June saw the introduction of the long-awaited EU audit reform focused on public interest entities (PIEs), the Audit Regulation and Directive (ARD). The reform is big business and not just for auditors. Analysis of both the audit and non-audit fees of 895 PIEs listed on the London Stock Exchange suggests that this could open up £10bn of opportunity for the UK accountancy profession over the next 10 years.

PIEs are broadly fully listed companies, credit institutions and insurance undertakings. In the UK alone, there are approximately 2,500 PIEs. Across the EU, we could be looking at numbers in the tens of thousands.