'50% partners make a loss'

News Article - 21 December 2007
Category: Business

Over half of all partners in UK accounting firms are making a loss, it has been claimed.

A survey by accountancy network AVN found that despite the average practice making £77,000 per partner before salaries are taken into account, the majority of partners are actually not seeing a profit.

However, at the opposite end of the scale, some partners at independent firms are making profits exceeding £200,000, it revealed.

This salary gap between firms is expected to widen during 2008, "with some partners being able to afford their first Ferrari, most partners making losses and some partners even needing to start selling the Big Issue to make ends meet", commented Steve Pipe, chairman of AVN.

He also told Accountancy Magazine that the UK may lose a number of clients to accountants based in India with cheaper costs.

The survey was based on 200 independent practices outside of the top 50 accounting firms.

Partners at Big Four firm KPMG saw profits reach a record £806,000 this year, a 19 per cent increase on 2006.

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