Mid-market resilience boosts revenues at BDO

Accountancy and business advisory firm, BDO, has posted an 11% increase in revenues to £809m for the financial year 2021/22, with growth across all three of its service lines of audit, tax and advisory.

BDO cited the reasons for growth as being the resilience of its core market of entrepreneurial, high-growth and mid-sized businesses in the face of difficult economic circumstances.

The Leeds-based firm has also made significant investments in its business after BDO partners made a strategic choice, at the start of the year, to raise levels of investment.

In Yorkshire and the North East, this includes a focus on improving audit quality, recruiting an additional 33 people, promoting more than 50 employees, committing to the recruitment of 15 trainees to start in the 2022/23 financial year, increasing salaries and spending on new technology and digital applications.

Overall, an additional £70m was invested in people, quality and technology across the entire firm.

As a result of the investments and the return to pre-COVID levels of costs, pre-tax profit was down 8% to £187m.

Terry Jones, partner and head of Yorkshire and the North East at BDO LLP, said: “Our strong growth this year is down to the resilience of our core market of high-growth, entrepreneurial businesses, combined with the hard work and ability of our people.

“During such uncertain economic times, businesses like ours need to invest in skills to stimulate growth and, ultimately, the economy.

“We’re using the proceeds of growth to invest in our people, for the long-term, with an additional emphasis on wellbeing, work-life balance, quality and innovation.”

All three areas of the overall business – audit, tax and advisory – performed as expected in the 2021/22 financial year.

The national audit business posted revenues of £324m, up 17% on the previous year; with the firm-wide tax practice generating revenues of £199m – an increase of 3%; while BDO’s national advisory revenues grew by 10% to £286m.

Jones added: “To achieve sustainable growth in a controlled and responsible manner, we must continue to invest in, and nurture, those people who help us realise our ambitions.

“That principle forms the basis of how we design, and invest in, our culture and governance.

“The global economy continues to be in a state of upheaval with extreme levels of uncertainty and volatility. Despite these conditions, our business has proven resilient and strong.”