Deloitte, which was the only Big Four company without offices outside Bucharest, expanded operations in May to the northern city of Cluj-Napoca. In October, Deloitte opened a further two regional offices, in the northeastern city of Iasi and the western city of Timisoara.
The local subsidiary of KPMG inaugurated two new territorial offices in October in Iasi and the southeastern city of Constanta.
The other two Big Four companies, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst&Young, had already expanded outside Bucharest.
The decision by consulting companies to expand was due to the regional development of their clients, which increasingly require audit, fiscal and business advisory services.
Earlier this year, players in the field were estimating sound growth of the market for several years. “No decline or minor growth will be registered on the local consulting market for the coming five years,” Deloitte Romania President, George Mucibabici, said at the beginning of 2008.
However, several segments of the consultancy field were subject to significant decline by the end of the year, especially mergers&acquisitions advisory and stock market listing assistance.
Big Four companies adjusted their services to meet the needs of companies impacted by the crisis. Consulting for EU funds accession, assistance for lowering operating costs and for accessing state aid took the lead. Thus, the local market rose some 20-25 percent this year, to some €350 million.
