Annual revenues and profits rise for accountancy group

PwC UK increased its revenue for the year ended June 30, by 12% to £4.233bn.

Profit was £1.016bn, up from £935m in 2018, and the average distributable profit per partner before tax for the firm’s 913 partners was £765,000, up from £712,000 in 2018.

The firm’s financial performance, which includes revenues for PwC Middle East, is published today (September 16), in its fifth fully digital annual report – ‘Building a Digital Future’.

It outlines a series of initiatives to improve opportunities in its North West region, including a link with the University of Manchester as part of its ‘Flying Start Programme’.

Kevin Ellis, PwC chairman and senior partner, said: “At a time of considerable uncertainty, PwC continues to make a significant contribution to the UK economy.

“Professional and business services is the fastest growing sector in the economy, accounting for 11% of UK GDP, and the largest contributor to services exports. Maintaining this position for the UK and our business is critical.

“However, businesses must also prove they can deliver more than just good economic returns, which is why I am proud of the continued investment our business is making to address the UK’s skills gap and in helping equip organisations and society for the fourth industrial revolution.

“We have intentionally shifted gear to make a bigger contribution to addressing the UK’s social mobility challenge by creating more job opportunities in less prosperous parts of the UK and by redoubling our efforts to become a top social mobility employer.”

He said: We remain optimistic about the UK post-Brexit and are keen to play our role in ensuring people from a diverse range of backgrounds can contribute to the UK’s success.

“Clearly, there are risks associated with the UK’s planned exit from the EU. Significant work has gone into ensuring we have the necessary resilience in our own business and the right expertise to support our clients.”

He said All of the group’s businesses grew during the year.

“Across our business divisions, assurance revenues increased by 8.1%, consulting revenues were up by 22.1%, deals grew by 8.7%, and the tax practice, which includes specialist areas such as workforce consulting, legal services and pensions, experienced growth of 13.5%. The Middle East practice grew by 19.1%.”

And he said PwC is investing more in the regions.

“PwC North West now has over 1,300 people which includes over 100 graduate intakes this Summer, an increase in headcount of 51% over the past three years.

“A concerted investment in our strategic hubs in Manchester, Birmingham, Reading and Belfast saw staff numbers in those cities increase by more than 40% over the past 36 months.

“PwC North West has also launched the firm’s fourth accountancy ‘Flying Start Programme’ in association with the Alliance Manchester Business School at the University of Manchester (UoM) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).

“The Manchester launch follows on the back of successful ‘Flying Start Programmes’ launched at the University of Newcastle, now in its 18th year, Henley Business School at the University of Reading, (2012) and Nottingham University Business School which was launched in 2014. In total since their launch, PwC has recruited a total 768 graduates through the programme.”

Iwan Griffiths, PwC’s outgoing North West regional chairman, said: “As we continue to build the workforce of the future we are in a strong position going into our 2020 financial year.

“With our increasing headcount we continue to build both our capability and our physical footprint within the region. We recently opened a further floor within No1 Spinningfields providing an additional 25,000 sq ft of office space adding to the existing 67,000 sq ft.

“Our Manchester office reflects our continued investment in the North West and remains the most advanced PwC office in the country.

“With a highly-competitive external market and significant changes facing our people we are creating a culture that engages and empowers our people to grow their skills and confidence to achieve career success.”