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Accounting Today's Top 100 Firms in 2001 continued to lead the profession's climb up the mountain to stake their claims as the kings of business and advisory services in their respective markets - but they're making that climb under a shadow of consolidation.
The Top 100 reported combined 2000 revenues of $35.9 billion, up by 13.5 percent from a year earlier. For the second consecutive year, the firms in the No. 6 to No. 100 bracket outpaced the Big Five in revenue growth rates - 17.6 percent vs. 12.6 percent.
Consolidation reinforced its position as a key issue among the accounting industry's elite. Twenty-six of the Top 100 firms were involved in some type of merger or acquisition during 2000. Most of those were the acquirer or the lead firm in mergers - and several firms that were part of last year's Top 100 dropped from this year's list after being acquired by national consolidators.
At the same time, consolidation's close relative - collaboration - has become more prominent.
At least one-fourth of the Top 100 firms are parts of some type of collaborative group that enables its CPA firm members to network and join forces to better serve clients. The Leading Edge and Capital Professional Advisors, which focus on financial planning, are the most popular collaborative efforts.
The frequent consolidation and collaboration has helped recharge growth engines at a time when many firms are observing a slowdown in their local economies.
However, the 17.6 percent average rate of growth in revenue by non-Big Five members of the Accounting Today Top 100 is down from the 21 percent growth rate reported between 1998 and 1999 by the year 2000 group.
Big Five revenue growth slowed even more noticeably. However, the Big Five's ongoing separation of their traditional accounting services and their consulting units forced that group's aggregate growth rate down from a 16 percent figure recorded between year-end 1998 and year-end 1999 to this year's 12.6 percent.
During 2000, Arthur Andersen completed its business divorce from Andersen Consulting, which had been part of Andersen Worldwide, while KPMG and Ernst & Young each spun off their consulting units.
Deloitte & Touche and PricewaterhouseCoopers have not yet restructured their consulting groups, but last year, PwC began plans...