This rebound saw the firm’s distributable profits before tax increase by over 3% to £679 million. The average distributable profit per partner also saw a significant 9% jump, rising from £723,000 to £787,000.

The positive results were driven by strong performances in several key areas. The strategy and transactions business grew by 10%, followed by tax at 5% and assurance at 3%. The firm’s top-performing industry sectors were consumer and health, which grew by 9%, and financial services at 5%.

However, these gains were offset by a 6% decrease in consulting revenues, which the firm attributed to more difficult trading conditions. This downturn in consulting was accompanied by redundancies earlier in the year, with dozens of senior partners axed and around 150 senior consulting roles cut in early 2025.

Despite these cuts, EY still hired nearly 2,400 people and admitted 59 new equity partners over the financial year, signalling a strategic shift in its workforce.

EY has continued to make substantial investments in technology as part of its growth strategy, including a $1bn (c. £750m) global investment in audit technology, AI, and advanced data analytics.

Key initiatives in the UK include the launch of the EY.ai Agentic Platform in March 2025, a collaboration with NVIDIA to help teams and clients deploy AI solutions responsibly. The firm has also rolled out Microsoft 365 Copilot to over 12,000 users across its UK business.

This pivot to AI comes as the UK’s Big Four firms are reportedly pulling back on graduate recruitment, with technology beginning to replace junior roles. While EY welcomed 1,600 graduates and interns since January 2024, maintaining consistent numbers, a June report indicated its overall graduate openings had been cut by 11%.

Looking ahead, EY’s leadership acknowledged that the economic environment remains unpredictable but stated the firm has “a clear strategy to drive our business forward and better support our clients”.