Over the past year, the Big Four firms have earned 6% more from doing statutory audit work for the FTSE 100 companies. But how long can the bonanza continue, wonders Liz Fisher
Fees earned by the Big Four accountancy firms through their work as auditors to the FSTE 100 continue to climb steadily, in spite of signs that the recent bonanza of work generated by the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards is coming to a natural end.
This year’s survey of the audit fees earned by the FTSE 100 auditors showed that fees paid for the statutory audit rose by 6% over the year, while total fees rose by 6.2% on last year. (Comparisons are confused slightly by the fact that there are 99 companies in this year’s survey – TUI Travel, as a newly-merged company, has yet to produce an annual report).
This is a marked difference from last year, when the Big Four firms saw an 18% increase in fees earned from statutory audit of the FTSE 100, while total fees earned by the firms increased by just 7%. Much of this discrepancy, however, can be explained by presentational changes that were introduced before last year’s survey.
