Deloitte saw revenue increase by 5.9% in the financial year ended 31 May 2018, up from £3.38bn to £3.58bn, marking the eighth consecutive year of revenue growth
Distributable profit was £584m, slightly down from the previous year, which the firm said was due to investment in building new capabilities, such as an internal centre of excellence for robotic process automation and an artificial intelligence studio, as well as in training and development.
Average profit per equity partner, which was calculated after deduction of corporation tax this year, was £832,000.
Audit and risk advisory revenues grew by 10.2% to £1,027m, consulting increased by 1.7% to £873m, and tax saw its revenue rise by 5.8% to £732m. Revenues from the firm’s financial advisory stream remained flat at £459m. Deloitte Switzerland saw growth of 11.4% to £489m.
David Sproul, senior partner and chief executive of Deloitte North West Europe, said: ‘This is a good result in a market facing slower economic growth and continued uncertainty.
‘Tax revenues have been boosted by demand for M&A, private client and employment-related services work, as well as demand for digital solutions to global compliance obligations, where we are continuing to invest.
‘Following the launch of our UK legal services, we are also growing our offering in immigration, employment services, corporate dispute and resolutions, alongside a focus on “new law” services.’
Sproul said the firm was ‘proud to audit 27% of the FTSE 100’, but also noted the growing levels of criticism levelled at auditors in recent months.
‘The audit profession has faced significant scrutiny in the past year, with concerns raised over quality, conflicts of interest and a lack of choice. These are serious concerns and we recognise the need for change.
‘We must look at how the audits of the future match the evolving needs of stakeholders and society and address increasing business complexity. We have continued to invest in training and technology to help our 4,300 audit professionals deliver the highest quality audits,’ he said.
In the last financial year 5,000 people joined Deloitte, with nearly 2,000 of them based outside of London. Of the 5,000, over 1,700 were graduates and school-leavers, including 270 BrightStart apprentices, Deloitte’s programme for school-leavers.
Report by Pat Sweet
