KPMG takes lead in Q1 SEC audit clients
July 16, 2024
KPMG topped the charts for the net new Securities & Exchange Commission clients in the first quarter of 2023, bringing on 17 new engagements and netting 12.
Fellow Big Four firm Deloitte actually brought on more new engagements, with 21, but netted fewer, with nine. (See "Net engagement leaders.")
Among larger firms, Grant Thornton, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Marcum all added 10 new SEC audit engagements, but they netted far fewer. (See "Q1 2024 client gains & losses.")
Overall, the number of new engagements signed hit 209, a significant jump from 157 in the previous quarter, and the highest number in the past four years.
Clients by filing status, and more
In terms of clients by filing status, KPMG not surprisingly brought in the most large accelerated filers. (See "Audit leaders") while Deloitte led the list for accelerated filers and companies that are both accelerated filers and smaller reporting companies, and GreenGrowth CPAs (which led the overall ranking in Q4 of 2023) added the most non-accelerated filers.
KPMG also topped the league tables for new market capitalization and new assets audited, and for new audit fees. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust was the largest contributor to its new market cap, at $25 billion, and the second largest for assets, at $26 billion. Bermuda-based reinsurer Everest Group, meanwhile, added almost $16 billion in market cap, and $49 billion in assets, as well as $5.9 million in audit fees. Tupperware Brands was the biggest contributor in terms of fees, though, with $9.4 million. (See "New client leaders.")
PricewaterhouseCoopers took second in terms of new market cap, with cardiovascular device maker Shockwave Medical providing the biggest chunk, at $18.9 billion. And Deloitte took second in new assets audited and new audit fees, with cruise company Carnival accounting for the biggest share of assets — $49 billion; its new audit fees were fairly evenly distributed.
Data for the quarterly rankings are provided by Ideagen Audit Analytics, a premium online intelligence service delivering audit, regulatory and disclosure analysis. Reach them at (508) 476-7007,
[Accounting Today]
