Forvis tops list of new SEC clients in Q2

A major merger created a new player in the market for Securities and Exchange Commission audit clients, with Forvis recording 26 new and net clients in the second quarter of 2022.

The firm was created in June by the combination of two Top 20 Firms, Springfield, Missouri-based BKD CPAs and Charlotte, N.C.-based Dixon Hughes Goodman; the firm's 26 "new" clients were all previously DHG engagements. (See "Net engagement leaders").

Meanwhile, Grant Thornton took second place in the overall rankings, and the top spot among the largest firms, adding 11 new clients and netting six; KPMG followed them, with eight new clients and a net of five. A number of large firms also did well in terms of new engagements — such as Marcum, with eight, and Deloitte and EY, each with seven — but ended up seeing more departures. (See "Client gains & losses").

Forvis' big reported gain helped bump up the quarter's overall number of new engagements, compared with Q1; even without them, though, Q2 still represented the biggest quarter for new engagements since the start of the COVID pandemic.

Clients by filing status, and more

With its large haul of new engagements, it's hardly surprising that Forvis led two of the three league tables for new engagements by filing status, topping the charts for accelerated filers and smaller reporting companies, and for non-accelerated filers and SRCs. KPMG, meanwhile, topped the list for large accelerated filers. (See "Audit leaders").

Meanwhile, Deloitte topped all three categories for new market capitalization and new assets audited, and for new audit fees, thanks largely to bringing on national mobile phone giant T-Mobile US, which accounted for $146.94 billion of new market cap, $206.56 billion in new assets, and new audit fees of $36.5 million. (See "New client leaders.")

EY came in second in terms of new market cap, with major contributions of $17.16 billion from Royalty Pharma, a New York-based fund that purchases pharmaceutical royalties, and $13.88 billion from Dynatrace, a Massachusetts-based tech company.

Forvis took second for new assets, with a standout $41.96 billion from Florida-based bank holding company SouthState Corp., and the rest divided among a host of other clients.

Finally, KPMG came in second in audit fees, with the biggest single chunk of $7.47 million coming from Bermuda-based specialty insurer Argo Group International Holdings.

Data for the quarterly rankings are provided by Audit Analytics, a premium online intelligence service delivering audit, regulatory and disclosure analysis. Reach them at (508) 476-7007, info@auditanalytics.com or www.auditanalytics.com.