for our existing clients that
are asking us for these services.”
Deloitte UK is currently the only UK Big
Four firm with no ABS licence and Sproul says
the firm is not looking to secure an ABS licence
for the time being. However he said: “We do
continue to review if this is something that
could be complimentary to what we do and at
this stage the answer is no”.
The UK is gearing up for a general election
in May 2015 and political rhetoric is getting
stronger and stronger about the potential yes/
no referendum about UK membership of the
EU. However, many UK accounting firm lead-
ers show little support for such a referendum
as they call for sensible business decision-
making and say political risk is the biggest
threat for their clients and future investment
decisions.
Varley says that: “While we remain posi-
tive about the UK economy over the next
five years, the run-up to the election in May
increases the political uncertainty, which is
not good. “I think it’s a common view that the
access to the EU single market is key. I think
we have an obligation to help Europe be more
competitive, because we’re competing globally
against companies in India and China and so
forth. We have to be competitive and at the
moment we’re a bit off the pace and a bit insu-
lar as we try to sort through our own problems
trying to complete the single market.”
Sproul echoes Varley’s views and says any
business prefers certainty to uncertainty when
making decisions to invest and grow.
“And if we echo what our clients are telling
us then our view is that the UK would be much
worse off if we came out of the EU,” asserts
Sproul.
“We support views on reform, but I think
we find ourselves in a difficult position if we
find ourselves outside.” <
■■ UK
Top 20 firms: fee data
Rank Fee income (£m) Last year’s fee income (£m) Growth rate
1 PwC 2,539.0 2,436.0 4%
2 Deloitte 2,314.0 2,307.0 0%
3 KPMG 1,909.0 1,841.0 5%
4 EY 1,868.0 1,721.0 9%
5 Grant Thornton UK 512.3 471.2 9%
6 BDO 384.2 304.0 26%
7 RSM International 246.0 - -
8 Smith & Williamson (1) 199.0 185.7 7%
9 Moore Stephens International 129.7 124.7 4%
10 Mazars 130.0 120.0 8%
11 Saffery Champness (2) 66.2 61.0 9%
12 Crowe Clark Whitehill (3) 61.1 60.7 1%
13 MHA MacIntyre Hudson (4) 41.8 38.2 9%
14 Kingston Smith (5) 40.1 40.5 –1%
15 Johnston Carmichael (6) 36.3 33.4 9%
16 Menzies (7) 32.0 30.6 4%
17 Buzzacott (8) 28.1 25.2 11%
18 Reeves (9) 21.2 20.0 6%
19 Armstrong Watson (11) 18.8 18.1 4%
20 haysmacintyre (12) 18.3 17.4 5%
Notes: *BDO provided unaudited figures as audited figures were not available at the time of publication. (1) Smith & Williamson is
a member of Nexia International. (2) Saffery Champness is a member of Nexia International. (3) Crowe Clark Whitehill is a member
of Crowe Horwath International. (4) MHA MacIntyre Hudson is a member of Baker Tilly International. (5) Kingston Smith is a
member of KS International Source. (6) Johnston Carmichael is a member of PKF International. (7) Menzies is a member of HLB
International. (8) Buzzacott is a member of PrimeGlobal. (9) Reeves is a member of Kreston International. (10) UHY Hacker Young
is a member of UHY International. (11) Armstrong Watson is a member of MSI Global Alliance. (12) haysmacintyre is a member of
MSI Global Alliance. Source: International Accounting Bulletin
IAB 544.indd 20 18/12/2014 09:46:01
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