BF Borgers leads in new SEC clients for Q2

In a slow quarter for new audit engagements, BF Borgers brought in the most new Securities and Exchange Commission clients in the second quarter of 2021.

The Lakewood, Colorado-based firm onboarded 11 new clients, and netted nine, all of which were from different predecessor firms. (For the list, see “Net engagement leaders.")

Meanwhile, Denver-based Gries & Associates took second in the league tables, adding seven SEC clients, five of which came from AJ Robbins CPA; Robbins retired recently, according to one client’s 8-K.

Among the larger firms, Ernst & Young led the pack by netting five new clients out of six total new engagements. Two other large firms, KPMG and RSM US, added six new clients as well, but netted fewer, while Deloitte added eight, but ended up losing more than over the course of the quarter. (See “Client gains & losses.”)

Overall, it was a slow quarter for new engagements; after two periods of bouncing back from mid-pandemic lows, the total of new clients for Q2 dropped below even the lowest quarterly total seen last year.

Clients by filing status, and more

BF Borgers and Gries & Associates led the league tables for smaller reporting companies and non-accelerated filers and non-accelerated special reporting companies, respectively. KPMG led among large accelerated filers, while Grant Thornton took the top spot for accelerated filers. (For the tables, see “Audit leaders.”)

The rest of the Q2 rankings were fairly diverse: Gries & Associates took on the most new market capitalization, thanks almost entirely $15.2 billion from TokenCommunities, an advisor and incubator of blockchain and cryptocurrency companies. (For the tables, see “New client leaders.”)

PricewaterhouseCoopers took second in new market cap, thanks mostly to the $14 billion of trucking company J.B. Hunt Transport Securities. The firm came in second in terms of new assets audited, due again to J.B. Hunt, with $5.9 billion.

KPMG led in terms of new assets, with the $20.4 billion from Atlanta-based bank holding company Ameris Bancorp making up the lion’s share.

For new audit fees, Grant Thornton took the top spot, with medical technology company Surgalign Holdings leading the way with $3.2 million, and two other companies contributing around $2 million each. Deloitte came in second, with $2.7 million from financial technology company Enova International Inc.

Data for the quarterly rankings are provided by Audit Analytics, a premium online intelligence service delivering audit, regulatory and disclosure analysis. Reach them at (508) 476-7007, info@auditanalytics.com, or www.auditanalytics.com.