Across the rest of Asia Pacific, BDO also reported significant growth in India, up 50% over the year.
The group as a whole delivered total combined fee income of $7.3bn (€6.7bn, £4.8bn), which represented year on year growth of 12.95% at constant exchange rates.
Speaking to International Adviser, Martin van Roekel, BDO’s global chief executive said: “Looking back at the growth we have been able to realise in the past year it is very satisfying. It proved clearly that we have been able to define the right strategy, but executing the strategy is even more important and that has worked out very well too.”
He said the mid-tier accountancy market has become increasingly consolidated in recent years, driven by the requirements of an ever-growing number of global clients requiring international expertise.
“The concurrent challenges of increasing costs, a shrinking talent pool, the need to invest and to manage regulation demands mean that most of the firms and networks outside the six largest have very small market shares and are starting to assess the sustainability of their margins. Having to consider a merger or acquisition in order to survive is a very real eventuality,” he said.
Van Roekel added that BDO had an “efficient infrastructure, proven global capabilities and the momentum and power to continue at the forefront of the ongoing consolidation of the mid-tier”.
As for China, he said it was “still a very important growth engine for us” and that the impressive growth from the firm there had made it “one of the market leaders in China”.
Impressive numbers
In the EMEA region, he said the mature market of Europe achieved 2% growth while the Middle East rose revenues by 10% and in Africa it was up 18%.
“So we see differences across the EMEA region which are in line with the economic developments in those areas.”
Dubai was around the average for the region but territories such as Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan had produced “quite impressive numbers”.
“The revenue numbers in the Middle East are of a nice size but nothing yet comparable to Europe. As for the revenue mix there is healthy growth in advisory work and also in auditing.”
BDO defines its advisory work as covering everything other than auditing, accounting and tax advice. This therefore includes corporate finance, transaction advisory, restructuring, forensics, risk advisory, global outsourcing, technology advisory, and payroll services.
“We also do some wealth management and financial planning but it is a very small percentage of world total,” he said.
In the US, a 29% rise in revenues over the past year took BDO USA over $1bn.
The number of offices in the network grew 6% to 1,408 and the global headcount increased 8.2% to 64,303 people, across 154 territories.
