EY reports global revenues of US$40b in 2021 and outlines record US$10b investment plan over next three years

• Global revenues of US$40b, up 7.3% in US dollars
• Growth across all Service Lines and geographic areas
• 20m lives positively impacted through EY Ripples
• Plans for investments of US$10b in FY22-FY24, focused on audit quality, strategy, technology and people

EY today announces combined global revenues of US$40b for the financial year ended June 2021 (FY21), an increase of 7.3% in US dollars (4.0% in local currency), a solid result given the global economic impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past seven years, the global EY organization has recorded strong 7.3% compound annual growth in local currency. The COVID-19 pandemic triggered an almost overnight shift to virtual working, significantly reducing the level of travel and hotel related expenses on client assignments.

EY also today announces a three-year expansion plan and a combined investment spend of US$10b between FY22 and FY24, which supports the EY NextWave strategy launched in FY20. These investments will further expand capabilities to help EY clients, the people who serve them, and the communities in which EY teams operate, to successfully navigate unprecedented global challenges.

Carmine Di Sibio, EY Global Chairman and CEO, says:

“EY people have worked hard to support clients and communities in FY21, delivering an outstanding set of results, through a challenging year. EY teams remain focused on the EY NextWave strategy, which is built on an ambition to build long-term value for all stakeholders.

“A record US$10b three-year investment plan in vital areas such as audit quality, strategy, and sustainability, will continue to help EY clients, EY people and communities innovate and transform. The world is changing fast and the EY organization is ideally placed to help stakeholders fulfil their need to succeed in a manner which is equitable and sustainable, and which respects the environment.”

EY investments to support audit quality, transformation, technology and people

The US$10b investment plan is being made in people, technology and quality management systems to help further build trust in the capital markets by strengthening audit quality, supported by the implementation of technology-driven innovations in risk-based and other audit procedures, including the detection of fraud.

The plan includes $2.5b in technology investment over the next three years, with a strong focus on artificial intelligence (AI), trusted data fabric and disruptive technologies, as well as the wider EY ecosystem of strategic alliances. The plan will also see further buildout of the global client technology platform that underpins EY services and solutions. This platform is currently used by more than 1m EY clients and processes a volume of 250m transactions daily through the deployment of hybrid and multi-cloud capabilities across 200 countries. The EY organization will continue to attract technology and data specialists, which today exceed 44,000 technologists and 22,000 data professionals – including a neurodiverse engineering team. EY will accelerate the use of technology to embrace post-pandemic working while also accelerating technology-enabled transformation. 

The market-leading EY Global Tax Platform and EY Canvas (audit platform), built natively on Microsoft Azure Cloud, are being boosted with enhanced AI capabilities and the technology behind EY Diligence Edge – an AI platform hosted on IBM Cloud.

Through leading edge technology solutions, EY teams have helped a number of life sciences companies improve their efficiency and effectiveness in providing critical medicines; from digitizing Pfizer’s supply chain, to helping Johnson & Johnson deliver accelerated medical approval using AI, and to improving AstraZeneca’s operational efficiency through intelligent automation. EY teams also advised TNB, Malaysia’s national energy provider, on digitizing its customer experience channels and on its decarbonization agenda.

Expanding strategy consulting services

EY will expand strategy consulting (EY-Parthenon) and sustainability services, and invest to ensure that clients and EY people benefit from leading-class technology – all backed up by continued strategic acquisitions and the EY ecosystem of world-class alliances. The investment will also include supporting EY people to hone new skills and advance efforts to positively impact communities.

EY-Parthenon is the world’s fifth largest strategy consulting organization today in terms of revenue, with more than 6,500 professionals and 750 partners of EY member firms across the globe. EY-Parthenon recorded revenue growth of 19.6% in FY21, with EY-Parthenon teams supporting clients across the world to successfully transform their businesses. The consulting organization will continue to expand into key markets and build out its portfolio of strategy services and solutions. 

Recent strategy projects include working with the European Commission on its landmark Shift2Rail project and advising UK fashion retailer ASOS to identify opportunities to unlock value, making it more resilient and better-prepared for the future. In the US, EY professionals worked with Carrier, a supplier of hi-tech heating appliances, to provide strategic advice which led to supply chain improvements and the launch of a direct-to-consumer business.

Driving a value-led sustainability agenda

EY teams are developing new global sustainability solutions for EY clients. The solutions will be focused around value-led sustainability, helping EY clients capture the business opportunities from sustainability and decarbonization, while protecting and creating value. EY teams are also helping clients to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure into their wider strategies.

Recent sustainability client engagements include supporting DPDHL on its decarbonization journey and working with NBN, Australia’s broadband network, on developing a sustainability strategy.

EY will continue to build on its ecosystem of strategic alliances, including alliances with IBM, Microsoft, SAP and ServiceNow which were expanded in FY21. Nine new alliances were announced in FY21, expanding capabilities in industry solutions, digital, cybersecurity and supply chain. Over the next year the EY organization will attribute US$5b of ecosystem-related revenues to sales with, and through, alliance partners, based on market leading EY technology offerings and platforms. This is expected to grow to US$10b annually over the next three years.

This three-year plan also includes significant investment in people, including a large increase in the partner cohort through hiring and internal promotion, aligned to key growth areas. EY will also continue to upgrade the skills of its 312,250 people through an expanded learning program.

Building a better working world

The EY organization has set the ambitious goal of positively impacting 1b lives by 2030 through the EY Ripples corporate responsibility program. More than 1m people will be mobilized globally through EY Ripples to drive long-term change by working with impact entrepreneurs, supporting the next generation and accelerating environmental sustainability. Since EY Ripples was established in 2018, more than 55m lives have been positively impacted, including 20m lives in FY21. In FY21, there were investments of a total of US$119m in projects dedicated to strengthening communities, and EY people contributed 837k hours of time to a variety of initiatives and value-in-kind projects.

EY professionals will shortly publish EY Value Realized, an integrated report featuring increased ESG disclosure aligned to the new World Economic Forum-International Business Council Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics, and overall progress on the global impact of the EY organization and the EY NextWave strategy.

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Notes to editors

About EY

EY exists to build a better working world, helping create long-term value for clients, people and society and build trust in the capital markets.

Enabled by data and technology, diverse EY teams in over 150 countries provide trust through assurance and help clients grow, transform and operate.

Working across assurance, consulting, law, strategy, tax and transactions, EY teams ask better questions to find new answers for the complex issues facing our world today.

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B-roll footage

To watch EY Global Chairman and CEO Carmine Di Sibio discuss the EY FY21 results,  please visit here. For broadcast quality, downloadable b-roll video, please contact alasdair.gee@uk.ey.com. 

EY FY21 June YTD Global revenues and headcount

EY revenues by Service Line – US$ millions

% change in US$        % change in local currency

EY revenues by Geographic Area – US$ millions

% change in US$        % change in local currency

EY people by service line

EY people by geographic area

Basis of presentation: Revenues are aggregated revenues of the individual EY member firms that have been combined for presentation purposes and include expenses billed to clients. For purposes of reporting combined global revenues, revenues between member firms have been eliminated. Headcount numbers reflect personnel as at the end of June of each financial year.

The Service Line information shown above is in the new EY structure (Advisory is now named Consulting, and Corporate Finance is named Strategy and Transactions). The total combined FY20 revenue and people data are the same as reported last year, the split by service line include a reclassification of $92m of revenue and 351 people from Consulting into Strategy and Transactions. This is to realign parts of the Strategy business so that FY21 is reported consistently with FY20. 

Global Entities in the People Section represents Global services and functions including the Global Delivery Services (GDS) organization. GDS entities support EY member firms across the world by providing support capabilities to their client-serving account teams as well as internal enablement support services.