PwC Middle East, a leading professional services firm, has posted a 14 per cent rise in its revenues for its 2016 fiscal year in its first Middle East Annual Review.

All of its core businesses – assurance, tax & legal, deals, consulting and Strategy&– performed strongly in FY16, with the firm expanding its service offering to be able to provide the full ‘Strategy through Execution’ capabilities to its clients, the company said in a statement.

There was increased demand in particular for data analytics, digital, customer experience, restructuring, privatisation and VAT consulting work. Positive influences including public sector transformation programmes in the UAE and Saudi Arabia in particular also contributed to the firm’s success in 2016, while revenues from privately owned businesses also grew significantly.

On the release of the first edition of the Middle East Annual Review and the first-ever Total Impact Measurement and Management (TIMM) analysis, Hani Ashkar, Middle East Territory senior partner at PwC Middle East said: “We are very proud of the work we do in the region and the positive impact that we have on our clients, our people and our wider stakeholder community.”

“We have a two-folded purpose as a firm, to solve important problems and to build trust in our society. The Middle East annual review is how we will communicate the broader impact we are having across the region. For the first time ever we are using TIMM.  This gauges our contribution to the economy, society and weighs it against the impact we inevitably have on the environment. This is one of the ways we are providing greater transparency for our stakeholders, and improving the information we use for decision-making.

“This report demonstrates both our commitment to the region and our positive impact. When you employ more than 4,000 people in the region you can have a tremendous positive impact, especially when the overwhelming majority includes young talent.” Ashkar added.

Stephen Anderson, Clients and Markets Leader at PwC Middle East said: “Our region is undergoing a once-in-a-generation transformation. Globally we see five forces, or Megatrends, impacting the world - demographic change, shifts east in economic power, rapid urbanization, resource constraints and massive technological upheaval.

“We are at the epicenter of these Megatrends with each of them having significant implications across our region. These forces, alongside the impetus from sustained lower for longer oil prices have driven a swathe of transformation across the GCC. In particular the launch of Vision 2030 in Saudi Arabia, as the Kingdom looks to diversify away from oil and drive a range of other reforms, has seen us work on many transformation programmes in the Kingdom.” – TradeArabia News Service