PwC’s profits increased to £829m while average distributable profit per partner before tax was £706,000, down from £740,000 last year as the overall number of equity partners increased to 926, a 4.6% rise on the 885 last year.

Average distributable profit per partner this year was a 12.8 multiple of average employee pay and bonus, compared to 13.6 in 2015. PwC said the drop was ‘due to our strategy of continuing to invest in people and technology, which included key acquisitions, record partner promotions and increases in staff remuneration.’

Total staff remuneration was up by 16% to £1.5bn, compared with an 11% rise to £1.3bn last year. The chairman’s profit share was £3.8m and the executive board of 12 members shared an estimated £22.5m.

PwC’s assurance division led the way with £1.24bn in revenues, an 11% increase on its 2015 performance. Revenues in the tax line of service were up 8% at £822m, while the deals division brought in £654m, a 4% rise.

The fastest growing business division was consulting, where revenues rose by 26% to £720m. PwC has made a number of acquisitions in this area, and said the latest results are ‘enhanced by the successful integration of Strategy&’. UK regional revenues grew by 10.6%.

Kevin Ellis, PwC chairman and senior partner, said: ‘We’ve had a strong year across all of our business areas. We’re seeing particularly high demand for our technology services, largely as a result of investment in targeted acquisitions. And we have prioritised building market-leading teams to help our clients capitalise on market disrupters such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and cloud technology.’

Commenting on the result of the EU referendum, Ellis said the impact of leaving the EU is still being worked through, but the firm is seeing ‘increased appetite for strategic advice and support around immigration, trade negotiations and financial services.’

PwC now employs over 21,000 people across its 64 offices in the UK, Channel Islands and Middle East.

As well as publishing its gender pay gap for the third year in a row, as part of its second fully digital annual report, the firm is publishing social mobility data for its graduate intake, as well as gender and ethnicity targets and progress for all job roles for the first time this year.

Currently, the gender pay gap is 15.2%, much the same as in 2015 (15.3%). The diversity information suggests PwC is currently making more progress at the lower end of the management structure. While 49% of managers are female, beating the firm’s target of 47% by 2020, only 17% of partners are female against a 2020 target of 24%.

Similarly, while 6% of partners at the moment come from a black or ethnic minority (BEM) background against a target of 10% by 2020, 21% of managers are BEM, with a 2020 target of 26%.
PwC’s 2016 digital annual report is here.