The long-expected hike in audit fees has finally come to pass, with FTSE 250 companies now paying on average 14% more this year to their auditors than last year, while challenger firms are beginning to make inroads, reports Philip Smith
Companies in the FTSE 250 index, the second tier of the UK’s largest listed companies, collective now pay more than £230m to have their financial reports audited. These same companies paid just under £203m 12 months ago, 14% less than today’s figures. It is an increase that has been predicted, and called for, by auditors (and indeed regulators) for some time, as the arguments over audit market competition and quality have raged at government and regulator level.
It is an argument that UK boardrooms appear to have accepted as well – in no other market would one expect to see increases of this order following a period of intense competitive pressure.
Including non-audit and audit-related fees, the FTSE 250 currently pays £293m to their auditors, up from £272m 12 months previously, a 7.8% increase.
