The Rzeczpospolita daily published this year's ranking of audit firms on 8 February 2010. HLB Sarnowski & Wiśniewski was ranked 17th, having moved up 11 ranks thanks to, among other things, increasing its staff numbers and maintaining the number of audits. The ranking also featured audit networks, with HLB Poland ranked 11th.
Year 2009 saw continuation of the prior year's trend of decreasing interest in listing services, both with respect to the main market and New Connect. This trend seems to be reversing this year. Also, we have observed some of our clients migrate to cheaper auditors while at the same time noting several acquisitions of clients who looked for a high-quality service that is below the Big Four price level. Our recipe for protection against price changes is to diversify our service portfolio. After joining HLB International in 2009, we are able to serve group companies in virtually any country in the world. The global reach has also given us access to international know-how with respect to audit tools and interpretation of the increasingly complicated International Financial Reporting Standards. We will continue developing our new business lines in 2010, including primarily IT services and solutions, said Wojciech Komer, President of HLB Sarnowski & Wiśniewski Sp. z o.o.
Rzeczpospolita's ranking, which comprises 60 firms, was based on financial statements published in Monitor Polski B (official journal for such publications) and questionnaires distributed among audit firms. The criteria include audit revenue, number of completed audits, number of certified auditors and other audit personnel.