WASHINGTON: KPMG International logged a 1.5% decline in global revenue in U.S. dollar terms to $24.44 billion in its latest fiscal year, the accounting and professional services firm said Tuesday evening.
In local-currency terms, as KPMG and other major accounting firms prefer to report their revenue growth, KPMG’s global revenue for the year ended Sept. 30 rose 8.1%, compared with a 6.3% increase a year earlier. The difference between the U.S. dollar numbers and the local-currency numbers stems from the strength of the U.S. dollar during the year.
Like the other Big Four accounting firms, KPMG’s consulting business continued to gain ground from its comparatively mature auditing business. KPMG’s advisory revenue edged up 0.1% in U.S. dollars to $9.1 billion, while tax revenue rose 0.8% to $5.31 billion, driven by increased demand for tax compliance and tax-advisory services, the firm said. Auditing revenue, meanwhile, declined 4.1% to $10.03 billion.
KPMG’s revenue in the Americas rose 9.8% in U.S. dollar terms. Europe, Middle East and Africa revenue fell 9.2%, with some emerging markets, such as India, leading the way. Asia Pacific revenue declined 1.8%. KPMG and other major accounting firms are international networks of private partnerships, and they disclose only their annual revenue, not profit or loss.
Among other Big Four firms, which have an earlier fiscal year end than KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers reported a 4.1% increase in U.S. dollar terms for fiscal 2015, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu reported a 2.9% increase and Ernst & Young reported a 4.7% increase.
