Bumper payday for Deloitte partners as profits rise

Accountancy major Deloitte will this year hand its partners their biggest payday in a decade, despite coming under heavy scrutiny over its audit quality.

Steve Williams hailed a 'hugely successful' year for Deloitte in Scotland. Picture: Chris Watt

The firm’s 669 equity partners are set to receive an average profit share of £882,000 for the year to 31 May, a 6 per cent hike on last year.

Distributable pre-tax profits in Deloitte’s UK and Swiss operations grew to £617 million on the back of weakness in the pound, while revenues rose by 10.9 per cent to £4 billion.

Turnover in its Scots arm was up by 12.9 per cent.

The firm's audit and risk advisory division saw revenues rise 8.1 per cent to £1.1bn, while its consulting revenues increased 9 per cent to £952m.

Meanwhile, financial advisory revenues were 10.5 per cent higher at £507m while tax and legal reported a 17.8 per cent turnover jump to £862m.

Deloitte said it has continued its commitment to Scotland with 109 new people joining across offices in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow.

Technology and its associated sectors are set to remain key themes across Scotland and this is underpinned by the growth across Deloitte digital, fintech and cyber teams in Scotland.

Steve Williams, senior partner for Deloitte in Scotland and Northern Ireland, said: “It’s been a hugely successful year for the firm in Scotland, as we have continued to expand and bolster our offering, particularly across the digital technologies sector.

"This is shown by the incredible growth of both cyber and Deloitte digital and speaks more widely to the vital role that these industries play across the region. In the coming year, our goal is to continue recruiting and developing these areas of the practice.”

The Big Four audit firms have come under scrutiny from the watchdog after a number of high-profile collapses and issues with company accounts.

The Financial Reporting Council said the quality of Deloitte's auditing for FTSE 350 firms this year declined from its quality inspection in 2018.

In December, the competition watchdog proposed a radical overhaul of the UK audit market, which included splitting the audit and consulting arms of the Big Four, in order to improve quality.