Deloitte global announced revenue of US$38.8 billion for the fiscal year ended 31 May 2017. This represents an increase in revenues of about 5.4% from their 2016 revenues. Their revenue for 2016 was $36.8 billion. In the EY podcast we were wondering whether either Deloitte or PwC would break $40 billion in revenue this year. Unfortunately it looks like Deloitte was not able to so we’ll have to see how PwC performs.

Last year Deloitte was the highest earning big 4 firm, and this year they are also the highest ranking accounting firm.

Let’s put Deloitte’s 2017 revenue number in context. Deloitte earned $38.8 billion dollars compared to Ernst & Young which only made $31.4 billion.

How does Deloitte’s 2017 Revenue Stack Up to Other Large Companies?

Now let’s compare Deloitte’s revenue to some other large companies that you might be familiar with. In 2016, Facebook which is the largest social network in the world earned $27.64 billion in revenue. Deloitte made $10 billion more than them. In 2016 Apple made 215.6 billion in revenue. Google made $89.46 billion. As you can see Deloitte isn’t the largest firm in the world but it is pretty close.

Comments about Deloitte’s 2017 Revenue

Deloitte’s CEO had the following to say about their results.

“Deloitte’s revenue growth is attributable to two factors,” said Punit Renjen, Deloitte Global CEO. “First, our multi-disciplinary business model continues to be a source of competitive strength. Second, clients have choices and they are increasingly choosing Deloitte to help them navigate change and reinvent themselves in a constantly evolving global business environment.”

Deloitte’s 2017 Revenue By Practice

Deloitte Risk Advisory

Risk Advisory revenue grew the fastest at 12.9%. This growth in the risk advisory practice was primarily due to acquisitions and technology.

Deloitte Consulting

Deloitte’s is known for their consulting practice, and there consulting practice performed well. Their consulting practice grew at 10.2 % growth. This was primarily due to the urgency of clients to accelerate their business model transformation. This practice was also helped by the adoption of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, cognitive, creative digital consulting, cloud computing, blockchain and Internet of Things (IoT).

Deloitte Tax

Tax & Legal revenue grew at 6.6 percent, fueled by client needs related to the global tax reset—resulting from the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting effort (BEPS), the evolution of technology and automation, and mass globalization. Deloitte’s focus on helping clients manage and make confident decisions about their tax matters included introducing several enhanced global technology tools such as TP Digital DoX, Value Chain Analysis Tool (VCAT), and myInsight.

Deloitte Financial Advisory

Deloitte’s financial advisory practice grew by 5.8 % in 2017. This was primarily driven by the desire for Deloitte’s mergers and acquisitions consulting services. Some growth in the financial advisory practice was also driven by Deloitte’s forensic accounting practice which helps with investigations, and dispute analysis and advisory. Regional growth in China, as well as the expansion of the Asia Pacific Financial Crime Network, contributed to Financial Advisory’s strong year.

Deloitte Audit

Audit & Assurance revenue grew by 1 percent as it continues to invest in driving quality and consistency across the network and transforming the audit business to deliver smarter and more insightful audits. Deloitte member firms led in overall Fortune Global 500 audit wins in FY2017 and have been recognized globally as leaders in audit innovation, analytics, and artificial intelligence.

Asia Pacific revenue grew fastest among the regions at 9 percent, followed by Europe, Middle East, and Africa at 8.6 percent and the Americas at 5.6 percent in local currency.

Deloitte’s 2017 Number of Employees

The big 4 love to talk about their addition of talent in their revenue reporting press releases as well.

Deloitte increased their number of employees to a staggering 263,900 in 2017. This represents an addition of 19,500 employees during 2017 from their 2016 number of 244,400. That’s an 8% increase in the number of employees from 2016.

This 8% increase in the number of employees only translated into a 5.4% increase in revenues, so you can tell that Deloitte wasn’t able to maximize their workforce directly into topline results.

It is also good news for those planning to become future accountants because many people are worried about technology replacing accountants, but it appears that the four big accounting firms are still hiring at historic rates.

Deloitte’s 2017 Revenue – Summary

In conclusion it was a good year for Deloitte as they near the $40 billion revenue mark. They were the largest accounting firm in revenue last year. Will they retain that spot this year? We’ll have to wait for PwC’s revenue numbers to find out. PwC should be releasing their revenue numbers soon so make sure to subscribe to our newsletter.

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Additionally, it appears that Deloitte will have over 300,000 employees soon. These big accounting firms are truly trying to be professional service firms and not just accounting firms. Will there be a point where they employ a large portion of the world’s population. Will they penetrate every market where physical employees that offer professional services are needed? It’s just a thought that I have since there appears to be no stopping in their service offerings or the number of employees they hire.