The fourth quarter of 2015 saw a new leader in SEC audit client wins. Marcum LLP, the top 100 firm headquartered in Melville, NY won a net total of six new clients in the quarter to claim the top spot this quarter.
BDO has been on quite a streak lately, leading the pack in all but two quarters going back to 2013, but the Global 6 firm lost a net of 10 SEC clients in the recently concluded quarter.
EY was the other big winner in the quarter, with eight wins and four losses for a net gain of four new clients.
The table below presents a comprehensive view of the gains and losses of the major global and national firms. It shows how many SEC audit clients each auditor gained or lost, and also the auditor from or to which the client was either won or lost.
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In the following tables, we disaggregate the auditor changes by the size of the companies gained or lost, as represented by the companies’ filing status. The first table shows auditor changes for Large Accelerated Filers, i.e., those with a worldwide public float of more than $700 million.
Large Accelerated Filers don’t tend to change auditors too frequently. EY won four and lost one for a net gain of three and the lead for Q4 2015.
The next table presents wins and losses for Accelerated Filers, which are companies with public float between $75 million and $700 million.
There weren’t too many changes among Accelerated Filers this quarter. RSM took top place in this category with two wins.
Finally, the last table presents the top five gains and losses for Smaller Reporting Companies.
The big changes here were with Pritchett Siler & Hardy, which gained 17, and Cutler & Co, which lost 22. All 17 of PS&H’s new clients came from Cutler as a result of the firms’ merger during the quarter. MaloneBailey also had a good quarter, bringing in 17 and losing six for a net gain of 11.
Audit Analytics tracks audit fees, auditor changes, restatements, and a wide range of audit and regulatory disclosures, with the ability to create email alerts for new disclosures by industry, auditor, location, and more. In addition to these and many other databases, we also offer qualitative red flag alerts for due diligence and risk assessment. Please contact Audit Analytics for an online demonstration or to learn more about these data sets. You can call us at (508) 476-7007, or e-mail info@auditanalytics.com.