Deloitte is the world's most valuable professional services brand

Global accountancy and consultancy firm Deloitte has been named the world’s most valuable brand in the professional services industry.

Every year, Brand Finance conducts research into the brand value of the world’s largest companies. The latest edition of the study pegs Deloitte’s brand value at $26.7 billion, over $600 million more than Accenture and around $4 billion ahead of the second-best Big Four on the list, PwC, and $6 billion ahead of EY.

Meanwhile, Deloitte’s brand value is more than double that of KPMG and strategy giant McKinsey & Company (understandably, as the firm’s headcount is eleven times smaller). To assess brand value, the researchers looked at a range of factors including company revenues and profitability, brand strength, impact in industry, brand equity and company reputation.

Despite the impact of the Covid-19-induced downturn on the professional services industry, Deloitte has shown strong resilience through the pandemic. In its 2020 financial year (which ended in the summer of 2020 and included 3-4 pandemic-hit months), Deloitte reported 6% revenue growth to $48 billion – securing its status as the largest of the world’s four biggest professional services firms by revenues.

Deloitte has been in that position since taking over the mantle from PwC in 2016. The firm thanks much of its top position to the size of its consulting practice (which accounts for 41% of overall fee income), with Deloitte Consulting, Monitor Deloitte (its strategy consulting wing) and Deloitte Digital (its digital transformation arm) combined the world’s largest management consulting outfit.

Back in the 2002, Deloitte was the only of the Big Four to not sell its consulting division in the wake of the Enron scandal, and the firm has been able to reap the dividends of this head-start while its Big Four rivals had to rebuild their practices.

While Deloitte still has to unveil its 2021 financial year results, financials are expected to be market-leading – many of its members firms in major markets are on track to book year-on-year growth. Leading Global CEO Punit Renjen to recently hail Deloitte’s performance, telling the firm’s 330,000 employees in an email that “resilience is part of our DNA” and that “we will end the year in a strong position.”

“Despite grappling with a challenging year, Deloitte continues to showcase its dominance in the professional sector claiming the title of the world’s most valuable brand. The combination of Deloitte’s focus on putting people first, paired with over 175 years of experience, makes for a truly resilient and world leading brand,” said Parul Soni, a researcher who worked on the Brand Finance report.

The brand value benchmark also lauded Deloitte for the high familiarity of its brand among the broader public – in the UK and the US for instance, the firm has been grabbing the headlines for months due to its involvement in helping the governments with their strategic Covid-19 response – and for the reputation the firm enjoys among its clients.

Beyond consulting, Deloitte’s auditors help corporates and government agencies with fact-checking their financials, its accountants help clients with accounting compliance and financial management, while its tax advisors help clients with (inter)national taxation and transfer pricing. The firm’s dealmakers advise executives, business owners and private equity on mergers & acquisitions, capital raising and initial public offerings, among others.

Other professional services brands that made the top 20 of the ranking include BDO, Boston Consulting Group, Willis Towers Watson, Bain & Company, Mercer, Capita, Oliver Wyman, FTI Consulting, Mazars and Korn Ferry.