PwC profits fall by one per cent in 'challenging and complex market'

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Big four accountants PwC have published its annual results to the end of June where it has booked a fall in profit by one per cent to £822m despite a rise in revenue by five per cent to £3.6bn.

The consulting, tax and assurance business divisions of the professional services firm all saw revenues rise, but income from its business deals fell by one per cent.

PwC Chairman Kevin Ellis hailed the results as a “solid performance” in “a challenging and complex market”. He also said that he remains optimistic about the market outlook despite continuing uncertainty over the UK’s exit from the EU.

Alongside its annual report, the professional services firm also published new BAME figures to highlight its “ethnicity challenges”.

The figures stated that the Black, Asian and minority-ethnic staff (BAME) who work in PwC UK earn almost 13 per cent less than other employees. Currently, reporting on BAME pay isn’t required under government regulations.

Since 2014, the professional services firm has been voluntarily publishing gender pay gap figures to “shine a spotlight on gender issues”. With its latest figures on BAME employees, the firm hopes that publishing such data “can do the same for tackling ethnicity challenges”.

The BAME workers were statistically paid less because more of them worked in administrative and junior roles, rather than senior ones.

Talking about these figures, Ellis said, “The more transparent we are with our diversity and social mobility data, the more we hold ourselves accountable to achieving real change.”