Ernst & Young Voted Top Accounting Firm for Hedge Fund Industry

The “Big Four” accounting and consulting firm Ernst & Young LLP has received two industry honors in the accounting and auditing space. The firm has been named Best Accounting Firm by the HFMWeek 2013 U.S. Hedge Fund Service Awards for the fifth consecutive year, and ranked as the top global audit and accounting service provider by Hedge Funds Review for the third consecutive year.

“EY is honored to receive these recognitions, and they affirm our long-standing commitment to serve hedge funds through every phase of their business,” said Art Tully, Partner, Financial Services, Ernst & Young LLP, and EY Global Hedge Fund Services Co-Leader. “Our teams of seasoned professionals continue to guide organizations through the evolving hedge fund industry by helping them anticipate and manage regulatory, transactional, accounting, auditing, operations, technology and tax issues and investor demands.”

Each year, the HFMWeek Hedge Fund Services Awards recognize companies that have outperformed their peer group in demonstrating outstanding service and support to the North American hedge fund industry in the past year. Entries undergo two stages of judging, shortlisting and final judging, and are assessed both quantitatively and qualitatively. At each stage, a panel of senior level industry representatives evaluates performance results, qualitative information and customer testimonials to reach their decision. This year, the decision process was updated to ensure that all entries were judged against a consistent set of criteria.

The third annual Hedge Funds Review Service Provider Ranking not only shows who the preferred service provider is, but also gives providers an insight into where managers and investors would like to see improvements and what aspects of their offering are valued. The results of the rankings were determined through the votes of hedge funds, funds of hedge funds and investors in the fund industry. Since the rankings were first produced annually, EY has earned the top spot in the global audit and accounting service provider category every year.

“These awards reflect our continuous efforts to exceed client expectations in providing audit and tax services to help them meet market demands and regulatory changes,” added Michael Serota, Partner, Financial Services, Ernst & Young LLP, and EY Global Hedge Fund Services Co-leader.

Earlier this year, EY received the award for Best Advisory Firm in the HFMWeek 2013 European Hedge Fund Services Awards for the third consecutive year.

“We are very proud of our strong history of working with this industry through its maturity cycle and look forward to providing ongoing support and advice as managers focus on growth,” said Michael J. Inserra, Vice Chair and Regional Managing Partner, Financial Services, Ernst & Young LLP.

In addition to providing core audit and tax services, EY offers a wide range of specialty services that can help clients manage risk and improve their organization's growth, tax efficiency and compliance. The Hedge Fund practices of the global EY network consist of dedicated professionals who serve the asset management industry across key financial centers in North America, South America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. EY's wide-ranging and diverse global clients employ all strategies – from long/short equity to the most complex global fixed income and derivatives funds, as well as funds of funds.

EY is a leader in serving the global financial services marketplace

Nearly 35,000 EY financial services professionals around the world provide integrated assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services to our asset management, banking, capital markets and insurance clients. In the Americas, EY is the only public accounting organization with a separate business unit dedicated to the financial services marketplace. Created in 2000, the Americas Financial Services Office practices today include more than 6,500 professionals at member firms in over 50 locations throughout the US, the Caribbean and Latin America.

EY professionals in our financial services practices worldwide align with key global industry groups, including EY's Global Asset Management Center, Global Banking & Capital Markets Center, Global Insurance Center and Global Private Equity Center, which act as hubs for sharing industry-focused knowledge on current and emerging trends and regulations in order to help our clients address key issues. Our practitioners cover many disciplines and provide a well-rounded understanding of business issues and challenges, as well as integrated services to our clients.

With a global presence and industry-focused advice, EY's financial services professionals provide high-quality assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services, including operations, process improvement, risk and technology to financial services companies worldwide.