A decade since the financial crash, the top 25 accountancy firms look rather different to their pre-2009 counterparts, except for the ever expanding Big Four. Philip Smith assesses the cataclysmic changes of the last 10 years, with revenue comparisons
Ten years has been a long time in the accountancy world. Out of the top 25 from 2010, seven firms no longer even exist. Baker Tilly is now RSM, having swallowed consolidators Tenon and, by default, Vantis, after Tenon had itself taken over RSM Bentley Jennison, a highly acquisitive firm of the 2000s.
Back in 2010, Accountancy’s Top 60 revealed total income of nearly £10bn. This year’s Top 60 firms achieved £16.7bn in fees. The one constant has been the growth of the Big Four firms, though back in 2010, KPMG was still larger than EY.
In 2010, these four firms accounted for £7.226bn, 73% of the total for the Top 60. A decade on and despite the debilitating impact of the crash in 2009, the Big Four now account for 78% of the top 60 firms of this year’s survey.
