KPMG's UK arm passes £2bn revenues milestone
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The firm’s revenues of £2.07bn came despite what it called a challenging economic climate, including the Brexit vote and the continuing malaise in the oil and gas sector, and were up 6 per cent on the revenues of £1.96bn in the previous 12 months. Profits were down 2 per cent.
Catherine Burnet, senior partner for KPMG Scotland, said: “2016 has been a strong year for KPMG in Scotland and we’ve seen steady growth driven by a range of services with an emphasis on public sector contract wins and the continued success of our tax advisory practice.
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Hide Ad“Given wider economic uncertainties caused by Brexit and challenges posed in the oil and gas sector, we’re particularly satisfied the firm has maintained growth trajectory in Scotland.”
Burnet said KPMG’s audit practice continued to play a big part in the firm’s success north of the Border, “with recent contract wins including ScottishPower, Standard Life, Wood Group and Aggreko”.
She added: “2016 has been an exciting and unpredictable year for many and the firm is proud to have played a role supporting businesses across Scotland. Although uncertainties will continue to dominate the landscape for 2017, we are confident about our own future, and that of the Scottish economy.”
UK-wide, KPMG said it had accelerated the retirement of a number of partners and invested “in external hires with skills in emerging services”, leading to a reduction in average partner pay from £623,000 to £582,000.
Simon Collins, chairman of KPMG UK, said that, stimulated by regulatory reform, audit tendering in 2016 had been “the busiest year for the FTSE 350 since the trend began in 2013”.
Collins said that in non-audit work the firm had been involved in some of the biggest corporate activity in the year, including the London Stock Exchange’s proposed merger with the Frankfurt stock exchange and SABMIller’s acquisition of a number of beer brands.