Accounting Services in New Zealand - Industry Research Report

Ahead for numbers: Revenue and profit back in the black as businesses and capital expenditure boom

The Accounting Services industry is highly susceptible to various wider economic factors that influence demand. Accounting firms derive most of their income from the private sector. That's why trends in the private sector's capital expenditure significantly influence the industry's performance. Before 2020-21, accountants benefited from growth in private sector capital expenditure and the rising number of businesses. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic reduced capital expenditure from the private sector in 2020-21, as many businesses undertook cost-cutting measures to maintain profit margins. Climbing public sector capital expenditure in recent years has buttressed demand from the public sector as they ramped up spending on audit and advisory services. The Accounting Services industry is anticipated to experience subdued growth of an annualised 0.9% over the five years through 2022-23, reaching an estimated $3.8 billion. Negative business confidence in recent years has weighed on accounting firms, hindering their performance. These difficult conditions have caused revenue to fall by 4.9% in 2022-23 and have inched profit margins downwards.

Firms in the industry provide accounting, auditing and bookkeeping services. These services relate to all areas of financial reporting, taxation and auditing. Many industry companies also offer business advice and assistance. The industry does not include firms primarily performing payroll processing, billing or record-keeping services.

This report covers the scope, size, disposition and growth of the industry including the key sensitivities and success factors. Also included are five year industry forecasts, growth rates and an analysis of the industry key players and their market shares.