Price Waterhouse’s UK net fee income for the year to 30 June 1996 is estimated to be #425m, up 11% on the previous year, writes Jon Bunn.
The firm refused to confirm the figure, compiled through Accountancy Age research, but said it was ‘close enough’. The estimate places PW near to Ernst & Young, currently ranked fourth out of the Big Six, which lodged a net fee income figure of #424m for 1995-96. E&Y followed KPMG’s lead in November by publishing a full set of plc-style reports and accounts.
PW is the only Big Six firm which has refused to release any UK figures, claiming that it is a global firm concerned with global figures. In October, PW released its worldwide net fee income of $5bn, up 13%, while UK partners enjoyed their largest ever annual payment following the double-digit growth.
A PW spokesman explained the firm’s tough stance on not releasing UK figures anymore. He said the firm had nothing to hide: ‘We are in an increasingly global marketplace and the UK figures look far less relevant. Other firms may not consider themselves global, but we are dealing with international companies.
‘Where do you stop measuring UK figures and start with the international figures?’