ACCOUNTING firm Ernst & Young will cap off another year of growth this month by moving into new premises that are 40 per cent larger than its current Central Park offices.
ACCOUNTING firm Ernst & Young will cap off another year of growth this month by moving into new premises that are 40 per cent larger than its current Central Park offices.
The firm will occupy three-and-a-half floors with a total floor space of 7,500 square metres in the new Ernst & Young building, adjacent to the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre.
Managing partner Michael Minosora said the Perth office had increased revenue by 27 per cent this year, reflecting improve-ments in all of its operating divisions.
“The standout is that it is absolutely across the board,” he told WA Business News.
To support the extra work, EY has recruited 29 staff in recent months, taking total staff numbers (including partners and principals) to about 430, reinforcing its position as the largest accounting firm in Perth.
PricewaterhouseCoopers is the number two-ranked firm with a total of 230 professional staff, according to the latest data compiled for the WA Business News Book of Lists.
PwC managing partner Andrew Edwards said his firm has enjoyed solid growth, helped by its strength in the booming resources sector, but had been constrained by the shortage of experienced staff.
KPMG shrunk this year as a result of exiting its legal and insolvency practices.
Managing partner Steve Scudamore said KPMG, with 195 professional staff, had achieved substantial growth in revenue in its continuing lines of business without taking on extra staff.
He said the move to inter-national accounting standards, the Sarbannes-Oxley legislation in the US, and an internal audit were some of the key growth drivers.
In contrast to KPMG, Deloitte has substantially increased staff numbers for the third year running and now has 176 professional staff in Western Australia, up from 125 in 2001.
RSM Bird Cameron has also experienced substantial growth and now has 174 professional staff in WA.
This includes 92 professionals in Perth, with the balance working in its regional offices.
Most of the second-tier firms, such as PKF, Grant Thornton, Horwath, BDO, and HLB Mann Judd, have had a steady year, with little change in staff levels.
The exceptions include West Perth firm Stanton Partners, which has carved a niche servi-cing small mining companies floating on the Australian Stock Exchange. Its professional staff-ing has grown from 30 in 2001 to 44 presently.
Other firms to grow include South Perth-based Byfields CPA and West Perth-based Pitcher Partners, formed early this year when insolvency specialist Norgard Clohessy merged with tax specialist Ceglinski & Co.
Two firms that have fallen in size are Bentleys MRI (from 45 to 37 professional staff) and Hall Chadwick (from 40 to 31 professional staff).
Interestingly, the subject of mergers has featured in both firms’ recent history.
Bentleys had advanced merger discussions with Stanton Partners earlier this year but the two firms were unable to agree to a deal, while Hall Chadwick had a short-lived merger in 2002 with MGI Bridge Partners before going the parties went their separate ways.
Ernst & Young has also been boosted by mergers. In May 2002 it took on six partners and about 130 staff from Andersen.
Mr Minosora acknowledges that staff turnover at EY rose to a worrying level, although he says turnover is now down to about 10 per cent.
He believes that is well below the industry norm of 25 per cent staff turnover.
Mr Minosora said EY had sought to be “very practical” in dealing with staff issues after the Andersen merger.
“We have never sought to impose the handcuffs when they have decided to leave,” he said in reference to the deal that committed Andersen partners to stay until May 2005.
Two former Andersen partners – Derek Parkin and Mark Ceglinski – have left since the merger.
Another recent EY departure was insolvency partner Brian McMaster, who joined specialist insolvency firm Korda Mentha.
Mr Minosora said a move back into insolvency would only occur when EY was able to recruit the right person to lead the practice.
However, he is upbeat about all other areas within the firm.
“To say we are very positive about the future would be an understatement,” said Mr Minosora, who is also a member of EY’s Oceana region board.
The firm plans to recruit 60 graduates in 2005 to support its growth.
Mr Minosora believes EY has a better business mix than competing firms, with international companies, large public listed companies and private companies counted among its client base.
He said the new open plan offices would assist the firm achieve further growth.
“Our new workspace makes it easier for people to move between floors and departments, aiding whole-of-firm knowledge sharing, collaborative teamwork and relationship building,” Mr Minosora said.
