Cohen adds the most SEC clients in Q1

Top 50 Firm Cohen & Co. topped the ranks of new Securities and Exchange Commission clients added in the first quarter of 2023.

The Cleveland-based firm added 10 new clients (see "Net engagement leaders"), thanks to its March 2023 acquisition of the Investment Management Group of BBD, a Philadelphia-based provider of audit and tax services for registered and unregistered investment companies. At the time, the firm expected that the combination would make it the second-largest auditor of exchange-traded funds and fourth-largest registered funds auditor in the U.S. by number of funds. (See story.)

Top 10 Firm Grant Thornton, meanwhile, took the second spot overall, and first among the largest auditors (see "Client gains & losses"), adding 10 new clients and netting seven. Big Four firm Deloitte actually added 13 clients in Q1, but netted five.

Overall, the number of new engagements signed topped out at 162 — roughly in line with the figures from the previous four quarters, and suggested that the field may have settled at a new level following the drastic slowdowns of the COVID pandemic.

Clients by filing status, and more

In terms of clients by filing status, Deloitte netted the most large accelerated filers with three, while RSM US netted the most accelerated filers and smaller reporting companies with three (though PricewaterhouseCoopers brought on the most, with five, it netted two). And Nigeria-based Olayinka Oyebola & Co. took on the most non-accelerated filers and SRCs, with six. (See "Audit leaders.")

Big Four firm Ernst & Young topped the league tables for new market capitalization audited, with the overwhelming majority — $53.2 billion out of its $62.2 billion total in market cap — coming from energy drink manufacturer Monster Beverage Corp. It also came out tops in new assets audited, with bank holding company SouthState Corp. $43.9 billion accounting for the lion's share. (See "New client leaders.")

Deloitte came in second in market cap and assets audited, with pest control company Rollins Inc. accounting for the biggest chunk of market cap, at $18 billion, and agriculture and construction equipment loan, leasing and insurance product provider CNH Industrial Capital's $13.2 billion contributing the most to new assets. The firm came first in terms of new audit fees, with sensor manufacturer Sensata Technologies Holding making the biggest single contribution, at $5.5 million, representing just under a quarter of the total.

Grant Thornton, finally, came in second in overall new audit fees, with $21.3 million from a mix of clients, led by $6.4 million from newspaper publisher Gannett Co. Inc. and $5.8 million from IT services and consulting company Unisys Corp.

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.