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Which Big 4 Firm Was the Biggest Loser In the First Auditor Shuffle of 2020?

a colorful sign that reads "time for change"

Nearly 60 companies that are audited by one of the 12 major global or national accounting firms played auditor musical chairs during the first quarter of 2020, and EY ended up being the biggest beneficiary after the last song ended.

According to the latest SEC audit client winners and losers analysis by Audit Analytics, which was first published by Accounting Today last week, EY led all 12 of the top audit firms with 15 new engagements but also lost 10 clients for a net total of five. The Black and Yellow were followed by Deloitte which picked up nine new audit clients for a net of three.

Among audit firms not in that upper crust, BF Borgers, which sounds like a chain of casual dining restaurants instead of a public accounting firm, took the top spot with 10 new clients for a net of nine.

Congrats to all the winners. Now on to our favorite part of the report: the losers. And you’ll find the other two Big 4 firms at the top of the loser list.

Man, I don’t know what’s going on at PwC but they’ve been bleeding audit clients left and right of late. In Q1, P. Dubs lost 13 SEC-registered audit clients (including five to EY and two to Deloitte) and gained just eight for a net total of -5. That’s on top of the 30 audit clients of PwC’s that disappeared in 2019 for a net of -21, which was the worst among the top 12 audit firms.

But PwC didn’t lose the most audit clients in Q1. That dubious distinction went to KPMG, which lost 14 and gained only six, for a net of -8. Nine of the 14 clients that fired KPMG went to the other Big 4 firms.

BDO USA also had a crummy Q1, losing nine audit clients and gaining only three for a net of -6.

Here’s a chart from Audit Analytics showing all the client gains and losses in Q1:

Auditor Changes Roundup: Q1 2020 [Audit Analytics]
BF Borgers tops list of new SEC clients again [Accounting Today]