In a wide-ranging interview with CJ Prince of Chief Executive magazine, BDO USA CEO Wayne Berson used “BDO” and “powerhouse” in the same sentence, said “no one wants to go to the 5th best firm” (you got dissed, RSM US) but “we don’t see ourselves as inferior to the Big Four,” and explained what CLIMB means for all you non-BDOers.
During the interview, Berson was asked to whip out his crystal ball to take a glimpse at BDO’s revenues for FY 2021 and FY 2022. The firm is coming off a fiscal year that saw revenue increase 11% to $1.8 billion. Berson said he expects FY 2021, which started on May 1, 2020 and ends on April 30, 2021, to be a good one for Bravo Delta Oscar:
“We’re providing good service, our clients seem happy and we’re not having to incur a lot of the expenses like travel, the airline tickets, the hotel, the meals and entertainment. We have training seminars that we’ve turned into virtual events. So there’s going to be significant cost savings in our operations. So I’m ok for this year.”
But Berson seems to be a lot more worried about the following fiscal year and admits some people at BDO probably would like him to stop breathing down their necks:
“My concern is more for fiscal ’22. That’s where the issues could come into play. And that’s because I think you’ll see more and more companies, depending on how long the pandemic continues, run into trouble and potentially going to go out of business. And when the pandemic ends, a lot of the expense and cost savings we will have this year will come back. So if we have all that additional cost, we’ll need additional revenue to offset that. So that’s the big issue. So what I’m doing is driving our business development folks probably crazy in terms of asking about pipelines and new business. But really, we have to stay close to our people, protect our revenues at all times and make sure we’re meeting clients’ needs.”
You’re in our thoughts and prayers, BDO business development people.
BDO’s Wayne Berson: “We Needed To Become A 21st Century Powerhouse” [Chief Executive]
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