Ernst & Young reported worldwide revenues of $10.1 billion for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2002, representing growth of 2.7%. Chairman James Turley said he expects a return to double-digit revenue growth in the current fiscal year.

A breakdown by line of service shows revenues increased 2.9% to $5.8 billion for assurance & advisory business services, 1.5% to $3.4 billion for tax and law, and 9.0% to $0.7 billion for corporate finance.

"It has been a difficult year for our profession," explained Chairman Turley. "A tough economy has meant we've grown less than we would have liked to, but in our view 2.7% growth is significant given the challenging environment in which we were operating. This past year, however, will really be remembered for how we strengthened our firm on a global basis through being engaged by more former Andersen clients and executing more combinations with former Andersen practices than any other firm."

Altogether, Ernst & Young added 25,000 Andersen partners and staff during the past year. If fiscal 2002 results were restated to include revenues from the acquired Andersen practices, EY estimates its revenues would have amounted to between $12 billion and $12.5 billion.

Other factors positioning the firm for future growth include higher audit fees and a recovering economy. "We are seeing a firming up, a strengthening of audit pricing," explained Chairman Turley. "There's more work today. There's more time being spent with . . . audit committees in companies." As a result, Chairman Turley said audit and audit-related services are likely to grow the fastest during the current year, outpacing the firm's traditionally strong tax practice, at least temporarily.