Ernst & Young has African Success
Date: 07-02-2008
Source: All Africa News Agency
Professional services giant Ernst & Young's global revenues increased to $21,1bn for the financial year ending June 30. The firm's results, which were released yesterday, showed a year-on-year revenue increase of $2,7bn and a 15% growth rate (11% in local currency terms). Philip Hourquebie, CEO of Ernst & Young SA, said the firm had doubled its size in just under three years. "We have doubled our partner count, our staff complement and our revenue count."
He said the figures reflected performance across the company's three service lines: assurance and advisory services; tax; and transaction advisory services. Hourquebie said that the practice was seeing tremendous opportunities in a number of countries in Africa. Ernst & Young grew by 32% in Africa last year.
More stringent reporting standards, such as the international financial reporting standards and regulations governing the conduct of listed companies, as well as the Auditing Profession Act, had had a positive effect on the profitability of the audit function. "There was a demand for additional services and audits. The firm had secured sole appointments in certain instances," he said. There was increasing demand for tax and corporate finance services too.
The strong performance of business risk services was largely due to forensic and compliance work related to the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act, he said. Companies were becoming more aware of fraud strategy. "Companies want to get to the bottom of fraud and want to hold people accountable for it," he said.
James Turley, global chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young, said the firm's strong performance reflected the success of the practice's long-established strategy to develop a truly global approach to business. "Several years ago, we committed ourselves to a structure for the global organisation which has brought together all of our 130,000 people, across 140 countries, through seven tightly integrated area practices," Turley said. The strength of the global platform had enabled double-digit performance across each of the global service lines.
Transaction Advisory Services led the service-line growth, achieving a 29% revenue increase, reflecting the firm's involvement in some of the largest deals. Tax service revenue improved 18%, owing to strong demand for these services and Assurance & Advisory Business Services grew by more than 16%.
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