Deloitte China looks beyond audit to advisory services involving fintech, mergers and acquisitions

Deloitte China plans to develop more advisory services geared towards fintech and mergers and acquisitions as well as on crisis management as clients demand a greater range of services, according to its China chief executive Patrick Tsang.

Audit income dropped to only about 40 per cent of all business, down from 80 per cent in the early 1990s, Tsang told the South China Morning Post.

In contrast, managing consulting and advisory services for mergers and acquisitions as well as crisis management now represents 20 per cent of all revenue compared with just 5 per cent 20 years ago, he said.

“Companies nowadays are getting much bigger and more sophisticated. They want their accounting firms not just to audit their books, but they also want the consultancy services to help to conduct mergers and acquisitions, technology development, as well as crisis management such as debt restructuring,” Tsang said.

As Deloitte China is turning a century old this year, Tsang said the firm will have a lot of growth opportunities. China is the world’s second-largest economy while its going out policy and New Silk Road projects means there will be a lot of demand in Deloitte’s advisory services for mergers and acquisitions globally.

Deloitte is adviser for the Silk Road Fund, sponsored by China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

“Many Chinese companies want us to help identify projects for investment and to offer them advice on how to manage these projects,” he said.