BDO
Background Summary
BDO LLP operates under the umbrella group Binder Dijker Otte (BDO), an international network of public accounting, tax, consulting, and business advisory firms.
The global network was originally formed in 1963 as Biner Seidman International by a number of international firms, before introducing the name BDO in 1973.
Trading as BDO LLP, the network’s UK operation has most recently merged with Moore Stephens in 2019.
BDO LLP dates back to 1903 via the creation of Stoy and Co. The firm was joined by Jack Hayward and in 1919 became Stoy Hayward and Co, followed later on in the century by a series of mergers with Finnie and Co and BDO Binder Hamlyn in 1992 and 1994.
BDO Stoy Hayward was in turn created as the company became a member of BDO International. Soon after, in 2004, the group became a limited liability partnership before rebranding as BDO alongside all other BDO member firms in October 2009.
BDO’s global operations cover 167 countries, with some 91,054 staff members working across 1,658 offices. As for its UK arm, 7,500 people are employed, of which 441 are partners, as of 30 June 2023.
The network’s international executive team is headed by Keith Farlinger, global CEO, with Albert Lopez, Stephen Darley, and Trond-Morten Lindberg acting as CEO’s for the Americas, Asia Pacific, and EMEA respectively.
In the group’s own words, BDO LLP provides “integrated advice and solutions to help businesses navigate a changing world”.
Split across three key service lines, namely tax, audit and assurance, and advisory, the firm provides services across all sectors of the economy.
The firm told Accountancy Today: “Our clients are Britain’s economic engine – ambitious, entrepreneurially-spirited and high-growth businesses that fuel the economy.
“We share our clients’ ambitions and their entrepreneurial mind-set. We have the right combination of global reach, integrity and expertise to help them succeed.”
As a part of the wider BDO network of firms, BDO LLP can further support the needs of clients who are growing and trading internationally.
Financials
BDO reported an annual turnover of £955m for the period ended 30 June 2023, which shows a 16% year-on-year rise since the previous financial year.
Recent Coverage
BDO has announced a further three partner hires. Evan Routenberg will lead the firm’s digital TPA practice, Claire Collins is joining the quality and risk management team, and Carl Jebbitt will lead the pension audit team in the South East.
BDO opened its applications for more than 130 apprentices, as it continues to grow its early career programmes. The firm is also recruiting for its annual Black Heritage programme, aimed at first year university students. Both programmes are open to candidates from across the UK.
BDO has launched a secure generative AI platform, Personas, for its 7,500 employees as part of the firm’s ongoing investment in digital and innovation. The firm said Personas will support a wide range of tasks from drafting reports and new content to analysing documents and finding ways to improve efficiencies.
BDO has launched a new commercial advisory service to help clients develop and optimise their supply chain strategies. The new team will offer end-to-end supply chain advisory services covering procurement, contract and commercial risk, third party management, and supply chain and logistics.
BDO has promoted 30 partners as well as nearly 2,300 people across the entire business, which is almost a third of the firm. In addition, the company has promoted more than 1,200 people in its audit practice, 560 in advisory, over 330 in its tax team and a further 164 across its support functions.