Survey
World Survey 2014
International Accounting Bulletin
Big Four continue advisory practice building
In the past years, the Big Four firms have made significant investments into their consultancy business. This trend continued in
2013, with several acquisitions taking place.
The most notable took place in October when a preliminary merger
agreement was reached between PwC and global consultancy giant Booz
& Company. The consultancy firm has 3,000 staff in 57 offices worldwide
and is reported to have earned about $1.4bn in revenues in 2012. The
deal is currently pending regulatory approval.
The following month KPMG launched its own London-based, global
investment fund, KPMG Capital. The fund’s objective is to invest primarily in data and analytics businesses via strategic acquisitions, technology partnerships and other data and analytics capabilities.
This is a new approach by KPMG and its UK chairman Simon Collins
said at the time: “Technology isn’t following the old rules – innovation
is happening in universities, in small informal businesses and through
curious individuals.
“For HXZ