Marcum Leads Top Firms in Q4 Audit Clients

Top 100 Firm Marcum took the top spot among large audit firms in bringing in new Securities and Exchange Commission audit clients in the fourth quarter of 2015, with with 11 new engagements and a net gain of six. (See “Q4 Client Gains & Losses.”)

Marcum’s new engagements came from a mix of previous auditors, ranging from Big Four firms down to smaller firms, and were drawn from a wide range of industries.

Salt Lake City’s Pritchett Siler & Hardy and Houston-based MaloneBailey tied for bringing in the most new clients among all auditors, with 17 each – though PS&H took the final lead by netting 17, while MaloneBailey netted 11. (See “Net Engagement Leaders” and “Audit Leaders.”) All 17 of PS&H’s new clients came from Colorado-based Cutler & Co.; according to the 8-Ks of several clients, PS&H merged in Cutler’s SEC audit practice over the quarter.

MORE LEADERS

Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, which brought in six new clients in the period but only netted one, topped our rankings of new market capitalization audited, new assets audited and new audit fees. (See “New Client Leaders.”) Car loan provider Santander Consumer USA Holding accounted for $6.8 billion of PwC’s nearly $15 billion in new market cap, while computer system designer Henry Jack Associates brought in $5.2 billion. Santander Consumer also made up much the firm’s new assets under assets, with $32 billion out of a total of $39 billion, and it contributed $3 million of PwC’s nearly $8 million in new audit fees. Printed circuit board manufacturer Sanmina Corp. was the next-biggest contributor in fees, with $2 million.

Ernst & Young came second in two categories: market cap audited, with almost $12 billion, and new audit fees, with $5.6 million. Software publisher Senseonics Holdings was the standout client for market cap, at $5.5 billion, while REIT Gramercy Property Trust’s $1.3 million and decorative metal manufacturer Matthews International’s $1.8 million were the standouts in audit fees. Crowe Horwath took second in new assets audited thanks to its engagement by commercial bank TrustMark Corp., with $12 billion.

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 or info@auditanalytics.com.