Cohen leads in new SEC clients again

Top 50 Firm Cohen & Co. topped the ranks of new Securities and Exchange Commission clients added in the second quarter of 2023, repeating its performance in Q1 thanks to a merger early in the year.

The Cleveland-based firm acquired the Investment Management Group of BBD, a Philadelphia-based provider of audit and tax services for registered and unregistered investment companies, in March. That yielded 10 new clients right away in Q1, and a further 11 new engagements in Q2 (for a net of nine in the second period — see "Net engagement leaders").

Big Four firm Deloitte & Touche came in second, adding 11 new clients but netting eight (see "Client gains & losses"). Top 25 Firm CohnReznick also netted eight clients on nine new engagements brought on thanks to its March merger with Boca Raton, Florida-based Daszkal Bolton.

Overall, the number of new engagements signed hit 191, a big jump from Q1's 162, and by far the highest number since the start of the COVID pandemic.

 
Clients by filing status, and more

In terms of clients by filing status, Deloitte led among large accelerated filers and the combined grouping of accelerated filers and smaller reporting companies, while CohnReznick led among non-accelerated filers and smaller reporting companies (see "Audit leaders.").

Deloitte also topped the league tables for new market capitalization audited and for new audit fees: air conditioning, heating and refrigeration equipment distributor Watsco Inc. accounted for the biggest part of its total $19.7 billion in market cap, with $8.4 billion, while Array Technologies, which produces systems that orient solar panels toward the sun, was the largest single contributor to the firm's $26.8 million in audit fees, with $6.77 million; three other clients represented between $3 and $4 million in fees each (see "New client leaders").

PricewaterhouseCoopers took the lead in new assets audited, at $15.7 billion. Two clients accounted for the bulk of that: real estate investment trust Franklin BSP Realty Trust with $6.2 billion, and midstream energy infrastructure and logistics provider Genesis Energy with $6.4 billion.

KPMG, meanwhile, came in second in all three categories, with luxury electric car manufacturer Lucid Group bringing on $11.3 billion in market cap and $7.9 billion in assets; park operator SeaWorld Entertainment adding $3.4billion in market cap and $2.3 billion in assets; and space infrastructure technology company Redwire Corp. providing $3.6 million in fees.

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.