Ernst & Young (E&Y) has reported
a global revenue total of $24.4bn for the past financial year, up
7.6% in local currency compared with the previous year’s $22.8bn
total.
The world’s third largest accounting
network saw growth across all service lines, and reached an
all-time maximum staff total with approximately 167,000 employed at
the end of the period.
The results come in the wake of fellow
Big Four firm Deloitte’s annual report last month, which showed an
8.6% increase in revenues. Both networks posted their best results
since 2008.
Like Deloitte, E&Y saw strong growth
in emerging markets, where fees were up 15.5% year-on-year, and in
advisory services, where the network brought in 16.2% more
business.
Assurance revenues for E&Y were up
4.1%, tax revenues 7%, and transactions revenues 9.4%. The third
largest firm globally said growth in all areas was organic, with
acquisitions accounting for less than one half of a percentage
point in overall growth.
Brazil saw organic revenue growth of
17.5%, while India, Africa, China and the CIS region reported
revenues up by 19.8%, 10.2%, 11.8% and 15.6%,
respectively.
“FY12 remained a dynamic and
volatile period in the world economy. The ongoing sovereign debt
crisis in Europe, the impending ‘fiscal cliff’ in the US, and signs
that the emerging-market economies are slowing all point toward a
challenging business climate in the months ahead.
We will also continue to face regulatory uncertainty in many
jurisdictions around the globe. That said, we are pleased that our
business showed good results, the best since 2008, in the midst of
what has been several years of uncertainty,” said E&Y global
chairman and chief executive Jim Turley.
