Top 20 Firm Marcum LLP led the second-quarter rankings among large firms for new Securities and Exchange Commission audit clients, bringing on 11 and netting nine. A number of other large firms saw double-digit increases in new clients, including BDO USA, Deloitte and Ernst & Young, but none managed to net as many as Marcum. (See "Q2 Gains & Losses.")
Deloitte and BDO USA did manage to top the lists in our breakdown of new clients by type of filer: The Big Four firm took the lead among large accelerated filers, while BDO USA led among accelerated filers. (See "Audit Leaders.") The most interesting story this quarter, however, seems to belong to the newly formed DCAW Ltd., which led in new clients overall (with a net of 32) and among non-accelerated filers and smaller reporting companies. (See "Net Engagement Leaders.") The firm is apparently the result of a recent combination between two Hong Kong firms, Albert Wong & Co. and Dominic K.F. Chan. The twist is that, according to Prof. Paul Gillis’ China Accounting Blog, Albert Wong & Co.’s registration with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board was revoked right around the same time the merger took effect. The timing raises questions, to say the least, but for now, DCAW is the auditor of record for a number of companies that used to clients of Albert Wong & Co. The second place winner overall was California-based KCCW Accountancy Corp., which netted 14 new clients, mostly from Anton & Chia, which dropped a large number of clients in May. Not long before, Anton & Chia had made a major acquisition in the U.S. and Canada (see “Anton Acquires McCormack Su”), so it may be sorting out its client base. In our other tables, Ernst & Young led for new market capitalization audited, with chocolate-maker Hershey Co. accounting for $19 billion of its new $22 billion, while KPMG led in new assets audited, with property and casualty insurance carrier Amtrust Financial Services making up $17 billion of its new $25 billion, and Deloitte took the top spot in terms of new audit fees, with office and HR services outsourcer Trinet Group making up $11 million of its new $22 million. (See "New Client Leaders.")
