UK Big Four Firms Keep Grip on Major Company Audits as Fees Rise

The biggest UK accounting firms continue to dominate the market for large company audits, although mid-sized firms are picking up a decent share of the work for smaller listed companies, according to a new review by the industry watchdog.

The Financial Reporting Council published its annual audit market and competition update Thursday, showing that the Big Four firms—Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, and PwC—took home 91% of public interest entity audit fees in 2024, along with 98% of fees for companies in the FTSE 350 index.

However, by number of clients, mid-sized firms nearly doubled their share of PIE ...