Of the 100 audits inspected, 77% were categorised as good or requiring limited improvements, up only slightly on the previous year’s 75%. This meant that nearly a quarter (23%) of audits still required improvements, with three audits requiring significant improvements, double last year’s seven which were deemed to be sub standard. Over the last four years there has been a 10% increase in this key measure of audit quality (2019/20: 67%).

The FTSE 100 audits are often the most complex entities and, of the 16 audits inspected, none were identified as requiring significant improvements. The percentage requiring no more than limited improvements was 81%, which was higher than the 77% across all audits.