KPMG partners take home £600,000 payout

More than 600 partners at KPMG will receive an average pay out of £600,000 after the accountancy giant saw profits soar in 2018, despite being hit with a number of formal complaints.

KPMG UK said the payouts represented a rise of around 16 per cent from last year. Picture: KPMG

KPMG UK said the payouts, to be shared at an average of £601,200 among 635 partners, represented a rise of around 16 per cent from last year.

The professional service firm unveiled a 53 per cent jump in profits to £462 million in the year to 30 September, on the back of improved investment returns in technology.

Underlying profits increased 18 per cent to reach £356m on revenue of £2.3 billion, up 8 per cent in the fastest acceleration of sales in ten years.

Work related to Brexit and US tax reform drove demand for advice, helping KPMG’s tax, people services and legal practice grow by 7 per cent.

The results mark a turnaround from 2017, when KPMG saw profits tumble on the back of write-offs and one-off items. However, KPMG also put aside £73m to deal with potential fines and legal costs linked to audit investigations and disciplinary proceedings.

KPMG has been sanctioned this year over its work relating to Bank of New York Mellon, Ted Baker and Quindell.

Chairman Bill Michael, who took home £2.1m, said: “These results are the product of the tough decisions we have made and the hard work of our 16,000 people across the UK.

“Since taking on this role, together with my leadership team, I have refocused the business on our core strengths aligned to the firm’s public interest responsibilities. These actions have put us on the right trajectory.”

The results come as the Competition & Markets Authority, the Financial Reporting Council and Legal & General group chairman John Kingman are separately looking into the industry at the request of the UK government, following a series of high-profile company collapses, such as that of construction giant Carillion.