More than 1,000 partners at the UK division of “big four” accounting firm PwC will be paid £906,000 (€1.06 million) this year, a slight fall on last year’s record payout, as profits fell despite rising revenue.
A spokeswoman for PwC confirmed this included partners in the firm’s Northern Ireland operation. The figures do not include partners at PwC Ireland, which is a separate entity.
Unaudited accounts released by the company showed PwC’s UK profit fell from £1.5 billion to £1.3 billion in 2022, although last year’s figure was boosted by a £139 million gain from the sale of its global mobility business.
Excluding the asset sale, revenue rose by 18 per cent, from £4.9 billion to £5.8 billion.
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Last year, PwC’s UK partners celebrated their highest-ever personal rewards, pocketing more than £1 million each as their record £920,000 basic pay was topped up by a £100,000 bonus.
The top-up was linked to the $2.2 billion (€2.03 billion) sale of a business providing tax advice for companies moving staff overseas to US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. There was no such bonus for 2023, while basic pay for the 1,057 partners dipped to £906,000.
Kevin Ellis, the chairman and senior partner at PwC, said senior partner profits were still ahead of forecasts, highlighting investments in staff and technology, including AI, which had increased costs.
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“Against a backdrop of political and economic upheaval, our multidisciplinary business has charted a strong course,” he said. “Considering the sizeable investments we’ve made in our people and technology, partner profits beat our forecasts. Our strong performance is due to the adaptability of our business in supporting our clients and is a credit to the talent of our people.”
PwC invested £100 million in new technology, while UK staff numbers increased from 24,500 to 26,000.
The company said it had also paid about half of that workforce an extra £1,500 over five months to help them cope with soaring winter energy bills.
The group’s UK results also include its Middle Eastern business, which was the driver of 30 per cent growth in revenue from PwC’s consulting business, up from £1.3 billion to £1.7 billion.
This was down to Gulf countries seeking to “modernise and diversify the region’s economy beyond oil”, PwC said. – Guardian service
