total fees fall 7%.
a compilation of the big four accounting firms’ latest annual results shows the global economic slowdown abruptly reversed five straight years of double-digit revenue growth.
“the 2009 fiscal year was a difficult one for deloitte, ernst & young, kpmg and pricewaterhousecoopers, with revenues falling between 4 and 11 percent from 2008, as firms dealt with a tough external environment, slower worldwide growth, reduced spending on professional services, and minimal merger and acquisition activity. revenues fell most in developed countries, while growth still continued in emerging markets in asia, latin america and eastern europe,” stated david hunter, vice president at big4.com.
in 2009, pricewaterhousecoopers remained the largest big four firm with revenues of $26.2 billion, just ahead of deloitte with revenues of $26.1 billion, followed by ernst & young with 2009 revenues of $21.4 billion and kpmg with revenues of $20.1 billion. the appreciating u.s. dollar over the reporting period magnified year over year revenue declines; when measured in local currency terms, revenues fell by lower percentage levels. the analysis has further details on performance by global regions and by audit, tax and advisory service lines, and expectations for the future.
free download: the 2009 big four firms financial performance analysis is available at http://www.big4.com/media_kit/big4_media_kit.pdf.
