The so–called Big Four revenues have grown by 10 per cent year on year, and 78 per cent since 2008, with PwC leading the accounting profession’s revenues in Malta.

PwC reported revenue of €26.2 million for calendar year 2014, compared with Deloitte’s €21 million, KPMG’s €14.7 million and E&Y’s €11.6 million.

Accounting firms started reporting their revenue figures following an EU Statutory Audit Directive introduced in 2006, which was later transposed into Maltese law. This obliges firms auditing public interest entities to publish an annual transparency report.

The published reports include various information about each respective firm, including corporate governance arrangements, how firms maintain their ongoing independence, corporate social responsibility programs, and financial and resource growth statistics.

Accounting firms experienced growth in revenues since 2008 in all business areas and they are now also one of the largest recruiters of university graduates in Malta.

This reflects the growth and strength of Malta’s financial services industry, which has been growing at a fast pace for the past 10 years and more. Accounting firms have been one of the major beneficiaries of this growth spurt as they are all actively involved in the sector. However, they have also been instrumental in attracting such business to Malta via their marketing efforts through their overseas networks.

Further analysis of revenue figures show that PwC have a clear market lead as regards statutory audits with reported revenue figures of €11.1 million, followed by Deloitte at €6.5 million. With respect to fees earned for other services (non-audit), the reported figures are more balanced, with PwC reporting revenues of €15 million and Deloitte of €14.5 million. International business is an important factor in the reports as published. Deloitte have reported that 63 per cent of all their revenues comes from clients overseas. PwC’s overseas clients amount to 45 per cent of their total revenues, demonstrating a much stronger presence in the local market.