Baker Tilly International said Friday that revenues of its global accounting firm network grew 5 percent to $3.2 billion for the year ending June 30, 2011.

Geoff Barnes

Consulting revenue increased 21 percent to $720 million, while accounting revenue climbed 15 percent to $520 million, and tax revenue grew 7 percent to $860 million. Auditing revenue, however, declined 7 percent to $1.1 billion.

“We have delivered robust results in what is a difficult global environment,” said Baker Tilly International president and CEO Geoff Barnes in a statement. “Our combination of international scale, depth of local expertise and a commitment to client care is proving to be a compelling proposition.”

In North America, revenues grew 1 percent to $1.54 billion. The strongest gains came in the Asia Pacific region, where revenues jumped 40 percent to $490 million, and Latin America, where Baker Tilly saw a 24 percent increase to $70 million. Revenue dipped 1 percent in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, however, to $1.12 billion.

“There is no doubt that our results accurately mirror the economic environment in which our clients are operating, reflecting a two-tier recovery with different regions moving at different speeds,” said Barnes. “The combined revenues of our member firms in Asia Pacific leaped 40 percent, and in Latin America 24 percent, driven by strong regional growth, while the difficulties of the Eurozone and the sluggish U.S. economy were reflected in the modest results in these regions.”

Barnes attributed the growth in part to member firms continuing to invest in new offices to increase their reach. Other member firms in the network are expanding into new areas through mergers and acquisitions and by taking on new consulting service lines. However, he acknowledged that the economic problems facing Baker Tilly’s clients are also having an effect.

“We are seeing some strong trends globally in the challenges that our clients face,” he noted. “For example, privately held businesses tend to be more dependent on debt than equity, and therefore are finding access to credit more of a problem. Many are owner managed and, as their founders move closer to retirement, are facing a range of issues around succession planning. It is exactly areas like these where our clients are increasingly turning to our member firms for advice and guidance.”