Showing posts with label PwC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PwC. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Audit Firm: PwC Chairman Interview

Petra Justenhoven recently sat down in Frankfurt with Dennis Nally, Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, to get his views on a range of issues and events related to the past year. 
Petra: Dennis, as people look through the 2015 Global Annual Review, despite some challenges, it seems like it was a very successful year for PwC.
Dennis: Overall, it was a very strong performance for PwC. The environment that we are dealing with today is challenging – whether it’s the global economy, the geopolitical issues, or the stiff competition. PwC performed really well with revenue growth of 10% putting us over the US$35 billion mark for the first time. We’ve got great momentum going into FY16, with much to build on. There’s a lot to be proud of across the PwC network.
Petra: You mention solid growth overall – do specific areas stand out?
Dennis: As we look at the results for the last 12 months, all of our lines of service showed really positive growth – led by Advisory which is up 18%, Tax up 7% and our Assurance business – notwithstanding some really difficult competitive market pressures – up 6%.
And when I look across the globe there are a lot of positives. I start with the US, the largest firm in our network, revenues up by an impressive 10%; our UK firm, a robust performance, up 9%; South America a strong result in a very challenging region – up 8%.
Growth in the Eurozone is challenging, as you well know, but I look at practices such as Italy up 11%, Germany 8% and France 6%, doing well in a very difficult marketplace
China is going through a lot of adjustments to its economy but our firm, the largest of all professional services firms in China, grew 8%.
And India, the fastest growing firm in the PwC network, up 17%.
And so, as I say, it gives us much to build upon as we head into FY16.
Petra: Coming back to Europe, you know that here the regulators are focused on audit, and even more on tax advice. What kind of impact does that have on PwC?

Dennis: Well, the regulatory environment continues to be very challenging, not just for us but for our clients. One of our biggest challenges is that the regulatory environment is not always aligned in all parts of the world. Also, the movement to mandatory firm rotation here in Europe is going to generate significant change for everyone – not only for the profession, but also for our clients as they implement the new rules.
Having the highest quality audits is the key to success and the foundation of our brand. Whilst we support reforms that will enhance audit quality, we don’t believe that mandatory firm rotation is going to achieve this. But the rules are the rules, and we will work with our clients to deal with these changes, whilst ensuring our quality remains of the highest standard.
As for tax reform, I think everyone agrees that in many cases tax regulations were written many years ago for a different type of global economy.
So we need tax rules that are really fit for purpose. With PwC having the largest tax practice in the world, we feel that it is a part of our responsibility to engage in that debate and to share our points of view and perspectives. And, of course, we’ll do so. But it is a challenge.
Petra: Eighteen months ago, PwC made history with our largest acquisition, Booz & Company, now known as Strategy&. How has that progressed?
Dennis: Without question it’s an incredibly strong move for PwC. The marketplace is continually telling us that the need to move from just providing advice to really dealing with solutions is an absolute must. The capabilities that Strategy& has brought into PwC allow us to do that.
But this is not just about advisory. The whole notion of going from strategy to concrete solutions is applicable to our assurance business and our tax practice. So we are very excited about Strategy&. We are well on our way to making this transaction a real success for PwC across the world.
Petra: In addition to acquisitions, PwC continues to develop joint business ventures and alliances – the most recent being with Google. Can you talk about that?
Dennis: Yes it’s a great point Petra, because I would say whether it’s Google or some of our other alliances with Oracle or Microsoft, we need to think about new ways of doing business.
The idea that as a professional services network we would house all of those capabilities within PwC is a model that’s really outdated.
We are working with Google in a number of areas, like cyber security, to co-create solutions for our clients. We bring in the content, they bring in the technology. So you can expect more of those types of arrangements in the future.
Petra: You just mentioned technology driving client services. What does technology mean for us?
Dennis: The whole issue of technology is clearly one of the most significant megatrends that we’ve seen. It’s transforming everything – whether it’s the digitalisation of business or the use of big data.
We have an important role to play in terms of how we help our clients, and obviously the alliances that we talked about will help facilitate that. But if this is disrupting our clients’ businesses, it’s going to disrupt PwC’s business as well. So we now think about the use of technology in a very different way, to provide better, more efficient services across the whole PwC network. Our aspiration is to become much more of a technology-enabled organisation.
Petra: You’ve talked about the focus on technology, but we are a people business.
Let’s step into the shoes of our future colleagues. So what would you say to persuade potential employees to join PwC?
Dennis: The world is such a dynamic place today – there are so many tremendous opportunities out there to help clients – it’s an exciting time to be part of a professional services network, and particularly PwC – so come join us!
I think PwC is unique because of our special focus on talent – not only attracting the best and brightest but how we help develop their careers, and give them the right kinds of experiences.
I like to say we help them build their résumé, we help them build their balance sheets. What we want to do is help individuals set goals that meet their needs, their timetable and their aspirations.
We want them to be part of a culture that allows everyone to succeed.
Petra: Has anything changed in terms of the kinds of people or skills we are looking for?
Dennis: Well, obviously the world is changing pretty rapidly, and so our talent needs to keep up with that. I talk about the necessity of every one of our people continually reinventing themselves and having a focus on progressing their own careers. We have talked a lot about technology, and having the ability to continually adapt to new technologies will be, I think, a real skill for the future.
But the world is so complex today, we need people who know how to work with teams, people who know how to collaborate, and who know how to listen. The whole issue of diversity and being able to work with different people with different backgrounds and cultures is a critical skill set. We help our people develop these skills and capabilities – that’s why I think it’s so exciting to be a part of PwC today.
Petra: You’ve mentioned diversity and I know PwC is involved in many programmes promoting diversity. Just this year we saw PwC joining a UN initiative called HeForShe. Could you talk about what we are doing in this area?
Dennis: I’m absolutely convinced that when we bring people together from different backgrounds – whether it’s gender or diverse types of capabilities – there is no question that the quality of our thought process is significantly enhanced. And so creating an environment where all of our people feel that they can make a contribution and that we value that contribution is critical for us.
We think HeForShe is a unique way to approach the diversity agenda – getting men across the PwC network to think about the issue of gender diversity in a different way. Sometimes I get a little frustrated that we are not making as much progress as we want to on the gender diversity issue, but PwC has a real focus on it – starting from the very top.
Petra: Many organisations are deliberating over their purpose. How would you define the Purpose of PwC?
Dennis: Given the world that we are operating in today, I believe every institution needs to have a clearly defined and articulated purpose.
For PwC, it’s about building trust in society and solving important problems. It starts with a fundamental premise that as an organisation that is over 160 years old and that’s providing substantial comfort to the capital markets, we believe we have an important role to help build trust in our society.
Secondly, there are some pretty challenging and difficult issues out there and resolving those problems is a real focal point for PwC.
A good example is our work in Norway to help develop a new clinical pathway for patients with acute stroke.
I see Purpose as our guiding light, who we are and what we are trying to get accomplished.


Petra: What do you think PwC will look like in 10 years, in 2025?
Dennis: Well, 2025 may be a little bit of a stretch – the world is moving so quickly. But we all know this global economy is so interconnected today, and to me that presents a lot of exciting opportunities. So at PwC we need to continue to evolve to deal with those issues and challenges.
That includes becoming much more of a technology-enabled organisation, and continuing to anticipate the solutions our clients will need in this ever-evolving business environment.
That translates into a lot of opportunities for all of our people, and to me that’s really the exciting part of the journey to 2025.
Petra: One last question before we close.
You will step down as the Global Chairman next year. Is there any final thought you would like to share?
Dennis: Well, first off I have a lot to do here over the next eight months or so, and I’m very much focused on what we are trying to achieve within the PwC network. But as I mentioned at the outset, we have a fabulous foundation to build upon, and I’m really excited about the momentum that we have in terms of what we are doing for clients and other stakeholders, and where we are trying to take the PwC network.
And I would sum up by saying it’s just a tremendous time to be in professional services and, more importantly, to be a part of PwC – it’s a chance to make a contribution that is value added and to really make a difference as you shape your career.
Petra: That’s a great message. Dennis, many thanks for your time and for sharing these insights with us.
Dennis: Thanks, great to be with you Petra.

Reference:

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Audit Firm: Big4 Financial Performance 2015

The Big Four firms have recently announced their results for the fiscal year 2015. PwC has retaken number one spot from Deloitte as the world’s largest firm by revenue. KPMG is yet to announce its results.
A brief overview of the performance of these firms in comparison with the previous year is as follows.

PwC has recorded a global annual revenue increase of 10% to $35.4bn (£23.34bn), which represents its strongest growth in 10 years. Consulting now accounts for more than 30% of PwC’s total revenues after growing 18% to $11.2bn during the 2015 fiscal year. This was boosted by the acquisition of Strategy& (formerly Booz & Company) in April 2014. Revenues in PwC’s auditing division grew more slowly, rising 6.2 per cent to $15.2bn in a year marred by the profit misstatement scandal at Tesco, a PwC audit client.

According to Dennis Nally, Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited,
“As we look at the results for the last 12 months, all of our lines of service showed really positive growth – led by Advisory which is up 18%, Tax up 7% and our Assurance business notwithstanding some really difficult competitive market pressures – up 6%.”

Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee (“DTTL”), its network of member firms, and their related entities. Deloitte provides audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk management, tax and related services to public and private clients spanning multiple industries.

Deloitte member firms (Deloitte) reported aggregate revenues of US$35.2 billion for the fiscal year ended 31 May 2015 (FY15), representing 7.6 percent growth in local currency terms.

EY announced combined global revenues of US$28.7b for its financial year ended 30 June 2015. This represents an 11.6% increase over financial year (FY) 2014 revenues in local currency, outpacing FY14 growth (which had increased by 6.8% over FY13).
All of EY’s service lines continued to grow in FY15 ahead of their FY14 growth: Advisory grew 17.6% (vs. 14.4% growth in FY14); Assurance 8.1% (vs. 4.5% in FY14); Transaction Advisory Services (TAS) 15.5% (vs. 6.5% in FY14); and Tax 10.3% (vs. 4.3% in FY14).
In FY15, EY headcount reached 212,000 globally – an all-time high.

A graphical representation of the performance of these three firms is shown for comparison purpose.

Head Count Graph


 Revenue Graph


KPMG is due to report its 2015 results in December. KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International") is a Swiss entity. Member firms of the KPMG network of independent firms are affiliated with KPMG International. We are presenting here KPMG’s 2014 and 2013 performance comparison.

The KPMG network delivered strong growth and recorded-high revenues of USD24.8 billion for the 2014 fiscal year, an increase of 6.3 percent in local currency terms over the prior year (2013), recording growth across Audit, Tax and Advisory.

Head Count Graph




Revenue Graph

References:

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Audit Firm: Recruitment

Are you a recent accounting graduate and want to get hired at any of the big accounting firms? Here are some tips that will prove to be helpful in your search.
Curriculum Vitae: An employer will first meet you on paper through your CV. Prepare a good professional CV that defines your career goal, your education, past experience (if any) and your skills and expertise. CV is a marketing tool for a job seeker and you should use that tool to the greatest effect.
Cover Letter: The purpose of constructing an effective cover letter is to demonstrate your suitability for an organization by identifying how your past academic background and employment make you a top candidate.
Interview: Before going for the interview research the firm and understand the organization and job description. Dress appropriately for the interview, generally this means business professional dress. As it is rightly said that your energy introduces you even before you speak so try to make a good first impression on the interviewer. Ask some intelligent questions during the interview when asked about having any questions from your research conducted earlier on about the company.
Follow up: After the interview send an email to the employer and thanks them for the interview opportunity. This will not only enhance your image as a good communicator but will also ensure that the employer keeps you in the queue for potential selection. 
Some of the key soft skills that employers these days are looking for are:
  • Problem solving and analytical thinking
  • Initiative and drive
  • Team player
  • Communication skills (written and verbal)

Some of the key technical skills employers look for in young graduates aspiring to join the auditing profession are:
  • Financial accounting and reporting
  • Tax strategy, planning and control 
  • Risk management and internal control
  • IT Skills

Additional Thoughts
Some very useful information can be obtained from the websites of the big Four firms about their recruitment process and policies.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Audit Method: Fraud

Accounting fraud has long been the buzzword in the industry due to its wider and deeper implications on the company, industry and the economy at large. Window dressing is a term used in accounting for presenting financial statements in such a manner that disguise the actual financial transactions and present them in a more favorable way. According to PWC Economic crime survey the five most commonly reported types of economic crimes are asset misappropriation, procurement fraud, bribery and corruption, cybercrime and accounting fraud.
Auditors are required to keep themselves up to date about all these fraudulent practices and should apply professional skepticism while conducting the audit of financial statements.
ISA 240, The Auditor’s Responsibilities Relating to Fraud in an Audit of Financial Statements addresses all the issues which an auditor has to deal with while conducting the audit. Under ISA-240, auditors are now required to evaluate the effectiveness of an entity’s risk management framework (internal control) in preventing misstatements whether through fraud or otherwise, in all audits. Furthermore, auditors are now required to be more proactive in their search for fraud. The auditor is responsible for maintaining an attitude of professional skepticism throughout the audit, recognizing the possibility that a material misstatement due to fraud could exist, notwithstanding the auditor’s past experience of the honesty and integrity of the entity’s management and those charged with the governance. An overriding requirement of ISA 240 is that auditors are aware of the possibility of there being misstatements due to fraud.

The objectives of the auditor are:

a) To identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements due to fraud;
b) To obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the assessed risks of material misstatement due to fraud, through designing and implementing appropriate responses; and
c) To respond appropriately to fraud or suspected fraud identified during the audit.

The ISA, however, recognize the fact that owing to inherent limitation of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that some material misstatements of the financial statements may not be detected, even though the audit is properly planned and performed in accordance with the ISAs.

Practice
 Misstatements in the financial statements can arise from either fraud or error. The distinguishing factor between fraud and error is whether the action that results in the misstatement of the financial statements is intentional or unintentional. In planning the audit, auditors must be alert to the possibility of fraud and assess the risk that fraud might occur. The auditor shall treat those assessed risks of material misstatement due to fraud as significant risks and accordingly, the auditor shall obtain an understanding of the entity’s related controls, including control activities, relevant to such risks.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Audit Firm: Vault Top 50 US Accounting Firms

Vault.com, an online careers site, has unveiled its annual ranking of the best accounting firms to work for in the U.S. Vault uses the following survey methodology to rank the audit firms.
Methodology: “When Vault asks accounting professionals what matters most to them in choosing an employer, they continually tell us that although prestige is important, it's not the only determining factor. In addition to prestige, accounting professionals find the following factors extremely important: firm culture, type of work, location, work/life balance, compensation, business outlook, and training opportunities.
As a result of these findings, Vault has compiled a weighted formula that reflects the issues job seekers care about most. We believe that this formula showcases those accounting firms deemed the Best to Work For. The Vault Accounting 50 is based on the following:
  • 40 percent prestige
  • 20 percent firm culture
  • 10 percent work/life balance
  • 10 percent compensation
  • 10 percent overall job satisfaction
  • 5 percent business outlook
  • 5 percent formal training

The top 10 Accounting/Auditing Firms in US at the Vault top 50 for 2016 are as follows.
  1. PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) LLP
  2. Ernst & Young LLP (EY)
  3. Deloitte LLP
  4. KPMG LLP
  5. Grant Thornton LLP
  6. BDO USA LLP
  7. McGladrey LLP
  8. Plante Moran
  9. Moss Adams LLP
  10. Crowe Horwath LLP

You can see the complete list of Top 50 Accounting firms by Vault at the under mentioned address:

Additional Thoughts

Accounting Firms should develop a congenial and friendly working environment for its employees and young graduate trainees so that they are developed and groomed professionally. A culture that promotes leadership, diversity, ideas generation will not only nurture the employees to grow professionally but will also bring good reputation for the firms locally and globally.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Audit Firms: Financial Performance 2011


What do we know about financial performance of accounting firms, especially the Big Four firms? I planned to do some analytics in this area and provide my readers with results this week. However, the smart guys from Big4 site have already done this work and all I want to do is to provide some additional considerations.
Thus, this blog post is going to discuss revenues of accounting firms.

Big4: Business as usual
The Table 1 represents revenues of the Big4 accounting firms and growth rates.
Table 1: Big4 Revenues and Growth Rates 

Figure 1: Combined Big4 Revenues

I would consider following points:
First, generally the Big4 firms have overcome consequences of financial crisis, i.e. revenue of 2011($103.6 bln.) exceeded the pre-crises level of 2008 ($101.3 bln.). However, E&Y did not manage to achieve pre-crisis revenues.
Second, PwC showed good performance in 2011 with 10% growth and regained dominant position in Big4 after it was given in to Deloitte in 2010.
Third, Deloitte is distinguished by the highest compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the period of 2007-2011. Meanwhile, E&Y has reported the lowest CAGR of all Big4 firms.

Big4 Audit Services
The blog is about audit, so we can’t avoid talking about audit fees percentages in total revenue, which are reported in Table 2.  J

Table 2: Big4: Audit Fees Share in Total Revenue

Figure 2: Combined Big4 Audit Fees Share in Total Revenues

The sharp decrease of E&Y’s audit fees share in 2008 should not mislead us. The issue is that E&Y reported the combined figures of assurance and advisory services before 2008. That is why, for illustration purposes I depicted tendencies in audit/assurance revenues starting from 2008 year.
The tendency of decline in audit & assurance services might indicate two issues. First, the accounting firms are eager to provide consulting/advisory services, especially in economic crisis time, when clients need some advice on how to improve their businesses. Second, clients might be dissatisfied by the level of assurance services provided: accounting firms can not provide in this area something special because of strict unification of reports, or e.g. some clients wanted to delist themselves from stock exchanges. Anyway, this is a very deep and serious issue, which deserves to be discussed separately.     

Non-Big4 Accounting firms
I decided to compare information about Big4 firms with 2 big accounting global networks, BDO and Grant Thornton International (GTI). I picked up these 2 firms because they publish their reports online and information was rather accessible. According to Accountancy Age global ranking BDO and GTI, occupied 5th and 7th places respectively in 2010.

Table 3: BDO and GTI Revenues and Growth Rates

Figure 3: Combined BDO and GTI Revenues

Remarkably, the combined revenues of BDO and GTI are 2.4 times less than their closest Big4 rival, KPMG! BDO has shown good CAGR for 2007-2011, and what could be also mentioned is that the decline in revenues of -2% in 2009 was the lowest comparing with Big4 and GTI. Regretfully, GTI was not able to achieve pre-crises revenues ($4 bln.)

Non-Big4 Audit Services Share
I made the same exercise here as in case with Big4 to provide information about audit revenues, see Table 4 and Figure 4.

Table 4: BDO and GTI: Audit Fees Share in Total Revenue

Figure 4: Combined BDO and GTI Audit Fees Share in Total Revenues

Quite interesting is that the tendency for audit and assurance services growth in BDO and GTI differs from the one shown by Big4 firms. Both firms increased share of audit fees in structure of their revenues in 2009 (from 50% to 53%), and were able to keep these fees on the same level.
Unfortunately, the picture here could be distorted by BDO reporting. The firm reports audit and accounting under the same line. Though report does not specify what sorts of “accounting” services are provided, it might be suggested that these are the services related with help to clients in financial statements compilation, i.e. having non-assurance nature.

Comments are welcomed!
If you have anything to add about performance of Big4 or the other global accounting firms, please feel yourself comfortable to leave a comment. Maybe you have some insightful information about accounting firms’ balance sheets or cash flows J
PS Please, do not forget to vote for your top 3 favorite subjects. The polls are going on the right-hand side of the blog. The rules and explanations regarding subject are here.

Sources: 
1. Reports and press-releases placed on the web-sites of the mentioned firms.