ACCA growth

ACCA growth

ACCA has been confirmed as the fastest-growing UK-based accountancy body in the latest edition of the Professional Oversight Board's annual review of institutes and firms.

ACCA members are more likely to be based outside the UK, to be younger, to be female, and less likely to be retired than those of any other UK-based institution. At the end of 2007, ACCA had 122,426 members and 276,057 trainees worldwide. Membership had grown by 28.3% in the previous five years - a higher rate of growth than that of any other accountancy body. Nearly half - 47.5% - of ACCA members are based outside the UK and Ireland. More than half work in industry and commerce, with 29% in public practice and 10% in the public sector. Just 4% are retired - a lower proportion than that in any other institution. More than 40% of ACCA members are women, compared with an average across the accountancy bodies of just 31%.

The Professional Oversight Board also analysed trends in accountancy firms. There is a continued fall in the number of practising audit firms, with a reduction of nearly a third in five years. Another trend has been in Big Four firms earning non-audit income from non-audit clients in place of earning it from audit clients, reflecting regulatory pressure.

PricewaterhouseCoopers remained substantially the largest Big Four firm in 2007, with total fee income in the UK of £2.1bn. The next largest firm was Deloitte with £1.8bn in total fee income, followed by KPMG with £1.6bn, and Ernst & Young with £1.2bn.