PwC partners will receive an average of more than £ 1 million pay over the last financial year, a record for the accounting firm of the “big four”.
PwC earned an average profit per partner of £ 920,000 during the year to the end of June 2022, more than the previous record of £ 868,000 the previous year and £ 765,000 in 2019 before the pandemic, according to unaudited figures.
Large accounting firms have enjoyed a boom in recent years thanks to the flood of corporate mergers and acquisitions following the relaxation of the first wave of coronavirus containment restrictions.
PwC partners ’salaries were increased by an average of £ 100,000 each from the sale of $ 2.2 billion (£ 1.8bn) from a business that offered tax advice to companies moving staff overseas to the American private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. This meant that the average pay of members of the year exceeded the £ 1 million barrier.
The 950 members of its top executive level received information about the annual payment this week, according to Sky News, which first reported it.
There are some doubts about whether the avalanche of trading may continue in the coming months, as investors adjust to rising interest rates and become less willing to finance riskier acquisitions. However, accountants, and their growing branches of consulting, also expect a continued boom in advisory work on sustainability reporting, which is increasingly common for large companies due to regulations and pressure. of investors.
Record payments have occurred despite PwC, like its rivals of the big four, Deloitte, EY and KPMG, having received repeated censorship over the standards of its audit business. The UK control body last month issued a £ 5million fine for failing to audit its construction companies Galliford Try and Kier. PwC is also facing investigations by the UK Financial Reporting Council into the Babcock outsourcer, the liquidated Wyelands Bank, the collapsing investment firm London Capital and Finance and Eddie Stobart Logistics. So problematic have been the perceived conflicts of interest between audit and consulting work that EY in May said it was working out plans to split its audit arm.
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Kevin Ellis, president and senior partner of PwC in the UK, said in a statement that profits per partner would fall next year as the company invests to defend its position.
“Our business is in a strong place thanks to the breadth of our services and customers, the skills of our people and the investments we have made,” he said. “It’s been an exceptional year, but we can’t take it for granted.
“With the opposite economic winds facing all companies, such as rising costs and the tightening of the labor market, we need to encourage investment, especially in people, skills and technology.
“These investments are likely to reduce our earnings per partner next year, but given the expected boost in financial performance in the medium to long term, it’s okay for us to make these investments now.”