RSM breaks through $7 billion revenue and 50,000 headcount barriers
The latest financial year for RSM has seen the professional service firm enjoy rapid growth on all fronts. While the company enjoyed double-digit revenue expansion in 2021, it also saw its headcount rise to 50,000 professionals.
RSM International, branded RSM, is a multinational network of accounting and consulting firms. The group represents the seventh largest professional services firm in the UK, and the sixth largest in the world by revenue.
As its clients seek support for their post-pandemic recovery, the firm has enjoyed a boom in demand over the last year. Globally, RSM’s revenue increased by 15.8%, hitting $7.26 billion. This puts it’s rate of growth roughly on par with its mid-market rival BDO – the fifth largest professional services player in the world.
Driving this growth, RSM has enjoyed growth across all of its service lines and regions. Consistent with many other multi-faceted firms, though, some services were in higher demand than others.
While the firm’s traditional specialities of audit and accounting both grew healthily, at 8% and 19% respectively, RSM enjoyed a huge leap in demand for its consulting offering. At 38%, the advisory wing may have been most sought after as, as the firm noted in a release, it had been especially committed to “helping middle market businesses navigate the post-pandemic recovery and fulfil their global ambitions” through the last year.
For example, digitalisation amid the pandemic has come with many cybersecurity issues – increase resulting in 19% growth in RSM’s risk advisory services in 2021. Meanwhile, high levels of M&A activity globally led to increased demand for tax structuring and due diligence services – as private equity, venture capital and private wealth sought to take advantage of the low-interest rate environment. In Europe alone, RSM recorded 276 deals in the first half of 2021 which equated to two transactions completed by Firms in the region per day across a six-month period.
Jean Stephens, Global Chief Executive Officer of RSM International, commented, “Over the past year, global companies of all sizes have had to confront uncertainty and the accelerated change sparked by the pandemic. For middle market businesses this has been a chance to turn challenge into an opportunity to embrace flexible and agile working, digital-first and data-led technology solutions, with purpose-driven, ethical practices. As these businesses look to transform their operations in a post-pandemic era, critical thinking and specialist consulting support has never been more important.”
As RSM sought to accommodate the changing needs of its clients, this also saw it seek to ramp up capacity throughout the year. More than 40 new RSM offices opened around the world, and the firm also completed a number of acquisitions. Correspondent Firms joined RSM in the Bahamas and Nigeria, while another new member firm joined the RSM Network based in Turkey. This closely followed the news that RSM’s Member Firm in Germany, RSM GmbH, had acquired HTG Wirtschaftsprüfung, significantly expanding its Berlin office. As a result, headcount increasing to over 51,000.
RSM saw growth across all regions. While RSM UK’s particular results will not be released until March, when the firm’s financial year ends, overall, RSM Europe recorded growth of 15%, driven by transaction advisory services and a rise in IT consulting. This put it on the level with North America – RSM’s other best performing region.
Stephens added, “RSM Professionals from around the world have worked exceptionally hard to empower our client base of highly dynamic, entrepreneurial, and ambitious businesses to thrive during this challenging time. This has required new perspectives, innovative approaches and a forward-looking gaze to ensure company owners, boards and leaders are primed for growth in the new business age. Our outstanding financial results reflect this pace of change, and our unwavering commitment to supporting the growth ambitions of today’s leading businesses.”
