BDO increases revenues to $9.6 billion and outgrows main rivals
Mid-tier accounting and consulting firm BDO has grown its revenues by 7% to $9.6 billion in its latest financial year, with its headcount up 10% to 88,100 professionals across 1,800+ offices in 167 countries.
In November 2018, it was first reported that BDO was set to acquire Moore Stephens, in a deal that would add a further financial clout of £138 million to its organisation, and create the fifth largest firm in the UK. Since the culmination of that deal, BDO has worked consistently to grow its revenue and headcount in Britain, enlarging its graduate and trainee intake to over 400 in 2019.
According to the firm’s global results, this performance has been replicated across BDO’s international operations. The acquisition of Consolid8 in Australia, and the purchase of Grant Thornton in South Africa buoyed results in those regions, as part of a total of 20 mergers and acquisitions closed before September 2019. This was partially behind the firm seeing its strongest economic performance in the Americas, at 16% growth. The region now accounts for 53% of the firm’s global fee income.
EMEA is BDO’s second largest geographic division, accounting for 33% of its total, and grew by 13%. Meanwhile Asia Pacific expanded by 12%, led by massive growth in Pakistan (38%), India (30%) and Indonesia (21%). Country organisations that performed particularly well were Australia, Chile, Lithuania, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Romania, Saudi Arabia and Singapore – all of which booked double-digit growth. Audit and assurance remains BDO’s largest contributor to global revenues at $4 billion, accounting for 42% of the group’s revenues. This is followed by advisory and tax – each at 21% of group turnover.
Overall, BDO posted global revenues of $9.6 billion, growing by 7% and outpacing its performance compared to last year. At the same time, when looking at the last decade BDO has almost doubled its revenues from the $5 billion it brought in in 2009. When comparing BDO to its main rivals over that period, meanwhile, the firm is the fastest growing of any of the world’s largest audit and advisory firms. Deloitte was the fastest grower among the Big Four giants – Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC – but trailed BDO by 14%, while Grant Thornton and RSM grew by 67% and 50% respectively.
Keith Farlinger, Global Chief Executive Officer of BDO, said, “It has been a landmark year for BDO globally, with continued organic growth and our selective ongoing merger and acquisition strategy paving the way for another solid year of growth. We have cemented our position as the fastest-growing global accountancy and business advisory firm in the last 10 years.”
Looking ahead, BDO expects a solid 2020 financial year, even amid the growing economic and geopolitical uncertainty unfolding in many of the world’s leading financial markets. To be ready for the future, the firm is investing $300 million in technology and innovation, something which client demand remains high for.
