Deloitte Huayong Dethroned; Shenzhen First to Release 2018 CPA Firm Revenue List

      On April 3, the Shenzhen Institute of Certified Public Accountants released the "2018 Revenue Ranking of Shenzhen Accounting Firms," making it the first among all provincial and municipal institutes of CPAs to do so. The ranking includes a ranking of all firms in Shenzhen (275 firms), a ranking of firms qualified for securities and futures business (involving 34 firms), and a ranking of firms not qualified for securities and futures business. The ranking is based on the 2018 business revenue data reported by the accounting firms.

      The 275 accounting firms in Shenzhen (of which 270 had revenue) recorded total revenue of RMB 4.203 billion in 2018, an increase of 12.8%. Among the 261 accounting firms that were listed for two consecutive years and had revenue, 175 firms saw growth, accounting for 67%.

      Compared to 2017, the number of CPAs increased by 197, while the number of non-CPA practitioners decreased by 301. With industry revenue increasing by RMB 476 million, the total number of practitioners decreased by 104. The non-CPA/CPA ratio decreased from 3.4 to 3.11. Per capita business revenue grew from RMB 272,000 to RMB 309,100.

Compared to last year, the overall changes in the ranking are as follows:

      Among the 52 accounting firms with revenue exceeding RMB 10 million:

      PricewaterhouseCoopers Zhong Tian LLP Shenzhen Branch saw its revenue increase by 27% to RMB 445 million, surpassing Ruihua and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu to rank first in revenue. PwC's per capita business revenue also increased from RMB 526,000 to RMB 609,000, a 16% rise, showing aggressive growth.

      Shenzhen Pengsheng, which does not have securities qualifications, saw its business revenue increase nearly fourfold, growing from RMB 17.97 million to RMB 71 million, and its ranking rose by 13 places. However, the firm has 70 CPAs and 42 non-CPAs, with a non-CPA/CPA ratio of 0.64, a personnel structure significantly different from other accounting firms.

      Zhongxingcai Guanghua Shenzhen Branch, which holds securities qualifications, grew from RMB 10.75 million to RMB 27.65 million, a 157% increase, the second fastest growth rate. At the same time, the firm's personnel decreased from 55 in 2017 to 36 in 2018 (with 20 CPAs in both years), and per capita business revenue surged 293% from RMB 195,000 to RMB 768,000. The firm may have encountered a super lotto business with high fees and low workload, or heavily used non-CPA personnel to undertake business in an unconventional manner, or...?

      Among the top 10 accounting firms by per capita business revenue, only Ernst & Young Hua Ming Shenzhen Branch among the Big Four was not included. Tianjian Shenzhen Branch's per capita revenue was RMB 690,000, ranking second only to Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu among firms with revenue exceeding RMB 100 million.

       Hua Pu Tian Jian Shenzhen Branch appeared on the ranking for the first time in 2018, ranking 37th with RMB 15.08 million. The firm obtained its practice license from the Shenzhen Finance Committee on January 10, 2018. It is reported that the firm adopts integrated management, making cross-regional business coordination relatively convenient.

       Dahua Shenzhen Branch, with a total of 1,070 personnel, became the first accounting firm in Shenzhen to exceed 1,000 people. In 2017, Ruihua Shenzhen Branch had 991 people, the largest at that time. In 2018, it decreased to 907 people, ranking second after Dahua Shenzhen Branch. However, Ruihua Shenzhen Branch has 203 CPAs, still the accounting firm with the most CPAs in Shenzhen and the only firm with over 200 CPAs.

Four of the accounting firms with revenue exceeding RMB 10 million in 2017 failed to maintain revenue above RMB 10 million in 2018, with significant declines:

Zhong Shen Asia Pacific Shenzhen Branch, ranked 20th in Shenzhen in 2017 with revenue of RMB 20.85 million, saw its revenue plummet by 69% to RMB 6.5 million;

Zhongxinghua Shenzhen Branch, ranked 44th in Shenzhen in 2017 with revenue of RMB 10.04 million, saw its revenue fall by 62% to RMB 3.81 million;

Beijing Tianyuanquan Shenzhen Branch, ranked 43rd in Shenzhen in 2017 with revenue of RMB 10.07 million, saw its revenue decline by 39% to RMB 6.1 million.

Of the 40 accounting firms qualified for securities and futures auditing, 34 have branch offices in Shenzhen (with no headquarters in Shenzhen). The six that have not opened branch offices are Guangdong Zhengzhong Zhujiang, Shandong Hexin, Fujian Huaxing, correction see pinned message, Sichuan Huaxin (Group), and Jiangsu Suya Jincheng.