RSS feedsPricewaterhouseCoopers, the UK’s largest accounting firm, is eyeing consulting work as a key growth area over the next two years.
Last week the Big Four firm delivered a £200m increase in turnover, which reached £1.78bn. However, it warned that half of this growth was a one-off spike as a result of work on regulation – principally driven by international financial reporting standards and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.
PwC expects just £50m of this extra turnover to provide a steady income stream. But PwC chairman Kieran Poynter suggested that consulting work was one of the areas the firm was developing to sustain growth as the IFRS and Sarbox bonanza tailed off.
Performance consulting income at PwC rose by 28% during the 2005 financial year, and the firm has recruited eight new partners from consulting backgrounds to support an anticipated expansion of consulting work.
‘We do not anticipate that performance consulting will grow to the same scale as our other businesses, but we aim to grow it into a good-sized business over the next two years,’ said Poynter.
Further indication of the value of consulting to PwC was the 8% growth delivered by its tax arm, which climbed from £478m in 2004 to £514m.
‘Tax includes an element of HR consulting on rewards and share option schemes, which are both tax-related,’ said Poynter.
