Top 75 Firms Survey BRIEFING February 2015 Accountancy

n top 75 firms survey BRIEFING february 2015 accountancy

When Baker Tilly did its analysis to ensure future growth, we could see RSM I’m under was the right network. no illusion It’s not just about size – if you Laurence Longe, senior look at our FTSE partner, Baker Tilly 100 share, from the ‘‘ start of mandatory tendering, over a cycle of five to 10 ‘‘years, PwC must lose market share Ian Powell, senior partner, PwC

Businesses are being more cautious than the environment would suggest, but confidence is stronger than it was 8 ‘‘Scott Barnes, CEO, Grant Thornton CHOPPING AND CHANGING

artners in the UK’s top 75 accountancy ‘We have seen growth across all our lines of Regulation- firms must be feeling happy with service, and right across the country,’ says Ian driven audit their performance, having weathered Powell, senior partner of PwC, which maintains the recessionary storms of recent its position as the largest UK accountancy firm tendering, Pyears to emerge in a strong position to tackle with £2.8bn in fees and some 18,000 members strategic the uncertainties of the coming year. Widely of staff. ‘Some parts of the firm have seen regarded as a bellwether for the UK economy – double-digit growth,’ Powell explains, ‘such as acquisitions when their clients do well, the firms do well – the in Scotland, where fees grew by 16%.’ and network accountancy sector has recorded solid growth Powell points towards the so-called Northern in fee income over the past 12 months, with Corridor, linking cities such as Manchester changes many senior partners now preparing for further and Leeds, as an area of particular potential indicate a demands on their skills across the board. for the firm, where there has been an increase According to the latest Accountancy Top 75 in technology-based and other innovative different survey, fee income has increased by a healthy businesses, rather than a return to more landscape 6% compared with the previous 12 months to traditional industries following the recession. reach more than £12bn (£11.5bn in the previous ‘There’s a lot of really interesting technology for the UK’s year). Of course, some three quarters of that development going on here, and we are seeing income has been generated by just four firms – people investing in these areas,’ he says, top firms, the Big Four giants of PwC, Deloitte, KPMG reflecting the current government’s enthusiasm reports and EY – but very few of the other top 75 firms for a northern ‘powerhouse’. saw their income dip during 2014. Indeed, Philip Smith a number of firms have been able to report TENDERING double-digit growth. But the big development at this end of the The number of partners and staff employed league table has been the huge increase in audit by the firms has also increased amid reports tendering among the FTSE 350 companies, of a return to the ‘war for talent’ not seen and while many may have expected PwC to since before the financial crisis of 2008. In all, lose market share as a result of this increased there are now 6,122 partners in the firms in activity, the reverse so far appears to be the the top 75, up from 5,801 a year ago (2007: case. The firm has seen fees in audit and 5,324 total partners in the UK’s Top 60 firms; accounting push pass the £1bn mark, 4.4% up total fee income £8.8bn), while the number of on the previous year. Deloitte, meanwhile, has staff has increased from 79,792 last year to seen its fee income in this sector drop nearly 5% 87,135 this year. to £706m. But Powell is not complacent. ‘I’m

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There is a lot of turmoil in the international network and associations sector so we are hoping to benefit from that and offer We act for a third new members the benefit of the FTSE 350 of the PKF brand in the UK and should be ‘‘Jeremy Bowler, senior able to get to a position of partner, PKF Cooper Parry acting for half as we build and chairman, PKF UK confidence in our brand, but it is a long-term game Simon Michaels, ‘‘managing partner, BDO

We have gone through a period of investment, so we now feel we are capable of more growth now that the UK economy feels like it is picking up 9 ‘‘Tony Cates, head of audit, KPMG CHOPPING AND CHANGING

under no illusion – if you look at our FTSE 100 be inviting PwC to the tender party. At the same share, from the start of mandatory tendering, time, it is facing a Financial Reporting Council over a cycle of five to 10 years, PwC must lose investigation over the Tesco audit. market share. But I think people are recognising The other Big Four firms have also won and the investment that we have put into our audit lost audit accounts in the FTSE 350, but all have methodology.’ Over the course of the year, maintained overall fee income growth. Deloitte, PwC has won some significant audits, including the second largest firm, reported a modest 1.4% HSBC, Vodafone, Diageo and G4S. However, increase in fee income, while KPMG and EY saw it will in due course have to relinquish the audit income grow by 5.2% and 8.5% respectively. of Barclays, the firm’s largest FTSE 100 audit ‘I think there is more growth to come,’ says client, after the high street bank said it would not Tony Cates, KPMG’s head of audit. ‘The 10

BIG FOUR FEES BY SERVICE LINE Fee income: 3,000 £m 2,814 Audit and assurance 2,689 2,621 Tax 2,461 2,550 2,500 2,331 2,515 Consulting and corporate finance 2,329 1,909 2,000 1,814 1,868 1,703 1,806 1,721 1,598 1,631 1,500 1,329 1,205 1,186 1,072 1,000

500 893 634 804

0 909 645 907 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 PwC Deloitte KPMG EY 963 659 999 969 680 1040 1012 704 1098 www.accountancylive.com 628 511 459 397 481 957 1073 1033 309 370 722 759 848 804 907 999 1040 1098 459 517 1137 1210 1282 652 534 517 350 392 380 343 381 372 431 455 470 663 529 926 511 534 529 563 562 360 634 645 659 680 704 742 563 1001 458 456 469 434 495 403 444 478 507 550 706 562 1282 628 652 663 742 706 893 909 963 969 1012 458 350 397 456 392 481 469 380 925 434 343 1073 494 381 1033 Total of all three 403 360 309 444 372 370 478 431 722 507 455 759 550 470 848 n top 75 firms survey BRIEFING february 2015 accountancy

INCOME BY SERVICE LINE TOP 75 AUDIT AND ACCOUNTING TOTAL INCOME OF TOP 75 FIRMS 25 % change 13 £bn 12.01 Note: 2012 to 2014 top 75, 20 6 12 2007 to 2011 top 60 11.48 11.03 4 11 15 10.33 9.92 9.82 18 19 10 3 9 9.36 10 16 17 11 20 9 8.80 1 13 5 5 12 15 8 10 14 0 7 7 8 -5 6 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2 -10

Rank Firm £m £m % 2014 (2013) 2014 2013 change feeling is that we have gone through a period 1 (1) PwC 1,012.0 969  4.4 of investment, so we now feel we are capable 25 2 (2) Deloitte 706.0 742 -4.9 of more growth now that the UK economy 10 3 (3) EY 550.0 507  8.5 feels like it is picking up.’ 20 4 (4) KPMG 495.0 434  14.1 15 5 (5) Grant Thornton 135.2 131.1  3.1 ACQUISITIVE One area where Cates is expecting growth 10 6 (6) BDO 131.0 111  18.0 1  10 is in the SME sector, which is why the firm 5 7 (7) Baker Tilly 107.0 108 -0.9 8 (9) Moore Stephens 52.7 52.9 -0.4 is working with online accounting software 0 provider Xero to offer cloud accounting services 9 (8) Mazars 52.3 48.3  8.3 for small businesses. By supplying accounts, -510 (-) PKF UK3 36.9 n/a n/a bookkeeping, payroll, VAT and corporate tax -1011 (10) Crowe Clark Whitehill 36.2 34.4  5.2 10 4 services, the firm will be directly challenging the -1512 (11) Haines Watts Group 32.4 31.5  2.9 high street accountancy practices. 13 (12) UHY Hacker Young5 26.3 25.3  4.0 -20 The firm also signed a 10-year agreement 14 (13) Kingston Smith 23.3 23.3 n 0.0 and announced it was to be an innovation 15 (14) MHA MacIntyre Hudson 23.2 22.6  2.7 partner of Formula 1 racing team, McLaren 16 (15) Smith & Williamson2 22.6 21.1  7.1 10 Group. The expectation is that the pairing will see the audit firm apply the advanced 17 (16) Saffery Champness 19.9 18.6  6.8 predictive analytics and technology normally 18 (17) Wilkins Kennedy 19.3 17.6  9.8 used in Grand Prix races to improve audit and 19 (=19) Francis Clark 13.0 11.9  9.2 advisory services. 20 (=19) Buzzacott 12.6 11.9  5.9 10 ‘We have a very strong regional team, Total 3,506.9 3,321.5  5.6 and have seen growth both in London and Footnotes: see page 16. This chart only features figures where reported across the country,’ says Cates, ‘and have a consulting business that can operate in the mid-market.’ 10 Such talk might be a concern for the firms directly below the Big Four, but if they audit services following the Competition and are worried, they are not showing it. Grant £12bn Markets Authority’s report into audit, it has seen Thornton, fifth in the league table, saw fee increased demand for its non-audit services. income climb nearly 9% while next-placed ‘It has been an opportunity to get to know BDO saw its income jump by over 25%. companies in this market,’ Michaels says. ‘We According to Simon Michaels, BDO’s act for a third of the market, and should be able managing partner, around 20% of the growth Overall fee to get to a position of acting for half as we build can be put down to its merger with PKF, but income recorded for confidence in our brand, but it is a long-term that leaves 80% of organic growth. ‘We’ve the Top 75 accountancy game.’ He adds that the firm would not be retained almost all of the PKF clients, and there firms over the last distracted from its mid-market work, an area has been great commitment from the PKF 12-month period where he sees more activity than anywhere else people, so we are pleased with what we have in the UK economy. ‘Mid-market companies achieved,’ Michaels says. have a real ambition to grow, and it is our Growth at BDO has come from its audit heartland where we have partners and senior work in the mid-market, tax and advisory teams on the ground,’ he says. services such as forensic work and in During the year, BDO also acquired the transactions. While the firm may not have UK team of Morgan Franklin, a consultancy seen a stampede among the FTSE 350 for its that specialises in financial management and

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INCOME BY SERVICE LINE TAX BIG FOUR PRE-TAX PROFIT AND PARTNERS

25 % change 5 3,500 20 9 2011 3,029 3,101 14 2012 2,971 15 16 3,000 4 2013 2,717 10 17 19 2014 15 2,500 1 3 8 10 18 5 20 2,173 2,117 12 13 1,994 0 1,948 2,000 2 6 -5 11 1,500 -10 0.2% 9.0% -2.6% 11.5% -1.9% 4.4%

-15 1,000 Pre-tax pro t £m Partners -20 7

Rank Firm £m £m % 2014 (2013) 2014 2013 change 1 (1) PwC 704 680  3.5 of June 2015, so has hit this target a year early. 2 (2) Deloitte 562 563 -0.2 But he remains cautious about the coming year. ‘Businesses are being more cautious 3 (4) EY 470 455  3.3 11 than the environment would suggest,’ he 4 (3) KPMG 381 343  11.1 says, ‘but confidence is stronger than it was.’ 5 (6) BDO 103 86  19.8 However, Barnes remains upbeat that his firm  6 (5) Grant Thornton 91.3 91.4 -0.1 can win business in the larger company sector, 1 7 (7) Baker Tilly 64 77 -16.9 having secured the audit of Interserve, the FTSE 11 8 (8) Smith & Williamson2 38.2 37.3  2.4 250 support service company, in 2014. 9 (10) Mazars 24.3 20.7  17.4 10 (9) Haines Watts Group4 24.1 23.5  2.6 NETWORK MOVES 11 (12) Moore Stephens 19.4 19.7 -1.5 There were further mergers and acquisitions 12 (13) SJD Accountancy 19 19 n 0.0 further down the rankings and the return of a 11 13 (-) PKF UK3 18 n/a n/a familiar name. When PKF merged with BDO 14 (14) Saffery Champness 17.41 15.2  14.5 last year, it was thought that the firm’s name would disappear. But as PKF International has 15 (15) Crowe Clark Whitehill 14.4 13.8  4.3 set about rebuilding its presence in the UK, the 16 (16) Buzzacott 14.4 12.8  12.5 firms that joined have slowly been rebranding 11 17 (17) MHA MacIntyre Hudson 12.1 11.3  7.1 under the PKF label. 5 18 (18) UHY Hacker Young 10.7 10.4  2.9 The combination of Johnston Carmichael, 19 (=20) Francis Clark 9.2 8.5  8.2 PKF Littlejohn, PKF Cooper Parry, PKF-FPM 20 (=20) Chantrey Vellacott DFK 9 8.9  1.1 and KLSA brought the old PKF name back into Total 2,605.5 2,496.5  4.6 the table in 11th place. Now, the new group is 11 aiming for a return to the top 10. Footnotes: see page 16. This chart only features figures where reported ‘We are talking to a number of other firms, looking for additional members,’ says Jeremy Bowler, PKF Cooper Parry’s senior partner and chairman of PKF in the UK. ‘We are 11 technology. The move was one of a number aiming to achieve income of £150m in the of acquisitions made by accountancy firms in 6,122 next two years. There is a lot of turmoil in the 2014 as they sought to provide niche services international network and associations sector for their clients. PwC acquired technology so we are hoping to benefit from that and company Mokum and data collection company offer new members the benefit of the PKF GeoTraceability, while KPMG snapped up the brand in the UK.’ identity and access management division of Total number The ‘turmoil’ in the international networks Quberra Solutions. of partners in firms came to a head last year when Baker Tilly Grant Thornton bought analytics firm Local in the Top 75, up from decided to jump ship and join the RSM Futures Group as part of a drive to grow its 5,801 in 2013 International network, following its takeover consulting business, having already brought on of RSM Tenon. The attractions of RSM were board the UK financial services advisory arm of made quite clear at the time, particularly its consultancy Navigant. strength in the US through McGladrey, the The firm, which saw its fee income climb to country’s largest firm outside the Big Four. ‘The £512m, says its advisory work has increased Kidsons merger in 2002 doubled our size and 40% over the last year. CEO Scott Barnes, who then we did it again with Tenon,’ says Baker will be handing over to Sacha Romanovitch later Tilly’s senior partner Laurence Longe. ‘When this year, had set a target of £500m by the end Baker Tilly did its analysis to ensure 12

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PARTNER VALUE INCOME AND PROFIT 2014 (2013) HOW THE TOP 75 IS COMPILED Rank Firm Fee income (£m) Pre-tax profit Partners Fee/partner *Information is collected through 2014 2013 (£m) 2014 2013 ratio (£000s) a questionnaire sent out by Accountancy and completed 1 (1) PwC 2,814.0 2,689.0 722 740 854 840 3,295 3,201 by firms. Wherever possible, 2 (2) Deloitte 2,550.0 2,515.0 581 610 967 983 2,637 2,558 we adhere to firms’ description of service lines and structure, 3 (3) KPMG 1,909.0 1,814.0 414 455 588 583 3,247 3,111 and rely on the integrity of the information provided. The 4 (4) EY 1,868.0 1,721.0 400 368 692 565 2,699 3,046 aim is to produce consistent 5 (5) Grant Thornton 512.3 471.2 81.2 73.1 191 206 2,682 2,287 information4,913 as far as possible 4,906 4,913 5,131 5,375 736 862 887 and for this reason we have756 not 6 (7) BDO 392.0 312.0 76.8 55 255 209 1,537 1,493 756 excluded firms or groups with an 8 (8) Smith & Williamson2 199.1 185.8 36 29.4 268 261 743 712 unusual structure, although the Number of: question of whether some in the 11 (-) PKF UK3 76.0 70.8 22.2 n/a 117 104 650 681 list are ‘firms’ in the traditional Male partners sense remains open to debate. 14 (12) Crowe Clark Whitehill 61.1 60.7 15.5 15.3 69 72 886 843 ? 2009 2010 2011 2012 Female partners 16 (14) Begbies Traynor Group 45.8 51.1 4.6 6.7 68 n/a 673 n/a Other staff 18 (17) MHA MacIntyre Hudson 41.8 39.3 9 9.6 71 66 589 595 20 (21) Menzies 32.2 30.3 9.9 8.4 35 34 920 891 TOP 75 57,868 STAFFING LEVELS 23 (23) Francis Clark 27.8 25.8 9.5 8.7 49 47 567 549 25 (26) FRP Advisory7 24.6 21.5 10.6 8.4 31 37 794 581 71,677 63,537 75,599 78,606 12 5,085 29 (29) Reeves & Co 21.2 20.0 6.25 5.8 41 40 517 500 896 30 (28) Price Bailey 20.3 20.6 1.3 3.5 24 22 846 936 42 (47) James Cowper 12.8 11.8 3.1 2.5 13 13 985 908 44 (44) Shipleys 12.4 12.4 4.1 3.9 14 15 886 827 12 2012 45 (54) SRLV 12.4 10.0 4.1 3 13 13 954 769 46 (45) Barnes Roffe 12.3 12.0 5.1 5.2 17 18 724 667 48 (46) Hillier Hopkins 12.3 11.9 3.3 3.9 19 20 647 595 55 (56) Simmons Gainsford 10.4 9.9 2.7 2.4 16 15 650 660 76,553 12 57 (58) Dains 10.0 9.4 2.8 2.9 19 18 526 522 58 (64) Cowgill Holloway 9.1 8.3 2.4 2.2 12 11 758 755 5,361 890 59 (60) Spofforths 9.0 9.3 2.19 1.7 16 17 563 544 60 (67) French Duncan 9.0 8.0 2 2 21 22 429 364 62 (63) BKL 8.8 8.3 3 3 14 12 629 692 12 63 (65) Gerald Edelman 8.7 8.3 2.9 2.8 12 12 725 692 2013 64 (70) Whittingham Riddell11 8.6 7.0 2.1 1.6 13 12 662 583 65 (68) Alliotts 8.5 7.8 2.6 2.3 13 13 654 600 68 (-) Critchleys12 7.8 8.5 1.8 2.6 12 14 650 607 12 69 (72) Jeffreys Henry 6.1 5.8 2 2.2 10 9 610 644 83,039 74 (75) Wright Vigar 4.2 4.0 0.9 0.9 6 7 700 571 5,211 Totals 10,757.6 10,200.8 2,446.6 2,441.5 4,560 4,310 1,062 1,031 911 Footnotes: see page 16. This chart only features reported P&L 12

2014 future growth, we could see RSM was the right Kennedy teamed up with CW Fellowes and network. It’s not just about size, but there is a Buzzacott acquired Davison & Shingleton. FRP major opportunity here as the US and UK are Advisory, the insolvency specialists, acquired the our largest markets.’ Scottish restructuring and insolvency team that 87,135 This led to a hole in the Baker Tilly International had previously been a part of RSM Tenon. network, one that was filled by MHA MacIntyre Amid all this activity, partners will be looking Male partners Hudson, currently placed 18th in the Top 75 with at their own profitability and this might be an Female partners fee income of £41.8m. The UK MHA network area of concern in 2015. Not all the firms publish Other staff came in as well, which included Larking Gowen their profits, but the indications are that overall (39th), Moore and Smalley (49th), Henderson profits per partner fell in the sector during 2014. Loggie (53rd) and Broomfield & Alexander (72nd), There were some clear winners, but others will creating a combined income of £82.9m, which have seen a dip in their take home pay. This would rank them just outside the top 10. could reflect increasing costs and investment Other mergers during the year included French into their businesses, but as growth firms up Duncan’s acquisition of Abercrombie Gemmell, across the sector, it is one performance indicator while Price Bailey bought Beechams, Wilkins which partners might not be quite so happy.

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EY THE BIG VIEW EY 2014 2013 Steve Varley, EY’s UK digit growth in our advisory Fee income £1,868m £1,721m chairman, presided over an services, and we expect Profit £400m £368m 8.5% increase in fee income to add head count across Fees per partner £2.69m £3.04m during 2014, a performance the board.’ Partners 692 565 that brings the fourth largest Varley sees audit as UK firm a step closer to third a particular opportunity. Staff 14,924 13,688 placed rivals KPMG. And he The firm invested in its is confident that growth will audit services ahead of The firm is set to take continue into 2015. ‘As far the European and CMA on office space in Canary – perhaps this is a signal as 2015 is panning out, we competition rulings and is Wharf, London, as it has of intent as it pushes into have every chance of beating pleased that the firm is seeing outgrown its plush offices retail bank audits, having last year’s growth figures. a return on its investment on the south bank of the picked up RBS and the ‘We have seen double- more quickly than expected. Thames at London Bridge Co‑operative Bank in 2014.

BAKER TILLY THE LONGE VIEW 2013. The merger also quickly forgotten. Together Baker Tilly 2014 2013 led Baker Tilly to join the we have reshaped and are Fee income £246m £167m international network of now a major player in the Profit Withheld Withheld RSM, a move that Longe middle market.’ 13 Fees per partner £1.89m £1.70m hopes will boost his firm’s But Longe has been international capability. careful not to be too internally Partners 130 98 ‘We are quite experienced focused. ‘The critical thing Staff 3,691 1,696 in mergers and acquisitions, is service,’ he says, adding having done a number that as the economic climate is understandable. The over the years, but this has improves, so confidence 13 jump in fee income includes proved to be the fastest and among the firm’s clients is With a 47% increase in fee seven month’s worth of most successful integration improving. ‘Business has income during 2014, Baker RSM Tenon, the troubled we have ever done,’ Longe been difficult for clients, but Tilly’s managing director consolidator that Longe’s says. ‘When you get people they have come through and Laurence Longe’s confidence firm acquired in September together, the past is very are optimistic for the future.’ 13

LUBBOCK FINE THE FINE VIEW Lubbock Fine 2014 2013 As managing partner of carry out between 500 and Fee income £13.5m £9.7m London firm Lubbock Fine, 600 audits a year throughout Profit Withheld Withheld 13 Mark Turner has seen his firm Europe between now and Fees per partner £964,000 £808,000 move from last year’s 59th 2017, alongside other Partners 14 12 position to a healthy 40th in member firms of international Accountancy’s Top 75 tables, network Russell Bedford. Staff 87 75 following a 39% increase in ‘We have had organic 13 fee income. growth across all our main which is nice while it continues The jump in fees was in service lines as well as but you can only see the audit part the result of winning winning the EC contract,’ threshold going up.’ after the general election, a key contract to provide Turner says, adding that the ‘We are also seeing a but there is also increasing financial audit services for the firm has been working for the steady increase in tax work work around areas such as 13 European Commission (EC). EC since the early 1990s. ‘We – there will be a Budget this wealth management and The work will see the firm are still seeing growth in audit, March, followed by another auto-enrolment.’

UHY HACKER YOUNG THE NEW VIEW

UHY Hacker Young 2014 2013 build the group’s presence in interested in cyber security, a the UK, drawing on national hot topic at the moment. Fee income £50m £48m expertise and the UHY ‘But we have also Profit Withheld Withheld International network. recruited automotive Fees per partner £610,000 £601,000 ‘We have worked up a five- experts in Manchester, and Partners 82 80 year strategy, called Vision our education group has for 2020, which we began seen a great deal of growth Staff 634 654 rolling out last November. in the academy sector. We are very interested in And international work is Spence is standing down, to new technology, such as increasingly important – we be replaced by Nottingham cloud-based technology, and have been doing a lot of AIM After 17 years at the helm of partner Jon Warsop. A key how that can be used for the work with companies coming UHY Hacker Young, Howard priority for Warsop will be to benefit of our clients. We are from China and Malaysia.’ 14

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TOP 75 FIRMS SURVEY: UK ACCOUNTANCY FIRMS LEAGUE TABLE 2014 (2013)

Fee/partnerFee/partner ratio ratio Annual accounts Auditor tenure Fee income Fee income Fee income% change 2014 £000s2013 £000s 2014 2013 Partners Year end Rank Firm Status Auditor 2014 £ £ m m (2013) 1 (1) PwC 2,814.0 2,689.0  4.6 3,295 3,201 854 LLP Yes Crowe Clark Whitehill 30/06/14 2003 2 (2) Deloitte 2,550.0 2,515.0  1.4 2,637 2,558 967 LLP Yes Grant Thornton 31/05/14 2003 3 (3) KPMG 1,909.0 1,814.0  5.2 3,247 3,111 588 LLP Yes Grant Thornton 30/09/14 2008 4 (4) EY 1,868.0 1,721.0  8.5 2,699 3,046 692 LLP Yes BDO 27/06/14 1998 5 (5) Grant Thornton 512.3 471.2  8.7 2,682 2,287 191 LLP Yes Mazars 30/06/14 2013 6 (7) BDO 392.0 312.0  25.6 1,537 1,493 255 LLP Yes PwC 04/07/14 2004 7 (6) Baker Tilly1 246.0 167.0  47.3 1,892 1,704 130 LLP/Ltd Yes Kingston Smith 31/03/14 2007 8 (8) Smith & Williamson2 199.1 185.8  7.2 743 712 268 note Yes Grant Thornton 30/04/14 2009 9 (9) Moore Stephens 136.9 131.7  3.9 907 834 151 P No n/a 31/12/14 n/a 10 (10) Mazars 130.0 120.4  8.0 1,016 1,115 128 LLP Yes Crowe Clark Whitehill 31/08/14 n/a 11 (-) PKF UK3 76.0 70.8  7.3 650 681 117 note No n/a 31/05/14 n/a 12 (13) Saffery Champness 64.9 58.9 10.2 998 950 65 P No n/a 31/03/14 n/a 13 (11) Haines Watts Group4 62.9 60.8  3.5 593 529 106 note No n/a 31/03/14 n/a 14 (12) Crowe Clark Whitehill 61.1 60.7  0.7 886 843 69 LLP Yes Grant Thornton 31/03/14 2004 14 15 (15) UHY Hacker Young5 50.0 48.0  4.1 610 601 82 note See note 30/04/14 note 16 (14) Begbies Traynor Group 45.8 51.1 -10.5 673 n/a 68 PLC Yes Deloitte 30/04/14 2008 17 (16) Kingston Smith 42.2 40.1  5.2 703 680 60 LLP Yes Price Bailey 30/04/14 2006 18 (17) MHA MacIntyre Hudson 41.8 39.3  6.4 589 595 71 LLP Yes Hillier Hopkins 31/03/14 2005 19 (19) Wilkins Kennedy 35.0 31.5  11.1 515 508 68 LLP Yes Harmer Slater 30/04/14 2012 20 (21) Menzies 32.2 30.3  6.3 920 891 35 LLP Yes PrinceCroft Willis 30/06/14 2009 21 (20) Chantrey Vellacott DFK 30.8 30.5  1.0 811 726 38 LLP Yes Grant Thornton 31/12/13 2006 22 (22) Buzzacott 30.3 27.9  8.6 977 1,073 31 LLP Yes Hillier Hopkins 30/09/14 2007 23 (23) Francis Clark 27.8 25.8  7.8 567 549 49 LLP Yes Price Bailey 31/03/14 2011 24 (24) TaxAssist Accountants6 27.2 24.5  11.0 143 130 190 note No n/a 31/12/13 2007 25 (26) FRP Advisory7 24.6 21.5  14.4 794 581 31 LLP Yes BDO 30/04/14 2010 26 (25) HW Fisher 23.0 23.7 -3.0 793 817 29 No No n/a 30/04/13 n/a 27 (27) Frank Hirth8 22.4 21.3  5.2 2,800 888 8 PLC Yes Manningtons 30/06/14 2004 28 (31) Armstrong Watson 21.5 19.0  13.2 694 576 31 P No n/a 31/03/14 n/a 29 (29) Reeves & Co 21.2 20.0  6.0 517 500 41 LLP Yes Clive Owen 31/05/14 2008 30 (28) Price Bailey 20.3 20.6 -1.5 846 936 24 LLP Yes Crowe Clark Whitehill 31/03/14 2004 31 (32) Haysmacintyre 19.7 18.3  7.7 730 572 27 P No n/a 31/03/14 n/a 32 (30) SJD Accountancy 19.0 18.0  5.6 4,750 18,000 4 Ltd Yes Kingston Smith 31/10/14 2011 33 (34) Hazlewoods 18.9 17.4  8.6 1,050 916 18 LLP Yes Princecroft Willis 30/04/14 n/a 34 (33) Duncan & Toplis9 18.4 17.8  3.4 736 636 25 Ltd n/a n/a 31/03/14 n/a 35 (35) Streets10 17.1 16.6  3.0 855 830 20 note No n/a 30/06/14 n/a 36 (36) Anderson Anderson & Brown 17.0 16.7  1.8 1,308 1,392 13 LLP Yes Thomson Cooper 31/03/14 2014 37 (37) Bishop Fleming 16.3 15.8  3.2 679 632 24 LLP No n/a 31/05/14 n/a 38 39 Lovewell Blake 15.7 15.7  0.0 628 604 25 LLP Yes Crowe Clark Whitehill 30/09/14 2011 39 41 Larking Gowen 14.0 13.7  2.2 737 685 19 P No n/a 31/03/14 n/a 40 59 Lubbock Fine 13.5 9.7  39.2 964 808 14 P No n/a 30/11/14 n/a 41 43 Mercer & Hole 13.4 12.4  8.1 788 729 17 P No n/a 30/09/14 n/a 42 47 James Cowper 12.8 11.8  8.5 985 908 13 LLP Yes Monahans 30/04/14 2012 43 49 Barber Harrison & Platt 12.4 11.2  10.7 729 659 17 P No n/a 31/12/13 n/a 44 44 Shipleys 12.4 12.4 n 0.0 886 827 14 LLP Yes SRG 30/04/14 2008 45 54 SRLV 12.4 10.0  24.0 954 769 13 P No n/a 30/06/14 n/a 46 45 Barnes Roffe 12.3 12.0  2.5 724 667 17 LLP Yes Haines Watts 30/06/14 2009 47 53 Forrester Boyd 12.3 10.8  13.9 946 771 13 P No n/a 31/03/14 n/a 48 46 Hillier Hopkins 12.3 11.9  3.4 647 595 19 LLP Yes Price Bailey 31/03/14 2008 49 48 Moore and Smalley 11.9 11.4  4.4 661 633 18 LLP Yes Hayes & Co 31/03/14 2006 50 50 Silver Levene 11.1 11.1 -0.3 653 655 17 LLP Yes Pritchard Fellows 31/05/14 2011 51 52 Scott-Moncrieff 11.0 10.8  1.9 688 771 16 P No n/a 30/04/14 n/a 52 55 Beever and Struthers 10.5 9.9  6.1 500 450 21 P No n/a 30/09/14 n/a 53 51 Henderson Loggie 10.5 11.0 -4.5 500 524 21 No No n/a 30/11/13 n/a 54 57 Rothmans 10.5 9.7  8.2 525 485 20 LLP Yes Mazars 31/03/14 2009 55 56 Simmons Gainsford 10.4 9.9  5.1 650 660 16 LLP Yes Sopher & Co 31/03/14 2005 56 62 Carter Backer Winter 10.2 8.6 18.6 638 614 16 LLP Yes Rickard Keen 31/03/14 2010

www.accountancylive.com accountancy february 2015 BRIEFING top 75 firms survey n

Fee/partnerFee/partner ratio ratio Annual accounts Auditor tenure Fee income Fee income Fee income% change 2014 £000s2013 £000s 2014 2013 Partners Year end Rank Firm Status Auditor 2014 £ £ m m (2013) 57 58 Dains 10.0 9.4  6.4 526 522 19 LLP Yes Price Bailey 31/03/14 2007 58 64 Cowgill Holloway 9.1 8.3  9.6 758 755 12 LLP Yes Champion Acc 31/05/14 2007 59 60 Spofforths 9.0 9.3 -2.6 563 544 16 LLP Yes Price Bailey 31/12/13 2011 60 67 French Duncan 9.0 8.0 12.5 429 364 21 LLP Yes Parkhill Mackie 30/04/14 2001 61 66 RGL Forensics 8.8 8.3  6.5 1,470 1,380 6 LLP Yes CBHC 31/03/14 2011 62 63 BKL 8.8 8.3  6.0 629 692 14 LLP Yes Leslie Woolfson 31/03/14 2005 63 65 Gerald Edelman 8.7 8.3  4.8 725 692 12 P No n/a 31/03/14 n/a 64 70 Whittingham Riddell11 8.6 7.0  22.9 662 583 13 LLP Yes Garrats 31/03/14 2004 65 68 Alliotts 8.5 7.8  9.0 654 600 13 P No No 30/06/14 n/a 66 - Thomas Wescott 8.3 8.3 n 0.0 519 n/a 16 P No n/a 30/04/14 n/a 67 69 Brebners 7.9 7.6  3.9 416 475 19 P No n/a 05/04/14 n/a 68 - Critchleys12 7.8 8.5 -8.2 650 607 12 LLP Yes Mercer Lewin 31/05/14 n/a 69 72 Jeffreys Henry 6.1 5.8  5.2 610 644 10 LLP No No 30/04/14 n/a 70 71 Chiene + Tait13 6.0 6.0 n 0.0 750 667 8 P No n/a 30/09/14 n/a 71 - HJS 5.8 5.5  5.5 725 n/a 8 No No n/a 31/12/13 n/a 72 - Broomfield & Alexander 4.7 4.6  2.0 671 n/a 7 P Yes No 31/03/14 n/a 73 74 Harris Lipman 4.7 4.7 n 0.0 522 671 9 LLP No n/a 31/03/14 n/a 74 75 Wright Vigar 4.2 4.0  5.0 700 571 6 Ltd Yes No 31/03/14 n/a 15 75 - SMP Accounting & Tax 3.2 3.2 n 0.0 457 n/a 7 Ltd No KPMG 31/12/13 2002 Total 12,013.5 11,320.9  6.12 974.4 1,123.9 6,122

TOP 75 FIRMS TALENT: PARTNERS AND STAFF LEVELS 2014 (2013)

Total staff ratioFee/partner £000s Fee income£m Partners partners Female Rank Firm Offices 2014 (2013) 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 1 (1) PwC 854 840 3,295 3,201 145 130 18,000 16,580 2,814.0 2,689.0 31 2 (2) Deloitte 967 983 2,637 2,558 138 143 13,491 13,648 2,550.0 2,515.0 28 3 (3) KPMG 588 583 3,247 3,111 80 87 11,341 10,752 1,909.0 1,814.0 22 4 (4) EY 692 565 2,699 3,046 118 113 14,924 13,688 1,868.0 1,721.0 21 5 (5) Grant Thornton 191 206 2,682 2,287 25 28 4,047 4,028 512.3 471.2 26 6 (7) BDO 255 209 1,537 1,493 23 23 3,349 2,503 392.0 312.0 23 7 (6) Baker Tilly 130 98 1,892 1,704 n/a n/a 3,691 1,696 246.0 167.0 41 8 (8) Smith & Williamson 268 261 743 712 54 52 1,195 1,193 199.1 185.8 11 9 (9) Moore Stephens 151 158 907 834 34 26 1,414 947 136.9 131.7 33 10 (10) Mazars 128 108 1,016 1,115 18 14 1,157 1,340 130.0 120.4 20 11 (-) PKF UK 117 104 650 681 18 10 912 n/a 76.0 70.8 20 12 (13) Saffery Champness 65 62 998 950 14 13 521 497 64.9 58.9 10 13 (11) Haines Watts Group 106 115 593 529 10 10 737 771 62.9 60.8 53 14 (12) Crowe Clark Whitehill 69 72 886 843 12 11 589 573 61.1 60.7 9 15 (15) UHY Hacker Young 82 80 610 601 12 14 634 654 50.0 48.0 23 16 (14) Begbies Traynor Group 68 n/a 673 n/a 10 n/a 371 501 45.8 51.1 40 17 (16) Kingston Smith 60 59 703 680 14 13 395 401 42.2 40.1 6 18 (17) MHA MacIntyre Hudson 71 66 589 595 9 9 500 473 41.8 39.3 12 19 (19) Wilkins Kennedy 68 62 515 508 11 8 498 421 35.0 31.5 13 20 (21) Menzies 35 34 920 891 3 2 307 306 32.2 30.3 6 21 (20) Chantrey Vellacott DFK 38 42 811 726 3 5 269 303 30.8 30.5 9 22 (22) Buzzacott 31 26 977 1,073 7 4 265 275 30.3 27.9 1 23 (23) Francis Clark 49 47 567 549 6 5 390 394 27.8 25.8 7 24 (24) TaxAssist Accountants 190 188 143 130 35 35 637 666 27.2 24.5 235 25 (26) FRP Advisory 31 37 794 581 0 0 184 185 24.6 21.5 12 26 (25) HW Fisher 29 29 793 817 1 1 196 193 23.0 23.7 2 27 (27) Frank Hirth 8 24 2,800 888 3 9 196 198 22.4 21.3 1 28 (31) Armstrong Watson 31 33 694 576 3 4 383 371 21.5 19.0 15 29 (29) Reeves & Co 41 40 517 500 6 7 257 273 21.2 20.0 4 16

www.accountancylive.com n top 75 firms survey BRIEFING february 2015 accountancy

TOP 75 FIRMS TALENT: PARTNERS AND STAFF LEVELS 2014 (2013) cont’d

Total staff ratioFee/partner £000s Fee income£m Partners partners Female Rank Firm Offices 2014 (2013) 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 2014 2013 30 (28) Price Bailey 24 22 846 936 3 1 264 260 20.3 20.6 6 31 (32) Haysmacintyre 27 32 730 572 7 7 170 160 19.7 18.3 1 32 (30) SJD Accountancy 4 1 4,750 18,000 1 0 180 160 19.0 18.0 12 33 (34) Hazlewoods 18 19 1,050 916 2 2 227 216 18.9 17.4 6 34 (33) Duncan & Toplis 25 28 736 636 1 1 334 316 18.4 17.8 10 35 (35) Streets 20 20 855 830 2 3 124 109 17.1 16.6 11 36 (36) Anderson Anderson & Brown 13 12 1,308 1,392 3 3 213 195 17.0 16.7 1 37 (37) Bishop Fleming 24 25 679 632 2 3 239 245 16.3 15.8 7 38 (39) Lovewell Blake 25 26 628 604 2 2 228 228 15.7 15.7 6 39 (41) Larking Gowen 19 20 737 685 2 2 252 242 14.0 13.7 9 40 (59) Lubbock Fine 14 12 964 808 1 0 87 75 13.5 9.7 1 41 (43) Mercer & Hole 17 17 788 729 6 6 134 137 13.4 12.4 3 42 (47) James Cowper 13 13 985 908 3 3 153 153 12.8 11.8 7 43 (49) Barber Harrison & Platt 17 17 729 659 4 4 232 217 12.4 11.2 5 44 (44) Shipleys 14 15 886 827 1 2 82 87 12.4 12.4 2 16 45 (54) SRLV 13 13 954 769 0 0 120 110 12.4 10.0 1 46 (45) Barnes Roffe 17 18 724 667 2 2 110 110 12.3 12.0 3 47 (53) Forrester Boyd 13 14 946 771 0 0 203 183 12.3 10.8 5 48 (46) Hillier Hopkins 19 20 647 595 1 1 126 123 12.3 11.9 4 49 (48) Moore and Smalley 18 18 661 633 6 6 216 230 11.9 11.4 5 50 (50) Silver Levene 17 17 653 655 1 1 98 95 11.1 11.1 1 51 (52) Scott-Moncrieff 16 14 688 771 4 2 156 151 11.0 10.8 2 52 (55) Beever and Struthers 21 22 500 450 5 5 164 176 10.5 9.9 3 53 (51) Henderson Loggie 21 21 500 524 7 6 172 170 10.5 11.0 4 54 (57) Rothmans 20 20 525 485 2 2 145 140 10.5 9.7 11 55 (56) Simmons Gainsford 16 15 650 660 1 1 113 85 10.4 9.9 2 56 (62) Carter Backer Winter 16 14 638 614 0 0 101 89 10.2 8.6 n/a 57 (58) Dains 19 18 526 522 4 3 141 131 10.0 9.4 6 58 (64) Cowgill Holloway 12 11 758 755 1 1 111 108 9.1 8.3 3 59 (60) Spofforths 16 17 563 544 4 4 183 174 9.0 9.3 5 60 (67) French Duncan 21 22 429 364 5 5 180 165 9.0 8.0 5 61 (66) RGL Forensics 6 6 1,470 1,380 1 1 54 55 8.8 8.3 2 62 (63) BKL 14 12 629 692 2 2 90 91 8.8 8.3 1 63 (65) Gerald Edelman 12 12 725 692 0 0 87 88 8.7 8.3 3 64 (70) Whittingham Riddell 13 12 662 583 n/a 1 n/a 165 8.6 7.0 3 65 (68) Alliotts 13 13 654 600 1 1 73 70 8.5 7.8 2 66 (-) Thomas Wescott 16 n/a 519 n/a 2 n/a 150 n/a 8.3 8.3 12 67 (69) Brebners 19 16 416 475 3 2 81 83 7.9 7.6 2 68 (-) Critchleys 12 14 650 607 n/a n/a 98 103 7.8 8.5 69 (72) Jeffreys Henry 10 9 610 644 1 0 50 45 6.1 5.8 1 70 (71) Chiene + Tait 8 9 750 667 2 2 98 100 6.0 6.0 2 71 (-) HJS 8 n/a 725 n/a 1 n/a n/a n/a 5.8 5.5 2 72 (-) Broomfield & Alexander 7 n/a 671 n/a 1 n/a 86 n/a 4.7 4.6 3 73 (74) Harris Lipman 9 7 522 671 1 1 41 44 4.7 4.7 2 74 (75) Wright Vigar 6 7 700 571 0 1 96 78 4.2 4.0 6 75 (-) SMP Accounting & Tax 7 n/a 457 n/a 1 n/a 23 n/a 3.2 3.2 1 Total 6,122 5,801 974 1,124 911 865 87,135 79,792 12,013.0 11,321.0 6,122

Notes 1 Previous total fee income excludes RSM Tenon, firms with shared brand. Firms produce 10 Made up of various business entities: general which merged with Baker Tilly in Oct 2013. accounts individually, some are LLPs commercial partnerships, LLPs, limited and Previous audit & acc figures inc RSM Tenon 6 All 190 TAA franchisees operate as a sole trader, unlimited companies 2 Smith & Williamson Holdings Ltd is holding part of a partnership or via a limited company. 11 2014 financial details taken from Companies business TaxAssist Direct Ltd (franchisor) publishes House filing 3 Combined results for Johnston Carmichael, annual accounts. Does not publish annual 12 2014 financial details taken from Companies PKF Littlejohn, PKF Cooper Parry, PKF-FPM accounts for its franchise network House filing and KLSA 7 Income is all insolvency & restructuring related 13 Converted to LLP status from 1 Oct 2014 4 Includes LLPs, others partnerships and 8 Unlisted plc unquoted companies 9 Limited company following incorporation on LLP, limited liability partnership; P, partnership; 5 UHY Hacker Young, group of independent 1 Oct 14 F, franchise: N, network