PwC eclipses fee income of €500 million for first time

Revenues at professional services group PwC rose by 13 per cent to €502 million in 2018, on the back of a "significant increase" in demand for all of its services. The latest advance means that PwC is the country's largest professional services firm.

Revenues, on an all-Ireland basis, rose from €446 million in 2017 to €502 million in 2018, while PwC also reported strong growth in employee numbers, with figures up by 13 per cent to 4,868 in 2018, as it recruited more than 600 graduates and professionally qualified people over the past 12 months.

Figures compiled for Top 1000 2019, the full list which will be published in a magazine accompanying The Irish Times on May 9th, show that PwC is Ireland's largest professional services firm based on fee income, followed by KMPG (fee income of €414 million). In third place is Deloitte with fee income of €377 million for 2018, followed by EY on fee income of €316 million.

Regional growth was a feature of 2018, as PwC expanded its Cork footprint by nearly 40 per cent, driven by strong local demand and clients looking to internationalise their businesses. It expects to bring its Cork headcount to 250 by the end of 2019, while in Galway, it expects to more than double its headcount there over the next two years.

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Feargal O’Rourke, PwC Ireland managing partner, said that the firm saw “significant increase in demand for all of our services” last year.

“We continue to help our clients think beyond the challenges and add value to their businesses in Ireland and internationally,” he said, although he added that “the accountancy market continues to be extremely competitive where value for money is critical with intense pressure on price and talent”.

The group’s advisory practice saw “exponential” growth in the past year, with the pace of digital transformation driving significant demand for technology and security solutions.

Against a changing tax background, Mr O’Rourke said that the firm’s FDI, tax and customs and trade practices was very busy, with demand from multinationals still strong, as well as from companies seeking to internationalise their businesses.

“In addition, we have also seen strong demand from Asia as companies look to invest in Ireland. Irish companies are also seeing the opportunities of expanding their footprint in Asia,” he said.

Looking ahead, Mr O’Rourke said the firm remains “cautiously optimistic about our economy and our firm’s future growth prospects”.

“Brexit, however, clearly remains on top of business agendas, with the potential for serious disruption if the UK has a disorderly exit from the EU,” he said, adding that Irish-based companies will need to invest more in artificial intelligence, “to keep up with global competitors and to fully leverage competitive advantage”.

“We expect continued strong demand for intelligent digital capabilities, for example, technology transformation and security advisory solutions as well as digital, cloud and HR strategies. As companies look to growth, we expect strong growth in our deals and transactions services business to continue,” he said, adding that tax remains “a hot topic in the boardroom”, and this will drive demand for its tax services.